76,000,000 Documented decisions for Christ

CfaN is now 45 years old. For 45 years, we have been on a truly remarkable journey with Jesus! Four and a half decades ago, in the smallest way, Reinhard and Anni Bonnke started a ministry which would one day impact the face of Christendom in Africa like no other.

We’ve put together 44 brief facts about CfaN. It’s a small collection of interesting information about our work. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but it shows what wonders the Lord has done and is doing to this day.

1. SUPPORTED BY A VERY BROAD SPECTRUM OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AND FELLOWSHIPS

CfaN campaigns in Africa are always supported by a very broad spectrum of Christian churches and fellowships, such as Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, evangelical churches, Pentecostal churches, charismatic fellowships and so on.

2. STRATEGICALLY PLANNED MANY MONTHS IN ADVANCE

The evangelistic campaigns and the smaller outreaches that take place before the main event are strategically planned many months in advance and are carried out in close co-operation with local churches. There are often over 100 churches working together in as many as 16 portfolios, and they grow more unified as a result.

3. DANIEL KOLENDA STARTED WORKING FOR CFAN IN 2004

Daniel Kolenda started working for CfaN in 2004. In 2006, Reinhard Bonnke asked him to preach during a mass campaign for the first time. Then he began to turn over responsibility for entire campaigns to Daniel. Just as many people continued to attend, and amazing signs and wonders continued to happen. In 2009, Daniel became Reinhard Bonnke’s successor as CfaN’s President.

Read Daniel's Bio Page

4. THE PRINCIPLES OF EVANGELISM - REINHARD BONNKE

In the 8-part “Full Flame” film series, Reinhard Bonnke revealed the principles that revolutionised his life and ministry. Every film leaves the viewer with the encouraging understanding that “the promises of God are as valid for me as they were for Reinhard Bonnke!".

Watch the 'Full Flame Film Series' for free on the CfaN App!

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5. 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE GATHERED ON THE GIANT FIELD

The “Millennium Campaign” in Lagos in 2000 was attended by 6 million people in total. For the final meeting on 12 November, 1.6 million people gathered on the giant field. That was the highest number of visitors at one meeting in CfaN’s history.

6. MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN

During the 6-day “Millennium Campaign” in Lagos in 2000, a total of 3.9 million “Now that you are saved” booklets were given to new converts and 3.4 million signed decision cards were returned from those choosing to start a new life in Jesus.

7. THE BIGGEST FIRE CONFERENCE

The biggest Fire Conference took place in November 2009 in Ibadan, Nigeria. Around 110,000 pastors, evangelists and church workers took part. In November 2000, in the national stadium in Lagos, CfaN counted 80,000 spiritual leaders and church volunteers at the second-biggest Fire Conference.

8. SECOND-LARGEST CFAN CAMPAIGN

The second-largest CfaN campaign (up until now) took place in Ibadan, Nigeria, in November 2001 with a total of 3.9 million visitors over the 5 days. 1.3 million people attended the final evening meeting, and there were 2,650,190 decision cards counted.

9. 210,000 IN THE ISLAMIC NATION OF SUDAN

At the end of April 2000, Reinhard Bonnke preached to an audience of 210,000 in the Islamic nation of Sudan on the centrally situated “Green Square” in Khartoum, the capital city. During the 6-day evangelistic campaign, more than 130,000 people, most of them Muslims, made the decision to follow Jesus.

10. 25 YEARS AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE MINISTRY

Exactly 25 years after the founding of the ministry (06.12.1974), 2.1 million visited our evangelistic campaign in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, from 6 – 12 December 1999. And more than 1.1 million people accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour. What an outstanding jubilee!

11. FROM MINUS TO PLUS

In 1992, God gave Reinhard Bonnke the vision to start reaching other parts of the world with the Gospel. That was the start of “From Minus to Plus”, a missionary booklet that was delivered by post to every home in the western world. Globally, over 95.5 million were printed and distributed.

12. FOLLOW-UP BOOKLET

So far, the follow-up booklet “Now that you are saved” has been printed over 93.4 million times, in around 50 languages. It is used in every CfaN campaign and explains the important first steps after conversion.

Donate Follow-up Booklets

13. THOUSANDS OF LOCAL COUNSELLORS

During an African campaign, many thousands of local counsellors are spread out over the field. They distribute the 32-page “Now that you are saved” booklets to newly born-again Christians and help them to fill out the decision cards. A copy stays with the convert, and the original is later passed on to the local churches for follow-up.

14. THE FIRST “EURO-FIRE”

What God was doing in Africa gave CfaN the faith to believe God for a spiritual renewal of Europe. The first “Euro-Fire” took place in Frankfurt in 1987 and then a year later in Birmingham, England, and in Lisbon, Portugal in 1990. Since then, there have been dozens of conferences that have blessed countless Christians. The main aim is to motivate Christians for evangelism.

