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Many now view the evangelist's crusade in Lagos three months ago as the pinnacle of his 26-year ministry. Drawing a record-breaking crowd of 1.6 million people in a single night, the crusade stands as one of the largest Christian gatherings in modern times. Total attendance for the six-day crusade reached nearly 6 million, and Bonnke's Christ For All Nations (CFAN) ministry reports that 3.4 million people made salvation decisions for Christ. "I am rejoicing because of a rich, rich harvest of souls," Bonnke told Christianity Today after the crusade.

This meeting's success was due in part to its location in Lagos—a nightmare of a city, where corpses can be found along roadsides. With a population of 13 million people, the community's infrastructure is stressed to the maximum. Many people work at make shift jobs and live in shanties without electricity or running water; for most, their only aim is to survive.

But Abraham Oyeniran, president of the United Gospel Churches Association of Nigeria, believes that because of Bonnke's renown and powerful preaching, his crusade in Lagos will have lasting effects on Nigeria. "Many lives have been transformed from the power of darkness to the power of light," he said. "Apart from that, many people have been healed from incurable diseases, and most of them don't have money, so they can't go to a doctor."

Acting as an agent of healing may be Bonnke's calling card. He is revered as a miracle-worker wherever he travels. Word that he promised miracles spread quickly throughout the Lagos region, on Africa's west coast.

Despite Bonnke's immense popularity among Nigerians, some remain deeply skeptical about the evangelist's promises and crusade techniques. SIM International missionary Elaine Anderson has lived in Lagos for 16 years; she says Bonnke's tactics encourage the belief, shared by many Nigerians, that miracles are visited on those who express their faith most vibrantly. "The mindset here is that if you don't get a miracle, you don't have faith," she said.

Yusufu Turaki, a professor of theology and social ethics who works with the International Bible Society in Nigeria, says that although he has no problem with an evangelist telling people that God has given him the gift of healing, he should not do so to solicit a crowd. "All the evangelist can do is appeal to the power of Jesus Christ to heal," he said. "To tell people to come so they can be healed is putting the cart before the horse."

The majority of those attending the crusades, however, readily embraced Bonnke's promise that "all of Nigeria will be healed." On the outskirts of the crusade grounds, enterprising businessmen sold posters featuring the evangelist that read, MIRACLE TIME. Each night after Bonnke prayed for the sick, the crowd waited eagerly to see who would make it onto the platform to give a testimonial. Few made it onto the stage, many more were questioned and turned away.

"You're going to have a lot of people who are still seeking healing or are in the healing process," said Rodney Thompson, a Florida doctor who volunteered his medical expertise at the crusade. Thompson says CFAN workers question those who say they have experienced a miracle in order to determine who should testify in front of a crowd. But, he said, "It's not like North America, where you would do a lot of tests."

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February 5 2001, Vol. 45, No. 2