22 Facts About Reinhard Bonnke

Reinhard Bonnke was a German-American Pentecostal evangelist, principally known for his gospel missions throughout Africa.

Christ For All Nations organisation, known for its work throughout Africa, claims Reinhard Bonnke preached Christ to more than 79 million non believers.

Reinhard Bonnke was born on 19th April 1940, in the city of Konigsberg, East Prussia, Germany, the fifth son of Hermann Bonnke, an army logistics officer in the Reichswehr who fought on the Eastern Front; his paternal grandfather was August Bonnke, the owner of a windmill in Trunz, East Prussia, who was healed of an unknown ailment by the evangelist Luis Graf in 1922, but died during the evacuation of East Prussia in 1945.

Reinhard Bonnke had six siblings: Martin, Gerhard, Jurgen, Peter and Felicitas, his only younger sibling and his only sister.

Reinhard Bonnke became a born-again Christian at the age of nine after his mother spoke with him about a sin that he had committed.

Reinhard Bonnke sensed a call from God to serve as a missionary in Africa from the age of 10 and said that he had the experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Reinhard Bonnke studied at the Bible College of Wales in Swansea, Wales, UK, where he was inspired by the director, Samuel Rees Howells.

Reinhard Bonnke wondered if it could be the great George Jeffreys who had founded the Elim Pentecostal churches in Ireland and England.

Reinhard Bonnke prayed for the young student and imparted grace to him.

Reinhard Bonnke arrived in South Africa and almost immediately encountered the apartheid system, which he developed an antipathy towards, which in turn caused friction between him and the minister who oversaw him in South Africa.

Reinhard Bonnke subsequently accepted a position to oversee three churches in Lesotho, but began again from scratch after he discovered that unbiblical practices had emerged in the congregations he was to oversee.

Reinhard Bonnke rented a stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, and preached with little cooperation from local churches.

In 1974, Reinhard Bonnke founded the mission organisation Christ for all Nations.

Reinhard Bonnke began his ministry holding tent meetings that accommodated large crowds.

Reinhard Bonnke announced his "farewell gospel crusade" to be held in Lagos, Nigeria, in November 2017.

In 2009 Reinhard Bonnke appointed his successor, Daniel Kolenda who continues to lead the ministry.

In 1991, during Reinhard Bonnke's visit to Kano in Nigeria, there were riots in the city as Muslims protested over remarks he had reportedly made about Islam in the city of Kaduna on his way to Kano.

Muslim youths gathered at the Kofar Mata Eide-ground where they were addressed by several clerics who claimed that Reinhard Bonnke was going to blaspheme Islam.

Reinhard Bonnke returned to Nigeria and held a crusades in Benin City in the south.

Reinhard Bonnke began receiving speaking invitations from all around Germany and the rest of the world.

Reinhard Bonnke met Anni Suelze at a gospel music festival and admired the grace which she showed when a mistake led to her losing a music competition.

Reinhard Bonnke offered to preach at the church she attended and over time they fell in love.