After Jesus had been preaching for about a year and a half, he had an important decision to make. Whom would he choose to work closely with him? Whom would he train to take the lead in the Christian congregation? To make these decisions, Jesus wanted Jehovah’s direction. So he went to a mountain where he could be by himself, and he prayed all night long. In the morning, Jesus called some of his disciples together and chose his 12 apostles. Which of their names do you remember? Their names were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot.

The Twelve would travel along with him. After he trained them, they were sent out to preach on their own. Jehovah gave them power to expel demons and to heal sick people.

Jesus called the Twelve his friends, and he trusted them. The Pharisees thought that the apostles were uneducated and ordinary. But Jesus gave them training for their work. They would be with Jesus at the most important times in his life, such as before his death and after his resurrection. Like Jesus, most of the Twelve were from Galilee. Some of them were married.

The apostles were imperfect men who made mistakes. Sometimes they spoke before thinking and made bad decisions. At times they were impatient. They even argued over who was more important. But they were good people who loved Jehovah. They would be the foundation of the Christian congregation after Jesus was gone.