The reality of mass salvations isn’t foreign to Reinhard Bonnke. Since 1967, the German-born evangelist has spent his life reaching the lost in various African nations to the tune of 74 million souls saved for Christ.
Bonnke is now praying for the same results in America. The founder of the international ministry Christ for all Nations has turned his attention toward the U.S. in hopes of another Great Awakening. He began his U.S. crusades in 2013 with the declaration that “All America Shall Be Saved!”
If God works through him as he’s done in Africa, there just may be a spiritual explosion in America. “This is not the day of damnation; this is the day of salvation,” Bonnke says.
The son of a pastor, Bonnke was saved at the age of 9, and “heard the call” to the African mission field as a teenager with a vision of Africa being “washed in the precious blood of Jesus.” He has conducted crusades across the African continent with as many as 1.6 million people (in Lagos, Nigeria) attending a single meeting.
In 1974, Bonnke and his wife, Anni, founded Christ for all Nations and, as the ministry name promises, Bonnke has reached nations around the globe. CfaN has made such a worldwide impact that Bonnke has met with presidents and has addressed houses of parliament to present the gospel to leaders of nations. Bonnke counts many of them as personal friends. In 2011, Bonnke handed the reins of CfaN over to Daniel Kolenda, a fifth-generation preacher with a powerful evangelistic anointing. Kolenda has since led more than 17 million people to Christ in some of the most dangerous and remote locations on earth. “Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke has been more than a mentor to me—he has been like a father,” Kolenda says.
Bonnke has been featured on the cover of Charisma magazine twice. The first time came in December 1993 and the most recent in September 2013.—Shawn A. Akers
Joseph Mattera