Revival, renewal, awakening--none of these words seem big enough to describe what is currently taking place in Africa. Entire regions are being radically impacted by the gospel, and whole cities are falling to their knees confessing Jesus as Lord. Looking at the numbers, there is nothing in history to compare with the present move of God in Africa. One African newspaper reported last year that "Africa is Being Saved."
If God is conquering Africa with the gospel, one ministry which is definitely helping spearhead the invasion is Christ for all Nations (CfaN), headed by German born evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. He first received a call to Africa at the age of ten when a woman in his father's church had a vision of young Reinhard breaking bread before thousands of Africans. Today it is not uncommon for over 1,000,000 people to meet the Lord in just one of his crusades.
Recently, in Aba, Nigeria, in a six day crusade, 1,400,000 new believers professed faith in Christ. Prior to that 1,100,000 came to the Lord in Calabar, Nigeria during a six day meeting. To put this in historical context, during the great Welsh revival of 1904, 100,000 people were saved in six months. Truly, our traditional religious vocabulary does not have a word big enough to capture this move.
In previous years, CfaN has become accustomed to large crowds with tens of thousands of converts in single meetings. However, this latest trend of 1,000,000 plus converts in a six day crusade has surpassed all previous expectations, and even Reverend Bonnke has called it "astonishing." He has also stated that "Repetition is not God's style," teaching wherever he goes that God is always fresh and new.
In this case, everywhere a CfaN crusade has been held recently, the same daily scenes of massive area wide public repentance has erupted. In Aba, this Spirit of repentance manifested in many witches and sorcerers bringing their fetishes and other objects of witchcraft for a public burning.
During the Calabar crusade, the secular newspapers read like religious periodicals. The Guardian headlined on January 27, 2000: "Patients desert Calabar hospitals for Bonnke's crusade." Indeed, miracles, signs, and wonders are expected by those who brave the elements to attend the all outdoor crusades. Mr. Imoh Isong of Calabar instantly received sight after being blind for five years. There were many others who were immediately healed from tumors which were actually passed from their bodies. Many were healed from deafness, and the crippled were suddenly able to walk.
As the miracles attest, this revival is more than just large numbers. All indications are that this move is just as deep as it is wide. Traditional strongholds
of voodoo and sorcery have been greatly damaged. New churches are being established. Hundreds of local churches participating in the crusades overflow with the new converts as every effort is made by thousands of volunteers from the local area to follow up each decision card personally.
In the previous twelve years, CfaN reports that at least 12,000,000 people have met the Lord in its crusades. (This figure does not include the most recent meetings.) However, such was not always the case for the fiery evangelist. Reverend Bonnke's first year in Africa in 1967 turned out to be the "toughest and most frustrating" in his life. Beginning in South Africa, Reinhard reacted strongly against the apartheid under which he was forced to operate. The denomination he was associated with in South Africa tried to forbid him to even shake hands with a black man, or to even refer to black Christians as his brothers and sisters. Always knowing that his primary call was to black Africans, Reinhard could hardly believe his ears. He informed his immediate superior "if this gospel does not make them and us brothers and sisters in Christ, I do not wish to preach this gospel any more." After persevering through the early times, Reinhard and his wife Anni, soon found themselves ministering to the black Africans they loved so much.
