Reinhard Bonnke, the celebrated German evangelist, has died at the age of 79, according to a post on his official Facebook page.
The statement reads in part, “It is with sorrow that the Bonnke Family would like to announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on December 7, 2019. For the past 60 years he has preached the glorious Gospel of Jesus throughout the entire world. We want to thank you on behalf of him and our family, for your kind love and unwavering support, which enabled him to preach the matchless message of salvation to countless people.”
Bonnke reportedly passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, and the family, asks, “in lieu of flowers, to please make a donation to Christ for all Nations – Africa Crusade.”
During his more than 60 years of preaching, Bonnke was best known for his work with the Great Gospel Crusades throughout Africa. He visited Nigeria several times where he had crusades in various cities and towns.
Bonnke said that he became born-again at the age of nine. His father had also been a preacher. Bonnke, a native of Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany, attended Bible College in the Welsh city of Swansea. In one biography, Bonnke said that he made his first missionary trip to Africa before he was 13 years of age.
That profile says that it was well Bonnke was in Lesotho, a country surrounded on all sides by South Africa, “God placed upon his heart the vision of ‘the continent of Africa, being washed in the precious Blood of Jesus.” In 1984, Bonnke commissioned the construction of the largest mobile tent that was capable of holding 34,000 people.
