How Reinhard Bonnke Impacted My Life

How did evangelist Reinhard Bonnke impact my life? Let's start from the beginning. Reinhard Bonnke, who grew up in Germany and lived through World War 2, came from a Christian family. When he was just a teenager, God called Bonnke to Africa. After growing up, getting married, he moved to Lesotho, Africa, with his family. Initially, he traveled all day to preach in a village, but only a few people showed up, and nobody got saved. This was disappointing to Bonnke, so he began fasting and praying, seeking guidance from the Lord. Over the next few nights, he had a vision from God. It was of a blood-washed Africa, and he heard the Holy Spirit's voice cry, "Africa shall be saved." At first, he thought it might be due to eating bad bananas, but the vision continued for two more nights. As a result, he left the ministry organization that supported him from Germany and started Christ for All Nations ministry, known as CfaN today, located in Orlando, Florida.

Bonnke began holding mass crusades all over Africa, attracting people from great distances who wanted to be saved and healed. Remarkable miracles occurred during these events. For instance, while he was preaching, a woman jumped to her feet, crying, "I can see! I can see!" Blind eyes were opened, the crippled started to walk, and even the dead were raised. The Lord used him powerfully, leading millions of people to Jesus throughout his life. One night, Bonnke had a dream. In this dream, he overheard two men conversing about him. One said to the other, "Whatever happened to that Bonnke preacher?" The other replied, "He was just a forerunner for many other evangelists." Upon waking, Bonnke realized that God would raise up an army of evangelists all over the world who would do exactly what he had been doing: proclaiming the gospel with signs and wonders following.

Towards the end of his life, Bonnke raised up a successor from Florida, USA named Daniel Kolenda. Kolenda eventually became the president and lead evangelist of Christ for All Nations ministry. The Lord gave Kolenda a vision to multiply and collaborate with other evangelists worldwide, preaching in Africa and wherever possible to bring in the end-time harvest. His goal was to multiply Reinhard Bonnke's evangelism approach through other dedicated preachers and evangelists. As of 2024, CfaN ministry has trained more than 1,600 evangelists, many of whom have replicated the same success Bonnke achieved 50 years earlier. This is where I come in. Since I was saved, I've enjoyed sharing about God's love with strangers on the street. Starting in 2012, I began going on mission trips with my church, fueled by the passion of the Holy Spirit. As the prophet Jeremiah said, "his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones" (Jeremiah 20:9). I would pray for the sick on the street, and they would recover. The Lord used me, but I wondered how I could reach even more people for Jesus. One night I prayed God to use me to bring a million people to Him.

In 2020, an opportunity came up for me to apply for a three-month evangelism school in Orlando, Florida. I was accepted and moved there for three months. Evangelist Daniel Kolenda poured out his heart, sharing everything he had learned from Bonnke. He taught us how to preach the ABC's of the Gospel, pray for the sick, share testimonies on stage, project our voices in public spaces, and present the Gospel in a way that even a child could understand. Every day, I sat in the front row, soaking up all the knowledge and learning from some of the world's top evangelists. I took thorough notes and diligently put into practice what I had learned.

At the end of the three months, 100 other trained evangelists and I were sent to Tanzania, Africa to preach for three weeks. There, I witnessed people from various religious backgrounds and denominations, including Muslims and Catholics, making a decision for Christ. It was truly amazing. During one of our outreaches at a girls' orphanage, I preached, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). The girls listened attentively, and I felt God's love for them. Even my team members mentioned feeling a tangible presence of God as I shared the word with these young ladies. The ladies responded eagerly to the salvation message. The Holy Spirit was moving among these African people for whom Jesus died. That night, I went to sleep in awe and wonder of what the Holy Spirit was doing in this nation. The Lord reminded me, "You will see greater things than this" (John 1:50).

One night in Tanzania, I dreamed of Reinhard Bonnke, whom I had only seen on TV. In the dream, I met him for the first time. As I searched for something, I saw an older Reinhard Bonnke walking downhill with a cane. He had a cut on his face that split his upper and lower face, with stitches holding together old and new skin. One side of his face was slightly darker than the other, but he smiled brightly. Despite his age, he was overjoyed to see me. I embraced him tightly, overwhelmed with joy, and started to wail with emotion. This dream symbolized that, after being trained by Christ for All Nations ministry, the new training methods for evangelists would combine with Bonnke's approach, resulting in a greater impact on lives through the power of Christ. The baton has been passed to the next wave of Holy-Spirit evangelists.

It has been over three years now, and I have been following in the footsteps of the late evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, a disciple of Jesus Christ. Since 2021, I have witnessed over 289,866 decisions for Christ. Even in challenging places like Thailand, Cambodia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and other parts of the world, where sharing the Gospel is difficult, the Gospel deeply impacts the hearts of the listeners. We have connected many of the new converts to local pastors and churches for thorough follow-up, ensuring none of them are lost. As Jesus said, "And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given Me" (John 6:39). Though I have never met Reinhard Bonnke in person, his obedience to the Lord has indirectly impacted my life tremendously. He is my hero, and I aspire to follow in his footsteps, impacting others through the Holy Spirit just as he has changed my life. The same Holy Spirit in Bonnke is also in me. Every believer has the same access to God as the early disciples mentioned in the book of Acts. We don't have to wait for God's call; He has already called us to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15). We have been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself, and my ultimate desire is to bring about a bountiful harvest and hear the glorious words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matthew 25:23). May these words resonate with all of us.