ORIGIN AND MISSION OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH   Jesus Christ, the redeemer sent by God   God, the father, in his love sent Jesus Christ, his son, for the redemption of the human kind. Jesus Christ is the son of God and part of his Holy Trinity.  He represents the ground where the foundations of the New Apostolic Church lay. The Holy Spirit is also part of the Holy Trinity and it is the source of strength that Jesus Christ promised to us in the Church.   Christ’s redeeming activity gives the human being the possibility of a withdrawal from Satan's kingdom and the option of being conducted to the land of God.  This takes part through: The rebirthing with water and spirit The forgiveness of the sins and guilt The Communion with the body and blood of Jesus. The faithful obedience to the Word of God.   The consummation of the redemption takes place in the eternal communion with God.   The New Apostolic Church is known as the continuation of the former apostolic church, the present Jesus’ redeeming work.  It is the communion of the Apostles, the bearers of the mystery and the members; Jesus Christ is its head.     The Apostolate   Jesus Christ is the sender of his apostles. He conferred the assignments, the gifts and the powers necessary for the continuation and completion of his redeeming work. The Apostles are the Ambassadors upon the name of Christ.  The tasks of this ministry that guide the Church of Christ are: The proclamation of the Gospel. The administration of the Sacraments. The institution of the ministries needed The reunion of the community of the Lord, taking care and preparing them for the  Second Coming of Christ   From the year 1832, they were renamed Apostles through the Holy Ghost . At present the Apostles work in almost all the countries.  The Chief  Apostle has an special position in this field, he is in charge of the legacy that Jesus Christ passed to the Apostle Peter.  One of his main jobs is to preserve the unity of the Church and the purity of the Doctrine.   The Gift of the Holy Spirit   The Holy Baptism with water and the Holy Sealing are together the rebirthing by the water and the spirit. Through the Holy Sealing, the human being get the Holy Spirit and becomes a Child of God. After the Ascension of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit descended in Pentecost,  upon the believers  gathered together in Jerusalem. Later, The Holy Spirit was bestowed by the laying-on of the hands and the prayer of the Apostles.  At present the Apostles are  empowered to do the Holy Sealing in the same way.   The Faith and the Aim   The belief in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as well as the Church of Christ with the sacraments and ministries, has its origin in the sermon.  Those who are faithful and adjust their lives in accordance to God’s will can reach the communion with God.   Through the Doctrine announced in the New Apostolic Church,  God’s spirit prepares all the believers for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The aim of the New Apostolic  Christians is to take part in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.   The Spiritual Attention and the life of the Community   During the Divine Services, God welcomes us through his messengers by the word and the sacraments.  The sermon manifested by the Holy Spirit is ¨        To promote and strengthen the faith  and with this ¨        To be prepared for the Second Coming of Christ.   The Divine Services held by the Chief Apostle or the Apostles are outstanding occasions. There are Divine Services for children, young people, senior brothers and sisters and for the bearer of the ministry. The first Sunday of March, July and November those who died  are specially remembered.   The Sacraments   The sacraments are the fundamental background for the redemption of the human being.  The New Apostolic Church  recognizes 3 sacraments:   ¨        The Holy Baptism with water ¨        The Holy Sealing ¨        The  Holy Communion   The Holy Baptism with water and the Holy Communion can be bestowed in the name of Jesus by the Apostles,  but also by every bearer of the ministries acting in their stead.  The Holy Sealing can only be  bestowed by an Apostle.   The Sacraments can be received by everybody regardless of their age, background or sex.  Nevertheless, there are some requisites to get any of the sacraments.   Before receiving the sacraments, the person must have acquired the knowledge of their  value and significance.  This is supported by a deep teaching.   To get the Holy Baptism with water, the person or the children’s parents or their representatives must profess the faith in Christ and the teaching of the Apostles and must be repented. When only one of the parents or representatives is new apostolic, he is the one who is expected to fulfill the requisites mentioned above.   The Christian baptism is recognized if it was properly performed by any other Christian church, this baptism can be confirmed by the adoption in the New Apostolic Church.  The requirements for the adoption are the same as those for the Holy Baptism with water.  The Servant of the Community  must evaluate the application for the adoption according to the attendance to the Divine Services and  the faith in the Apostle’s teaching.  