“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith…” (2 Timothy 4:7)
When on December 7, 2019, news broke that
Reinhard Bonnke, the German-born evangelist, whose gospel crusades in many
African cities drew multitudes and led many people to make definite decisions
to give their lives to Jesus Christ, had died in Florida, the world saw another
example of what could rightly be described, by Biblical standards, as a successful
ministry. He was 79.
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| *Evangelist Bonnke |
The most important item in his life’s history
is that, although, he was the son of a gospel minister, Bonnke had a definite
testimony of regeneration, that is, being born again – something every genuine
child of God should and must have, but which, sadly, many church people
do not have today, including even several preachers! His mother had preached to
him when he was nine and he had repented of his sins and given his life to
Jesus Christ after which he committed himself to serve God and become a genuine
follower of Jesus.
From then, his interest in preaching the Word
of God was born and grew. One day, he took a guitar and went into a street
in Glückstadt and began to sing. Soon, a small crowd gathered and he
brought out his Bible and preached to them. Bonnke was so excited when one man
who was convicted by “his preaching knelt down, confessed his sins and gave his
to Christ.”
Filled with happiness, he rushed home
excitedly and exclaimed as he reported what happened to his father: “Father, it
works! A man came to hear me preach and accepted Jesus. The Holy Spirit
really gives us the power to preach!” He could not contain his joy.
From a very early age, Bonnke began to tell
everyone around him of his clear persuasion that he had a very definite calling
from God to preach the gospel in Africa. He attended a Bible College in Wales
and when he returned to Germany after his education, he met his wife, Anni, and
they were married in 1964.
In 1967, at the age of 27, Bonnke left his
home in Hamburg to Africa and settled in Lesotho as a missionary. It was not an
easy work for him but his focus and diligence helped him to toil on and
persevere. Sometimes he would travel long distances to hold meetings only for
just a few people to gather to hear him. But he was not discouraged. He
continued to toil in the land until his audiences began to grow.
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| *Bonnke |
It is important to note that although there
were spectacular testimonies of healings in Bonnke’s meetings, his main focus
was always the salvation of souls. At each of his meetings, he presented the
gospel of salvation in a very simple and interesting way, after which he would
invite people wishing to give their lives to Christ to come out and do so. That
was his main target – soul-winning.
In 1974, Bonnke
founded Christ for All Nations (CFAN), the platform under which his gospel
crusades were launched out for several decades. He held meetings across Africa,
drawing thousands of people, with many of them making decisions to follow Christ.
In an interview with New York Times in 1984, Bonnke
said: “I am interested in bringing Africa to the foot of the Cross. I
believe that the preaching of the living Word of God is something that Africa
hungers for.”
Driven by a heart burning with compassion
for souls, Bonnke’s yearly schedule of crusades in Africa, and later, Asia and
other parts of the world were daunting. But he carried on with such exceptional
zeal, passion, energy, dedication and focus. When he appeared on CBN’s
700 Club on December 9, 1986, he told the programme host, Rev Pat
Robertson, "Jesus did not call us to deliver sermons, he called us to
deliver people and I believe this is what happens in our crusades. I am not
decorating prisons cells; I'm setting the captives free."
In the over four decades he traversed Africa
with the gospel, and later Asia, Europe and North America, the Christ for All
Nations has a record of over 79 million people who had responded to altar calls
and gave their lives to Christ at his various meetings and equally signed the
New Converts Decision Papers. It is possible that not all these people retained
their convictions as genuine believers in Christ Jesus afterwards, but there is
no doubt that a substantial number of them still have intact the testimony of
their personal encounter with Christ which led to their salvation. And these
they can still testify occurred at either one of the Bonnke meetings across the
world or after reading the diverse pieces of literature, millions of which his
organisation had printed in several languages and mass-distributed to countless
people.
Also, many Christian workers and church
ministers and leaders would forever remain grateful to the invaluable
enrichment they received from his “Fire Conferences” which he organises to
disciple people for Christ for the work of soul-winning anywhere he is holding
a crusade. His rallying cry was always: “From Cape to Cairo for Jesus!”
He was widely described by the media as “the Billy Graham of Africa.”
It has been widely reported that Evangelist
Bonnke’s largest meeting throughout his ministry was the “Millennium Crusade” held in Lagos in 2000, where a record-breaking
six million people attended the five day crusade that saw many persons give
their lives to Christ.
