Organizers of an evangelistic crusade in eastern Nigeria said more than
360,000 people made decisions for Christ during the five-day event held last
month in the rural town of Takum.
Christ for All Nations (CfaN) evangelist Daniel Kolenda said tens of thousands attended each night of the crusade he led with CfaN founder Reinhard Bonnke March 24-28. He said several Fulani Muslims, an ethnic and religious minority recently known for attacking Christian villages in Jos, professed faith in Christ, and hundreds of people were healed.
Photo: Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and CfaN founder Reinhard Bonnke in Takum, Nigeria
"The response to the gospel preaching was huge," he said. "Thousands were filled with the Holy Spirit and we received many testimonies of miraculous healings."
Kolenda said one desperate mother took her daughter out of the hospital so she could attend the evangelistic meetings, and the girl was healed of a severe case of typhoid fever. Another woman was healed of blindness and deafness, and one young man was restored to his right mind after years of mental illness.
He said a woman who had been paralyzed for the past two years said she felt the Holy Spirit come over her like a breeze while she was sleeping on the crusade grounds. "She jumped up and suddenly realized that she was totally well," Kolenda said.
Attendees also brought idols and witchcraft fetishes to be burned. A group of Fulani Muslims who accepted Christ on the second day of the crusade also took off their charms and threw them into the barrels for burning. "Their faces, covered in tribal markings and tattoos, were beaming with the love of Jesus," Kolenda said.
During the crusade week, Bonnke also led a FIRE Conference to teach pastors about the power of Holy Spirit and train them in evangelism. "The people came out by the thousands to receive an impartation of Holy Spirit fire," Kolenda reported.
After the meetings, he said churches were packed with new converts.
Bonnke has been leading mass crusades throughout Africa for more than 35 years, and 52 million people have reportedly come to Christ through the ministry. CfaN plans to hold another Nigeria crusade in August.