The adoption is generally carried out by a Bishop, a District Elder of a District Evangelist.   The emergency baptism a special case.  If a non-baptized is dying, in the impossibility of the presence of a bearer of the ministry, exceptionally, any new apostolic Christian believer of age can do an emergency baptism, also any of the child’s parents. At the beginning of the sacramental service, the person in charge says a pray to the Lord and asks for his blessing.  Next, he or she consecrate water for the Holy Baptism with these words:   “Now I take aside this water in the name of God the Father, the Son  and the Holy Spirit  and I consecrate  it for the Holy Baptism with water”.  Then he  moistens  the baptized’s forehead  three times with the consecrated water making the sign of the cross and saying:   “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Amen”   With this short pray  the baptized is entrusted to God’s grace and protection.  The Community Servant must be informed immediately of the emergency baptism, so he can confirm the act by the power of his ministry.  In this way the emergency baptism has full validity upon God.   To receive the Holy Sealing it is necessary to have already received the Holy Baptism with water  and to be ready to live according to the  doctrine Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Apostles.  The Holy Sealing is also dispense to children whereby the parents profess their faith and take responsibility in educating their children in it.   The Holy Communion can be taken by those who have been sealed and baptized with water, and also by the ones adopted.  This sacrament is celebrated with the community, mainly on Sunday during the Divine Services, during the church festivities and in every Divine Service dispensed by the Apostles.  The “Lord’s prayer” and the forgiveness of the sins is pronounced before the Holy Communion.  The effect of the Holy Communion happens when the Communion Wafer is taken with dignity.  The  way to and from the altar must be in silence and with the hands joined. If a child cannot take the Communion Wafer by himself, the person in charge of the child can take the Communion Wafer for him and for the child.   During the Sunday morning  Divine Services, the Chief Apostle, the District Apostles or an Apostle in charge transfer this sacrament to  those who have already died,  dispensing the Holy Communion to two bearers of the ministry, as representatives of the souls of the other world.   Those who cannot attend to the Divine Service for an illness, their age or any other impediment, will be visited in regular periods by a bearer of the ministry.  As far as possible this Sacrament will be celebrated as a Divine Service. If the circumstances do not permit it, the ill person will receive, after the forgiveness of their sins,  a Communion Wafer already consecrated  that can be taken immediately or later in a more propitious moment.   Short Statements of the Church regarding some social issues   ¨        Family Planning   The Church is proponent to life.  Family planning is at the sole discretion of every married couple, but the Church disapproves of  any methods in which the fertilized eggs are destroyed.   ¨        Artificial Insemination   The Church supports a married couple’s efforts to conceive a child through artificial  insemination, but disapproves of the artificial insemination when : 4       A fertilized egg cell is destroyed or stored for later use. 4       The donor sperm is not that of the husband. 4       Surrogate motherhood.   ¨        Termination of Pregnancy   The Church fundamentally disapproves the termination of pregnancy.  In some special case, for example is the life of the mother is a serious jeopardy, the advise of the doctors and the Apostle should be sought. ¨        Organs Donation and blood transfusion   The Church does not raise any objection against the organs donation, organs  transplant or blood transfusion, nevertheless, the Church disapproves of any unsuitable use.   ♦         Homosexuality On the grounds of Biblical tenets and Christian tradition, the New apostolic Church deems practised homosexuality to be unacceptable. It is solely for God to determinate whether, and to what extent, a person who is absolutely confirmed in his or her homosexual disposition, acquires guilt before God through the practice of his or her homosexuality. In this regard, it should be expressly that sexual disposition has no relevance in the pastoral care of our brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters who are practising homosexuals , or living in a homosexual partnership, are barred from discharging and teaching duties in our church.   ♦         Concubinage   The Church does not approve of cohabitation of an unmarried couple, living together in  illegitimate or extramarital intimacy. The Church believes in marriage as the way of living under divine blessing.   ♦         Euthanasia   The Church rejects the active euthanasia.  If a person is in his deathbed, the advise of doctors, and the consent of the patient and relatives must be taking into account  to decide the measures to adopt to prolong life.