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| *Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke [Right] and his Successor, Daniel Kolenda |
About a decade ago, Bonnke recognised the need
to commence the process of grooming of a successor. Soon he made the strategic
announcement: “The Lord specifically told
me that He has appointed and anointed Daniel Kolenda as my successor.”
A brief descriptive note on Kolenda’s personal
website introduces him as a “a modern missionary evangelist who has led more
than 21-million people to Christ face-to face through massive open-air
evangelistic campaigns in some of the most dangerous, difficult and remote
locations on earth. As the successor to world renowned Evangelist Reinhard
Bonnke, Daniel is [now] the president and CEO of Christ for All Nations; a
ministry which has conducted some of the largest evangelistic events in
history, has published over 190 million books in 104 languages and has offices
in 12 nations around the world. He also hosts an internationally syndicated
television program.”
Although he is “is a graduate of Southeastern
University on Lakeland, Florida and the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry
in Pensacola, Florida,” his website maintains that “his greatest education has
come from the years of ministry side-by-side with his mentor and spiritual
father Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. Together they have circled the globe
preaching the Gospel and continue to do so as a single-minded team with great
effectiveness.”
From November 8 to 12, 2017, Bonnke held what
he called his “Farewell Crusade” in Africa. The venue was the Sparklight
Estate, Opposite OPIC, in Lagos, which he tagged, “Passing The Burning Torch,” which drew a very large crowd,
including several African church leaders.
Now, by successfully doing the work of God
committed to his hand with all his heart and might and successfully mentoring
and handing over to a successor and ensuring a smooth take-over by him to
continue the work after he had gone, Evangelist Bonnke has undertaken
what should be regarded by Biblical standards as a “successful ministry.”
He not only handed over to Daniel Kolenda, he
worked with him for over ten years during which Mr. Kolenda was assessed and
accepted by members of his organisation, the CFAN, and the people across the
world. Thus, Bonnke can go home to his Maker and Master in peace because his
labour in the world here will certainly not be wasted but will even be expanded
and elongated. That is the meaning of a successful successfully executed
ministry.
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| *Bonnke and wife, Anni - Married for 49 Years |
The earliest example in the Bible I can cite
now of such a successful ministry was Moses who undertook the great
God-ordained mission of bringing Israel out of their bondage in Egypt to the
Promised Land. As they advanced in the famous Exodus, he began to groom Joshua
as his successor. During those years, Joshua understudied him and gained
acceptability before the people, and so, when it was time to hand over to
Joshua, it went smoothly. But when you look at the case of Joshua who did not
groom a successor, you can now understand the unspeakable spiritual and moral
bankruptcy that afflicted Israel after Joshua. That vacuum had such a
disastrous effect in the lives of the Israelites that at a point, in Judges 21:
25, it was reported that “in those days there was no king in Israel:
every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Another example was Elijah who passed a
“double portion” of anointing to his servant Elisha. But, sadly, instead of
following his master’s example and passing the baton over to another person he
had groomed before his demise, Elisha instead cursed his own servant with
leprosy. He handed over to no one (despite receiving a double portion of his
own master’s anointing) and that great ministry and anointing died with him.
Jesus was the perfect example. Instead of
handing over to one person, he raised twelve successors who carried on with the
work. And his apostles followed his example and raised successors here and
there and the work spread. We saw people like Timothy, Titus and others raised
by Paul. I read the very moving account of a Christian preacher, leader and
martyr called Polycarp who was delivered to the lions to tear him to pieces in
Rome because of his refusal to renounce Christ. He claimed that he was direct
convert of the Apostle John. He carried on with the mantle he had received from
his master until he was martyred.
This has been the Biblical standard which some
modern ministers of God have been very reluctant to adopt. The result has been
that, for several of them, their labours in ministry have been wasted after
their death. The enemy has exploited that loophole to create crisis that put
the ministry in disarray.
But with Reinhard Bonnke’s recent example,
many ministers and church leaders should remind themselves once more that this
time-tested, Biblical standard must be adopted if the labour of their hands
must not be wasted. Bonnke announced his successor even before he turned 70. Some
church leaders who are even nearing 80 appear not to have even started thinking
about that.
Adieu, Evangelist Bonnke, God’s General.
*Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye is the author of the
book, Nigeria: Why Looting May Not stop. (Email: scruples2006@yahoo.com)
*This article was first published in The Guardian newspaper (Lagos), Monday, February 3, 2020…
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