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Trask says that 1.8 million Nigerians belong to an autonomous Assembly of God church. Only six foreign missionaries live in the country. "Our strength has been to train the nationals," he said. Training nationals is the strategy that many denominations have used throughout the past 200 years of mission work in Nigeria. Today, for example, the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) has 1,400 missionaries who have been raised up in churches. Partly as a result of this, ECWA in Nigeria has grown by 400 percent in the last ten years.

Although many of Bonnke's critics doubt that his crusade will have a lasting effect on Lagos, most agree that if it does happen, it will be because of the strength that local churches exhibit by discipling new believers in their faith. The majority of this responsibility will fall on the 2,000-plus churches that worked with CFAN to host the Lagos crusade last fall.

Meanwhile, Bonnke and his team continue to press forward with additional crusades planned throughout Africa this year. "We're cracking away because we feel the urgency," said Peter van den Berg, vice president of CFAN. A determined Bonnke agrees. "This is harvest time," the evangelist often says. "Africa is my destiny."

While history may judge Bonnke as Nigeria's foremost spiritual guide, Joann Brant, director of advisory services for SIM International, says some of the strongest pillars of faith in this country are those who will probably never be remembered by the masses. "There are a lot of unsung, sacrificial heroes of the faith out there," she said, describing how hundreds of missionaries throughout the years have left behind everything to serve in this difficult land. "They feel called of God to be witnesses of their faith."

Photography by CFAN

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Visit the Christ For All Nations (CFAN) English homepage, or check in at the German homepage for news from Nigeria (in German of course.)

There is a short English bio of Bonnke available, or a more detailed account of his life and ministry for those of you who read French.

Bonnke's plea for more churches to engage in evangelism, "We Must Give Revival to Receive Revival," also talks about how his ministry began.

Pictures and descriptions of how CFAN turned a swamp into an evangelism venue for 1 million people in Lagos are available online.

Christianity Today covered the deaths of 14 people at Bonnke's 1999 Nigerian Revival.

CT's Cutrer also filed a report from the field while she was in Nigeria in November 2000 detailing one of the largest recorded gatherings ever, with more than 6 million in attendance looking for a miracle.

Charisma magazine also has a report on the crusade.

Previous Christianity Today coverage of Nigeria includes:

'Focused, Determined, Deliberate' Destruction | Ecumenical leader calls on Nigeria to deal with religious violence between Muslims and Christians. (Oct. 30, 2000)

Is Nigeria Moving Toward War? | Deadly riots lead to suspension of Islamic law. (March 31, 2000)

Nigeria On the Brink of Religious War | Northern states adopt Islamic law, increasing Christian-Muslim tensions. (Dec. 16, 1999)

Nigeria's Churches Considering Legal Challenge to Islamic Laws | Third state moving toward implementing Koranic laws (Dec. 17, 1999)

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February 5 2001, Vol. 45, No. 2