Reinhard Bonnke (19 April 1940 - 7 December 2019) was a German-American Pentecostal[1] evangelist, principally known for his gospel missions throughout Africa.

With his mother and siblings, he was taken to Denmark during the evacuation of East Prussia and spent some years in a displaced persons centre before settling in Gluckstadt, West Germany.

Aftergraduation, he pastored in Germany for seven years, including establishing a congregation in Flensburg which met in a former rum factory.

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.

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.

"[15][16] 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.

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.

In 2022 Schools of Evangelism were started in South Africa,[20] and Europe and Fire Camps were launched in dozens of nations on six continents.

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

About 8,000 youths gathered at the Emir's palace and after noon prayers the riots ensued, during which many Christians sustained various injuries and several churches were burned.

[11] In 2000, a new civilian government in Nigeria was elected to power, and President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, invited Reinhard Bonnke to return to the country.

[33] After graduating from the Bible College of Wales and returning to Germany, Bonnke led a series of meetings in Rendsburg.

[35] The month before, he had announced on his official Facebook page that he had undergone femur surgery and needed time to "learn how to walk again".