15. THE VERY FIRST CFAN FIRE CONFERENCE

The very first CfaN Fire Conference happened in 1986 in Harare, Zimbabwe. More than 4,000 delegates from 41 different African countries took part in the week-long event. On the stage was a giant globe with a neon sign of the CfaN slogan: “Africa shall be saved!”

16. CHRIST FOR ALL NATIONS WAS FOUNDED ON DECEMBER 6, 1974

After he gave up his position as a “classic” missionary with a missions organisation, for which he had worked since 1968, Reinhard Bonnke moved to Johannesburg to focus completely on evangelism. Christ for all Nations was founded on December 6, 1974 in Witfield, a suburb of Johannesburg in South Africa.

The History of CfaN

17. A CALL FROM GOD TO THE MISSION FIELD IN AFRICA

Reinhard Bonnke, son of a pastor from Schleswig-Holstein, gave his life to Jesus at the age of 9 and received a call from God to the mission field in Africa shortly thereafter. After attending a theological seminary in Great Britain, he was ordained. He ministered for 7 years as the pastor of a church in North Germany before his mission work in the tiny mountainous land of Lesotho began.

18. FROM CAPE TOWN TO CAIRO

In 1979, Reinhard Bonnke received a series of visions from the Lord, in which he saw a picture of Africa washed in the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit whispered these words to him again and again: “Africa shall be saved!” Since then, CfaN has been shaped by this vision: from Cape Town to Cairo and from Dakar to Djibouti.

19. OUTREACHES IN A TENT

After the founding of CfaN in 1974, Reinhard Bonnke began to hold outreaches in a tent that could accommodate about 800 people. When the number of visitors grew too large, another tent had to be bought, which could hold 10,000. That soon became too small, too.

20. "BIGGEST TENT IN THE WORLD"

In 1984, CfaN started building the “biggest tent in the world” with 34,000 seats. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it was the “largest mobile structure in the world”. But even that proved too small for the ever-increasing crowds of people coming: “The day of the sickle is over. The day of the combine harvester has begun!” Since 1986, all CfaN evangelistic campaigns are open-air events.

21. FAREWELL CONFERENCE

At the end of his active missionary ministry, Reinhard Bonnke wanted to say “thank you” to his partners in Germany. As he had received the call of God nearby, Hamburg was chosen as the right place for the event. In May 2019, Fire19 took place, as his “Farewell Conference”. Just half a year later, he was called home to the Lord on the 7th of December.

Read the full report

22. DECISION CARDS

Since January 1987, decision cards have been used during the events in Africa. To date, CfaN has registered over 96 million decisions for Jesus – each one personally filled out, signed, and counted by a committee (i.e. not merely estimated).

Donate follow-up booklets

23. 79,957,281 FILLED-OUT DECISION CARDS

From the start of 1987 to February 2020, in 33 years, CfaN has registered 79,957,281 filled-out decision cards. That means: Per year 2,498,665 Per month 208,222 Per day 6,841.

24. CFAN OFFICES

There are now CfaN offices or branches in: Orlando, USA; London, Canada; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Birmingham, Great Britain; Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; Cape Town, South Africa; Curitiba, Brazil; Gold Coast, Australia; Prague, Czech; Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong and Singapore. There are 120 CfaN employees worldwide.

25. NUMEROUS LANGUAGES

CfaN communicates with our mission partners in numerous languages: English (all offices worldwide); Spanish (US office); German, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish (German office); Czech, Hungarian (Czechoslovakian office); Chinese (Hong Kong office); Portuguese (Brazilian office).

26. RUSSELL BENSON

Russell Benson is CfaN's International Director. Russell attended the Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola and pioneered churches. He oversees the international operations for the ministry and also ministers the Good News throughout the world. In addition, he served as the Executive Campaign Director for North America.

27. PETER VANDENBERG

Peter Vandenberg grew up in Zimbabwe. He was Vice-President of CfaN for many years and has been one of the key people in the ministry for over 40 years – first in working with Reinhard Bonnke and now at Daniel Kolenda’s side. His focus was and is the equipping and training of pastors and church workers.

28. DANIEL KOLENDA

Daniel Kolenda is a graduate of Southeastern University in Lakeland and the Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola. His greatest education is from working side-by-side with Reinhard Bonnke. He is a modern evangelist and a well-known international speaker. To date, he himself has led over 38 million people to Jesus at CfaN open air campaigns.

Read Daniel's Bio Page

29. INTERNATIONAL TV PROGRAMME

CfaN produces an international TV programme, broadcast in English and Spanish.

