The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has expressed sadness over the death of Reinhard Bonke, the famous German international evangelist, describing it as a huge loss to the body of Christ all over the world.
Nigeria’s Presidency also released a statement mourning the.loss of the great German evangelist.
“President Buhari affirms that Bonnke’s crusades in Nigeria, across Africa and the globe strongly accentuated the message of Jesus Christ, and his vision and zeal for the salvation of souls clearly helped the world in understanding the power of love and kindness as universal language,” the statement by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said.
Bonnke, an international evangelist, more to Africa, died this Saturday surrounded by his family members, his wife, Anni, said.
A brief biography on his organisation’s (Christ For All Nations) website, www.cfan.org, reads:
“Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke was principally known for his Great Gospel Crusades throughout the Continent of Africa. The son of a pastor, Reinhard gave his life to the Lord at age nine, and heard the call to the African mission field before he was even a teenager. After attending Bible College in Wales, and his ordination in Germany he pastored a church and then went on to start missionary work in Africa. It was there, in the small mountain kingdom of Lesotho, that God placed upon his heart the vision of ‘the continent of Africa, being washed in the precious Blood of Jesus’ — an entire continent, from Cape Town to Cairo and from Dakar to Djibouti that needed to be reached and to hear the proclamation of the sign-following Gospel.
“Evangelist Bonnke began holding meetings in a tent that accommodated just 800 people, but, as attendance steadily increased, larger and larger tents had to be purchased, until finally, in 1984, he commissioned the construction of the world’s largest mobile structure — a tent capable of seating 34,000 people! Soon, attendance at his meetings even exceeded the capacity of this huge structure, and he began open-air Gospel Campaigns with an initial gathering of over 150,000 people per service! Since then, he has conducted city-wide meetings across the continent with as many as 1,600,000 people attending a single meeting using towering sound systems that can be heard for miles.
“It (is) forty-five years since Reinhard Bonnke founded the international ministry of Christ for all Nations (CfaN), which currently has offices in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.
“Since 1987, through a host of major events in Africa and other parts of the world, the ministry has recorded more than 77 million documented decisions for Jesus Christ.
“As part of the discipleship-training program, 185 million copies of CfaN follow-up literature have been published in 103 languages and printed in 55 countries. Millions of books have been printed and freely ‘seeded‘ in nations around the world. All this is in addition to the Reinhard Bonnke School of Fire, an online, self-study course, aimed at inspiring others to Holy Spirit Evangelism and leading to either a certificate or university credits.
“Reinhard Bonnke (was) also recognized for hosting ‘Fire Conferences’ in many different countries of the world, events that are aimed at equipping church leaders and workers for evangelism; for distributing over 95,500,000 copies of Minus to Plus, a profound salvation message, to homes around the world; and for seeking every opportunity to reach and to save the lost.
“More recently, Bonnke… spent several years developing the ‘Full Flame Film Series,’ a series of eight inspirational films aimed at inspiring and challenging the church to Holy Spirit evangelism.
“He (was) known as one with a burning passion for the Gospel, a vision for Africa and a message for the world.
“Evangelist Bonnke was married to Anni, father to Kai-Uwe, Gabrielle, and Susie, and grandfather to eight grandchildren.”
CAN President, Revered Samson Ayokunle in a statement by his spokesman, Pastor Bayo Oladeji, described Reinhard Bonke as “one of the greatest Generals of the gospel of eternal salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ on earth”.
According to him, “CAN and the entire Christian communities in Nigeria join the rest of Christians all over the world to mourn this fiery preacher and teacher of the Gospel and mentor to several evangelical leaders all around the world today.
“Reinhard Bonke has reached Africa and countries of the world through his ministry called Christ For All Nations preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through which millions of souls were saved into the Kingdom of God or received their healings “, CAN president stated.
The statement further maintained that “the body of Christ has lost one of its greatest assets. May God console and comfort his widow, Anni”.
The CAN President said the Christian community was shocked to read from the press statement signed by Anni Bonnke, wife of the late evangelist announced his death.
Anni had said in a statement: “It is with sorrow that the Bonnke Family would like to announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on December 7, 2019.
“For the past 60 years he has preached the glorious Gospel of Jesus throughout the entire world. We want to thank you on behalf of him and our family, for your kind love and unwavering support, which enabled him to preach the matchless message of salvation to countless people”.
Ayokunle said Nigeria is a great beneficiary of Bonnke’s Ministry and expressed gratitude to him and the Christ for All Nations.