Bonnke leaves an unparalleled legacy of service to the Kingdom of God. All told, more than 79-million people made Christ their Lord as a result of his ministry. Bonnke is best-known for his Gospel outreach campaigns throughout Africa. He and his team pioneered mass-evangelism and in the process drew some of the largest live audiences in history.
"Every time I take a microphone, I have only one purpose in mind – to see hell empty and heaven full." - Reinhard Bonnke
In November of 2000, at a single meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, 1.6 million attendees heard him preach the truth of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Similar crowds assembled in almost every nation in Africa, and it is no exaggeration to say that his work transformed the spiritual-life of the continent, according to Christ For All Nations.
Reaction from those who knew and loved him:
The ministry shares that:
Bonnke was born on the 19th of April 1940 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany. His father was a pastor. At the tender age of 9, Bonnke himself became a Christ-follower. Very soon after, he began to proclaim his intention to be a preacher and missionary to Africa. And he followed through on that dream.
He attended The Bible College of Wales in Swansea which was led by Samuel Rees Howells. Howells was famous as a man whose prayers were answered – an individual of great faith. Howells’ example deeply inspired Bonnke and he himself prayed, “Lord, I also want to be a man of faith. I want to see your way of providing for needs.” Bonnke could not have known then the incredible extent to which God would answer that request.
After college, Bonnke took up a pastorate in Hamburg, Germany. On the journey from the college to Germany, he had a free day and chose to spend it sight-seeing in London. He didn’t have money for a formal tour, so he decided to hop on a bus and see where it took him. Eventually, he landed at the door step of healing evangelist George Jeffreys – one of the most consequential missionaries of the previous generation. The then 21-year-old Bonnke took a chance and knocked on the door. The aged Jeffreys admitted him, laid his hands on him and blessed him.
The following day, Evangelist Bonnke arrived in Hamburg. His father picked him up at the station and before Bonnke could say a word about the providential encounter, his father relayed the news that George Jeffreys had passed away overnight. Bonnke would point to that encounter as the moment he received the mantel of a healing evangelist.
Still, it was sometime before the Evangelist walked in the full realization of that call. He pastored in Germany through most of the 1960’s, marrying his wife, Anni, in 1964. Then, in 1967, with two small children, the Bonnke family relocated to the tiny South African kingdom of Lesotho as missionaries. The ministry was nominally successful, and then, God gave Evangelist Bonnke a dream. In it, he saw the entire continent of Africa covered in the blood of Jesus and heard a voice declare, “Africa shall be saved!” That has been Bonnke’s battle cry ever since.
In 1974, Evangelist Bonnke formed Christ for All Nations (CfaN) as a means of facilitating the fulfilment of that dream. CfaN has worked with one goal: to reach Africa with the gospel, from Cape Town to Cairo. By the grace of God, they’ve been incredibly successful in that effort.
About Christ For All Nations
Founded by Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke in 1974 and now led by Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, Christ for All Nations (CfaN) continues to pioneer mass-evangelism in Africa and beyond and to equip the church to fulfill Christ's Great Commission. To date, more than 78-million people have chosen to follow Jesus at a CfaN Gospel Outreach Campaign meetings marked by supernatural displays of God's power to heal bodies, restore lives and change