Irfan Jutt
A Change in Spiritual Guidance
Last Sunday, people gathered in a church hall in Dortmund. The air felt thick with quiet expectation. Hymns were sung, prayers were whispered, and a well-worn Bible lay open on the wooden lectern. On this day, a long-serving spiritual guide would step aside, and a new one would take his place. For the roughly forty-seven thousand New Apostolic Christians living across Western Germany, this was not merely an administrative shift. It was a deeply spiritual moment, a changing of the guard watched over with hope and prayer.
The man retiring, District Apostle Rainer Storck, had served for more than ten years. His face showed the lines of a life spent in service, his voice gentle from giving countless sermons. He spoke of his journey with gratitude, his words simple and direct. “It has been a blessing to walk with you,” he told the congregation, his eyes scanning the familiar faces. “The work continues, as it always must. Keep your faith firm.” There was a palpable feeling of respect in the room, a collective thank you felt more than heard.
Then came the central act of the service. The focus turned to Klaus-Peter Jantzen, an apostle known to many in the region. The Chief Apostle, the international leader of the church, laid his hands upon Jantzen’s shoulders. The words spoken were traditional, asking for divine strength and wisdom for the task ahead. With this quiet, solemn act, Klaus-Peter Jantzen became the new District Apostle for Western Germany. He stood a little straighter, the weight of his new responsibility settling on him visibly. He did not smile broadly, but nodded, his expression one of sober acceptance.
The Fabric of the New Apostolic Faith
To understand the importance of this event, one must look at the fabric of the New Apostolic Church. It is a Christian community with a particular history and structure. It emerged from religious stirrings in the 1800s, from groups yearning for a renewed apostolic ministry. They believe that God has called apostles in our present time, just as He called Peter and Paul in the early days of Christianity. These living apostles are seen as essential, the spiritual foundation tasked with preparing people for the promised return of Jesus Christ.
The church’s organization reflects this. It is not a loose network of independent congregations. It is an interconnected body. At the top is the Chief Apostle. Below him are District Apostles, like the one just ordained in Dortmund, who oversee large territories—entire nations or groups of regions. Then come area apostles, bishops, and ministers, all working in a clear line of spiritual authority. Their services are orderly and reverent, centered on Bible reading, preaching, and especially the sharing of Holy Communion. This sacrament, they hold, is a profound source of grace and connection to Christ.
While its heart once beat strongest in parts of Europe like Germany, the church has since spread. You can find small congregations in the bustling cities of Africa, in the quiet towns of South America, and across North America. It is a global family, though its numbers in its traditional European homes have faced challenges, much like those of other established churches.
The Road Ahead for a Historic Community
The new District Apostle Jantzen now walks a road paved with both tradition and modern challenge. The world outside the church doors has changed dramatically. Younger generations often view faith differently than their grandparents did. Sundays are filled with sports, leisure, and the constant pull of digital screens. The slow, patient rhythms of church life can seem out of step. Many congregations see more grey hair than brown each week. These are the quiet realities Klaus-Peter Jantzen must address.
His first words to his new flock were not grand promises. They were pastoral and plain. He spoke of a “spiritual home,” a place where people should feel safe and supported. He talked about the need for real fellowship, where people know each other’s names and burdens. “Our faith cannot live only within these walls,” he was heard saying. “It must live in our homes, in our workplaces, in how we treat our neighbor.” He emphasized prayer, not as a ritual, but as a daily conversation. He pointed to the Bible, not as a historical artifact, but as a living guide.
There is also the matter of teaching. In recent years, the New Apostolic Church has thoughtfully refined some of its doctrines. There has been a deliberate move to place God’s grace and the saving power of Jesus Christ at the very center of everything. For some members, these have been welcome clarifications. For others, change of any sort requires careful adjustment. Jantzen’s role will be to gently steward this understanding, to explain it from the pulpit and in conversation, ensuring his community remains united and confident in its core beliefs.
A Moment of Quiet Significance
So, this news from Dortmund is about more than a title change. It is a human story about transition, about trust passed from one pair of hands to another. For the members in cities like Cologne, Frankfurt, and Munich, reading the announcement in their church newsletter, it will make them pause. They will think of the retired shepherd, Storck, with fondness. They will wonder about the new one, Jantzen, and the years to come.
They will likely recall the Bible verse from that Sunday service: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” It is a verse about God’s faithfulness across time, across the tenure of any single leader. The church is not built on a person, but on a promise. The work in Western Germany—the baptisms, the sermons, the shared meals after service, the quiet acts of kindness between members—that work continues. Under a new guide, the community now turns its face toward the future, step by step, prayer by prayer, trusting that the path ahead, though unknown to them, is held in faithful hands.
