Chairman Central Working Committee (CWC) for Reinhard Bonnke’s Farewell Crusade, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, speaks with Dorcas Egede on the significance of the crusade. Excerpts:
How did you become chairman of the farewell crusade?
I’m always called on by God for every job He wants me to do. I am the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Lagos state and I never solicited for it. I was called upon to do the job.
Before that for five years, I was the chairman for Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Lagos state. I was also called upon to do the job. So, it’s God who always sends for me when He needs me to do a job.
When I was called upon to be chairman of CWC, I got the message that all the Christian fathers and mothers in a consensus, decided that I should be chairman at the crusade when Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke informed them that he was going to have his last crusade as the Lord led him. So, that’s the way it came; it came from God.
How has it been organising the crusade within a very limited time?
Ah! It’s really tough. A crusade of this magnitude would normally take about a year or a minimum of nine months to organise. But because of the time the Lord spoke to Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke about the first quarter of the year and the time it took for him to come and inform the Christian leaders in Nigeria.
This crusade has been planned in the shortest time possible but you see with God all things are possible and there is nothing impossible for God. It doesn’t take God years to do anything. It takes Him one minute to do whatever He wants to do.
For as long as God is involved, you can be sure that the whole thing is about Him, it’s to glorify His name and so even the things that look difficult or impossible, He’s there to handle them.
Crusades have been held in this country which ended in controversies. How sure are you this will not end up like one of those controversial crusades?
Well, one thing about Reinhard Bonnke’s crusades in all the nations and in Nigeria is there are never marked by crisis. His first crusade in Nigeria was in 1985; since that time he held in Lagos 2000 and later in 2006.
He was in Owerri, Calabar, Port- Harcourt. The only one that so far witnessed any problem was in Kano, following the one in Kaduna where there were a lot of healings, where the cripples were rising up and walking.
And so in Kano they were scared that if there was a repeat performance of what happened in Kaduna, Muslims would begin to follow Bonnke and that why they rose up then to attack the crusade.
Granted, there have been crusades marred by controversies. The Benny Hinn crusade is a classical example. Controversies arise because of money but by the grace of God that cannot be heard in this crusade.
This time around, as the chairman of the crusade, I’m being very careful. I’m not being hypocritical here. People in the church know my background and they know the kind of man I am. I was Managing Director of two different banks.
I was also Vice President of the sixth or so largest bank in the world in the ’70s in America. I’m very strict with everything that I do and I brought that discipline into the things of God. Everything about this crusade is being monitored; financiers are monitored so critically. The work is being done.
Moreover, prayers are going on very aggressively; the devil is always against souls being won for the kingdom of God. We are talking souls being won in millions in Lagos and beyond. We know what we are faced with but our trust is in the name of our Lord God Jehovah.
Our country is beset with too many problems beyond understanding. Is it not a tall order to expect that this crusade will address all of these problems?
No. This crusade cannot address all the problems, only Jesus can address all the problems. But this crusade is brought about by God to impact the nation and continent of Africa. We believe with the presence of God in this crusade – since it’s the last crusade the man of God will hold and hundreds of thousands of people are coming from all over Africa and all over the world – there would be a healing in the land and that healing may be unseen physically.
But we believe from this crusade Nigeria would be permanently healed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The vices we complain about to God, it takes God no time to cleanse this nation and we believe He will.
The absence of unity has always dogged the ranks of churches. How united are churches for this crusade?
The good thing about Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke’s crusades is that from the time the Lord called him, his crusades have always been for the church in any nation. It’s not sectional and he has always insisted on the entire church coming together in any nation he goes.
The crusade is not for Pentecostals or for Catholics or for Methodists. It’s the church crusade. That’s his vision and he’s very strict about it. That’s why whenever he goes to any nation to talk about his crusade all the church groups, the denominations rally around. The Lord has used him to strengthen the unity of the church in Africa and in Nigeria.
In some crusades the motivating factor has always been money. How much do the organisers of this crusade intend to make?
Profit? There is none. Any nation (especially African nations) Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke hosts crusades, offerings are raised but he leaves the offering in that nation.
In 1985, the offerings raised were used to start the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) as far back as then. From Lagos to Calabar, to Port Harcourt, everywhere he goes, Reinhard Bonnke doesn’t touch the money raised in offerings. He leaves it for the church in that state.
For this crusade however, we have decided not to raise offerings. You will see that not one penny would be raised from anybody, so that it wouldn’t become a problem.
Wherever Bonnke goes for his crusades, he brings the resources. He has sponsors supporting him and they are all coming. They are billionaires and multibillionaires. They’re coming because it’s the last crusade in his life.
A lot of money goes into publicity, security and other details. Several millions have been paid for the land being acquired for the crusade opposite OPEC near Spark Light Estate.
Like previous crusades, the land will be sand filled to make it good for the crusade and after the crusade it will be handed back to the owners. So, a lot of investment goes into the crusade.
What measures have been put in place to address security, transportation and welfare?
Of course, we have very strong committees saddled with different responsibilities. There is a committee handling transportation, welfare has its own committee. We are expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors in this country and there are committees working to take care of every detail.
We just believe God that all will be well. Security is so crucial because of the situation in our nation and around us in Africa. We believe God is the security Himself and we believe that He is taking charge but all the security agencies have been brought in and every possible human effort for security is in place. Above all, Jesus is the ultimate security.
Are there any benefits for participating churches giving their time, human and material resources?
Yes there are. And what they stand to gain is souls. This country, as you know in recent years has been bedeviled by many vices; even the church itself is under serious attack. Because of the way we are running the churches, so many people are leaving the church and going back to their traditional religion.
Even many people inside the church still visit herbalists’ shrines. So, that’s one of the great things about the crusade to bring back the heart of men to God and all the participating churches will be involved in the evangelical effort because the crusade is for evangelism.
The unbelievers around are going to be invited and every church will end up having souls in their areas as people who give their lives to Christ during the crusade will be added to the church. This is the main gain.
Share with us your knowledge, thoughts and convictions about Reinhard Bonnke and what you expect God to do through him during the crusade and fire conference.
Incidentally, I was back to the country in 1979 so from the first crusade in 1985 I have been following the things God has been using him to do in this nation. Though I was just a regular Baptist church goer when he started his crusades in Nigeria, you couldn’t but see it on the television.
Many are in the faith today through Bonnke’s crusades. Someone like Pastor Sam Adeyemi gave his life to Christ in Ilorin at a crusade of Reinhard Bonnke. God has used him to multiply the church.
So, personally I believe in his vision that God called him to be a great evangelist for the world. His ministry has been followed with signs and wonders, millions of souls come into the kingdom, people are healed of all manners of diseases.
I believe in my heart that God is going to do great things in this nation through him. Whether you’re at the crusade venue or watching us from home, I believe that if you have faith you will receive your miracles. People will be healed in their homes; lives will be touched in homes.
