Reinhard Bonnke

==African mission==
His work in Africa began in 1967. He 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. 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.

In the first few years of his work, Bonnke encountered poor results from his evangelistic efforts and felt frustrated at the pace of his ministry. Then he had a recurring dream featuring a picture of the map of Africa being splattered with blood and heard the voice of God crying "Africa Shall Be Saved". This ultimately led him to adopt large-scale evangelism, rather than the traditional small-scale missionary approach. He rented a stadium in [[Gaborone]], [[Botswana]], and preached with little cooperation from local churches. The first meetings saw about 100 people attending, but this number grew swiftly.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/12/08/life-and-times-of-evangelist-reinhard-bonnke/|title=Life and Times of Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke - P.M. News}}</ref>

In 1974, Bonnke founded the mission organisation [[Christ For All Nations]] (CfaN).<ref name='fire_book' /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2019-12-18|title=The man who changed the face of Christianity in Africa|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50781193|access-date=2021-06-04|website=BBC News|language=en-GB}}</ref> Originally based in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa, the headquarters were relocated to [[Frankfurt]], Germany, in 1986. This was done primarily to distance the organisation from South Africa's [[apartheid]] policy at the time.<ref name='fire_book' /> Today CfaN has 9 offices across 5 continents.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://new.cfan.org/contact-us | access-date = 5 August 2017 | title = Christ for all Nations - Contact Us | publisher = Christ for all Nations }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cfan.org.uk/about/our-story|title=Our Story|date=9 June 2021|website=Christ for all Nations}}</ref>

Bonnke began his ministry holding tent meetings that accommodated large crowds. According to an account published by the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]], in 1984 he commissioned the construction of what was claimed to be the world's largest mobile structure - a tent capable of seating 34,000; this was destroyed in a wind storm just before a major meeting and therefore the team decided to hold the event in the open air instead. According to this account, the event was subsequently attended by over 100,000 people which is far greater than the 34,000 seating capacity the tents could have contained. For various reasons, usually due to insufficient capacity, the 34,000-seat tent was only used once, in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1986.<ref name="700club">{{cite web |date=2010-02-05 |title=Reinhard Bonnke: Setting Souls on Fire |url=http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/Reinhard_Bonnke091306.aspx |work=The 700 Club}}</ref>

In addition to South Africa, Bonnke would also hold many campaigns in other African countries including [[Nigeria]] and [[Kenya]] and became known as "the [[Billy Graham]] of Africa."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50781193|title=Reinhard Bonnke: The man who changed the face of Christianity in Africa|publisher=BBC News|date=18 December 2019|accessdate=4 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/world/africa/reinhard-bonnke-dead.html|title=Reinhard Bonnke, the 'Billy Graham of Africa,' Dies at 79|first=Melissa|last=Eddy|work=New York Times|date=11 December 2019|accessdate=4 October 2020}}</ref> In the 5 February 2001 edition of Graham's ''[[Christianity Today]]'', journalist Corrie Cutrer stated that Bonnke had set "record-breaking attendances" at recent events he held in Nigeria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/february5/5.40.html|title=Come and Receive Your Miracle|first=Corrie|last=Cutrer|publisher=Christianity Today|date=5 February 2001|accessdate=4 October 2020}}</ref> Bonnke announced his "farewell gospel crusade" to be held in Lagos, Nigeria, in November 2017. Lagos is also the location of a gospel crusade held in 2000 which, according to CfaN, is the organization's largest to date, drawing an attendance of six million people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelist-reinhard-bonnke-who-led-millions-to-christ-announces-farewell-crusade-176789/ |title=Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke Who Led Millions to Christ Announces 'Farewell Crusade' |date=7 March 2017 | publisher=The Christian Post |access-date=5 August 2017}}</ref> In 2019 Reinhard Bonnke was set to headline the G12 Africa Conference in [[Pretoria]], South Africa.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite web | title=History of Reinhard Bonnke in Timeline | website=populartimelines.com | date=19 April 1940 | url=https://populartimelines.com/timeline/Reinhard-Bonnke | access-date=17 January 2024}}</ref>