28th March, 2006

DAVID ADAMS

The crowds stretched for as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered together in the warm night air in rapt attention as the saving message of Jesus Christ was preached to them.

Such were the scenes near Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, in the middle of last month - the most populous African nation with 128 million residents - when globally renowned German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke and a team from Christ for all Nations International - the organisation he founded in 1974 - held a series of crusades.

The organisation first held a crusade in the west African nation as far back as October 1999 and since then, they have usually taken place during the country’s ‘dry’ season, generally between August and March. According to Christ for all Nations, around 42 million people have signed “decision cards” at the crusades including more than a million people at the latest crusade.

Rob Birnbeck, executive director of Christ for all Nations International, was among the organisation’s team in Nigeria.

Speaking to Sight via email, he says that while there remains a need for the Gospel to be preached in Nigeria, “the results from the great Gospel Crusades indicate that there is an openness to receive the Word of God”.

Birnbeck says the message Reinhard Bonnke took to the latest crusade was simple enough - “You must be born again”.

THOUSANDS GATHER: (This image and top): Some of the vast crowds that gathered at Christ for all Nations' Gospel Crusades and morning 'Fire Conferences' in Abuja, Nigeria, in mid-February. CfaN say that more than a million people filled out 'decision cards' during the five-days of crusades. PICTURES: Rob Birnbeck and Oleksandr Volyk. “The important thing is to preach the unadulterated, clear message of the Gospel that Jesus Christ saves; no other can and no other will.”

“The important thing is to preach the unadulterated, clear message of the Gospel that Jesus Christ saves; no other can and no other will,” he notes.

Birnbeck adds that as at other crusades, God moved as He did in Luke chapter seven - “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things that you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them”.

“There is an air of anticipation before the crusade begins,” says Birnbeck. “People come expectant and eager. While the Gospel is preached, the entire...audience listens intently and focuses completely. Healings and miracles are met with great rejoicing - jumping, shouting, praising God.”

Writing after day five of the Gospel Crusade in Abuja, Reinhard Bonnke described the scene: “The response to the call of salvation was phenomenal and also the prayer for the sick. A totally blind woman saw perfectly, cripples walked and the dumb spoke. What a mighty God we serve.”

The day before he wrote that the crusade team “saw a vast multitude saved”. “(W)e witnessed how the Holy Spirit fell and also saw mighty healings. To God be the glory.”

Among those who gave testimony at the latest crusades was Daniel Ekechukwu.

Ekechukwu, a church pastor, was fatally injured in a car accident in November, 2001. Pronounced dead, a death certificate was issued for him. But a few days later Ekechukwu came back to life with, says Birnbeck, “an incredible story to tell”.

Support of local churches is one of the key factors Christ for all Nations says it considers when deciding on the location of a crusade.

“If this is lacking, then the venue is changed immediately,” says Birnbeck. “When the local churches are fully supportive, then these provide the staff for the counsellors and stewards as well as the intercessors, musicians, massed choirs (and so on).”

PRESIDENTIAL MEETING: Reinhard Bonnke with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. PICTURE: Rob Birnbeck.

While there has been criticism of Bonnke’s methods in the past, CfaN say that those people who make a decision for Christ during a crusade are given a booklet which explains to them what has happened in their lives and what to do in the future. It also includes a ‘decision card’, a copy of which is also kept by the steward who fills it out and is then given to a church in the area where the new convert lives. The church is then expected to follow up the person, bringing them into fellowship and discipling them.

During the latest crusade, Bonnke was also able to spend a significant amount of time with President Olusegun Obasanjo, praying and preaching in the Presidential Chapel.

Asked what Australians and others around the world should be praying for when it comes to Nigeria, Birnbeck says the most important prayer focus is “that God will touch all the unbelievers present (at the Crusades) so that His glory is manifested”.

“From a personal point of view, we always ask for prayers for Evangelist Bonnke, for his health and strength during his preaching of the Word, and finally, for finances,” he says. “This may sound mundane, but it is expensive to mount even even one crusade, never mind six or so per annum. The cost of an average crusade is around $US760,000.”

But then, as Bonnke wrote during the February crusade, “It was and is more than worth the while. IT IS HARVEST TIME.”

~ www.cfan.org