Watch CfaN TV

30. HALF OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET ...

More than half of the entire budget of every CfaN evangelistic campaign is spent on our follow-up system, proven over the years to be extremely effective. This is what makes it possible to turn every new convert into a faith-filled, fearless disciple of Jesus in a local church.

Donate Follow-Up Booklets

31. EVANGELISTS – BOOTCAMP

In January 2020, CfaN started a special training school programme for evangelists – Bootcamp. This is a 6-month-long school for 50 evangelists who know that the Lord has specifically called them to the African mission field. CfaN is determined to train many thousands of new evangelists in the next ten years.

Join Bootcamp

32. SCHOOL OF EVANGELISM

The School of Evangelism, run by CfaN, is a 4-day intensive evangelism training event. Various well-known lecturers speak on subjects such as: “Elements of the salvation message”, “Healing and deliverance”, “The gifts of the Holy Spirit”, “Practical organisation of outreaches”, “Integrity”, “The meaning of intercession” and more. Many thousands of people have attended the SoE.

More Information

33. CFAN WAREHOUSES

To store and maintain the technical equipment, we have secure CfaN warehouses, one in West Africa and one in East Africa. They are the starting point for every evangelistic campaign and for the Gospel Truck missionary outreaches. We also store hundreds of thousands of follow-up booklets there. The warehouse in Lagos, Nigeria, is 1,850 m2 on a stand of 6,350 m2. We purchased it with the help of our mission partners.

34. GOSPEL TRUCKS

Before the major CfaN campaigns, we send out evangelistic teams in specially equipped trucks – the “Gospel Trucks” – to the surrounding towns and villages. The outreaches take place in village squares, markets, schools, jails and so on. Those who decide to follow Jesus receive the follow-up booklet and fill out a decision card.

35. 213 MILLION COPIES OF REINHARD BONNKE’S BOOKS PRINTED WORLDWIDE

There have been more than 213 million copies of Reinhard Bonnke’s books printed worldwide, published in around 60 languages. Along with “From Minus to Plus” and “Now that you are saved”, there have also been nearly 3.5 million copies printed of his book, “Evangelism by Fire”.

Buy CfaN Resources

36. COUNSELLORS AND USHERS

Before every campaign, local churches nominate counsellors and ushers, who hand out the “Now that you are saved” booklets and help the new converts to fill them out. These volunteers are intensively trained by CfaN and prepared for their role in the events.

Volunteer for CfaN UK

37. EXTREMELY SPECIAL EVENTS

CfaN evangelistic campaigns are extremely special events in any region in Africa. In addition to the huge number of church leaders and ministry leaders who attend, there are often state officials, tribal chiefs and kings, government ministers and other VIP’s. Presidents and governors have often asked us to preach the Gospel to their entire cabinet.

38. SERMONS IN AFRICA

The sermons in Africa are well-prepared and entertaining, but also crystal clear and unmistakable. The meaning and consequence of handing your life over in repentance is made utterly clear in every service. Other main points of focus are the meaning and power of the blood of Jesus and the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

39. PRAYER FOR THE SICK AND FOR DELIVERANCE

Prayer for the sick and for deliverance is a vital part of the meeting. This regularly leads to an amazing number of Godly healings and miracles. Testimonies given from the stage motivate the audience to reach out in faith for their own healing, and to receive all that God has for them.

Do you need prayer?

40. INFLUENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

Due to the increased unity that happens and the massive growth in church attendance, the influence of the Christian faith normally rises greatly in the entire region. Christians are encouraged to actively pray, evangelise and continue the work themselves. It’s often the case that, after a campaign, the crime rate reduces, stolen goods are returned, debts forgiven, taxes paid etc.

41. COUNTRIES IN AFRICA IN WHICH CFAN HAS CONDUCTED CAMPAIGNS

The list of African countries in which CfaN has conducted campaigns is: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Through literature, radio and TV broadcasts, we have reached many more countries.

42. THE FREE CFAN APP

There is a CfaN app for smartphones and tablets. The English-language app offers a wealth of information and the opportunity to stay in contact with us. Just download it from the iTunes app store, Google Play or Amazon. cfan.org.uk/in/app

Download the App

43. 855,000 FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS

Daniel Kolenda’s English-language Facebook page currently has 855,000 followers. Since April 2020, there are regular Live Church Services on Friday nights, that reach as many as 2 million views online: Daniel Kolenda Live.

Follow Daniel Kolenda

44. BUILDING OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

Over the years, CfaN has invested many millions of pounds in the support, the growth, the training and the building of Christian churches in Africa. Beyond that, CfaN also invests strategically in various other ministries and evangelists worldwide, especially in Africa.