Benin City Crusade 1999: Remembering Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke

by Eromose Ileso

On 7 December 2019, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke founder of Christ for All Nations (CfaN) closed his earthly chapter, when he transited to glory. In that earthly chapter were bevies of different pages. In one of those pages was his visit to Benin City 20 years ago for the great Gospel crusade. The crusade held from 5-9 October, 1999 at the Garrick Memorial Secondary School ground opposite the Ekhewan Campus of the University of Benin.

At the time, it was his first visit to Nigeria since the 1991 planned crusade in Kano sparked religious riot. As a result, that 1999 crusade in Benin City was unique in more ways than one.

There was frenzy and great anticipation in the air all over the city as the crusade drew near. Such large gathering of Christians and non-Christians alike especially one brought about by one man outside Edo State had not been witnessed by many including me up to that moment. The Deputy governor Mike Ogiadohme at the time had indicated that it was indeed the largest gathering of any kind in the state. 

A year earlier, in my local church assembly, a group or cell as some opt to call it was established. It had an evangelistic mandate to follow-up new comers and new converts. I had joined it when it was formed. As a result, a year later, when counselors were selected that would attend to the harvest of souls that was being anticipated at the crusade, I was picked as a counselor. There was an identification card with the bearer’s name and name of church inscribed on it. 

On the days of the Crusade, churches that were part of it, had designated points, with the CfaN booklets "Now That You are Saved" as well as the a new converts decision form attached to it to take the personal details of these new converts.

The crusade held just four months after Nigeria moved out from the clutches of military rule, and such large gathering was uncommon and unprecedented. Another thing that stood out, was the sophistication of the equipment used using the crusade. The nature of the sound system meant the speakers could be held for miles, as far as Ring road and beyond. The stanchion used in elevation of the huge sound speakers was also a new innovation many hadn't seen before for a crusade.

The unity of purpose among church leaders was evident too, as most worked together to attain the aim of reconciling people to Christ during the event.

It was interesting doing this in those days. The passion was infectious. The body of Christ at the time had a focus and, it hadn't attained most of the notoriety that it is associated with these days, because of those that have continue to desecrate the faith by their unbiblical acts and omissions. The core focus then was the ministry of reconciliation. Bringing people to Christ was what drove most Christians at the time. While, this still largely hold sway, the spirit of discernment has become an absolute necessity to know the genuine worshipers of God.

The city of Benin was willing and this was evident by the enthusiasm displayed by all and sundry. Even the downpour that visited the city during the week of the programme did not dampen the spirit. So it was, in the days of the crusade, the ground was packed with thousands of people who came from far and near. As vehicles were mostly restricted after the close of each day, I engaged in my own share of trekking at the time from Ekhewan road through Edebiri, to Plymouth and subsequently through to Ring road to board a bus home. 
On one of the nights of the crusade, after the close of that day's session, I stopped by at the home of a mentor the late Engineer Noble Egharevba, whose flat at Edebiri was just a few yards from the crusade ground, and it was a route that huge crowds walked through at the close of each day’s session. He wasn't at home, but his Mum whom we fondly called Mama J was. So it was an extension of seeing him with her around.

Those where days when there was no mobile phone, so the problem of being mugged and losing your mobile device at night while in a large crowd wasn't an issue at the time.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke had a patent simplistic way of preaching the gospel and breaking it down for everyone to grab the message he was passing across especially his audience. He shared a light moment during the Benin crusade that the crowd on the days he preached became accustomed to. During his sermons, he always exclaimed using the letter "eee" in a drawn-out fashion. An expression the crowd later picked up and always squeaked along with him, whenever he uttered it. He observed the crowd was amused by it, so during the course of the crusade, he used it several times, and when the crowd quipped along, he always had a pristine grin. It was a moment that the interpreter also found amusing. He preached on the opening night, while Peter Vandenberg mounted the podium the following day.

While the Benin City crusade held in the evenings, the Fire Conference for church workers and ministers commenced the morning of the following day. It held at the headquarters of the New Covenant Gospel Church. I attended a session. The place was crammed. Besides, the time the auditorium was dedicated in May, 1994 by Archbishop Benson Idahosa, as well as the several meetings held there when it was still under construction; it was the highest number of people to have gathered at the auditorium as a completed edifice. The gallery, basement, and entire ground floor were packed. The same could be said of those that couldn't find a place to sit inside. There were television monitors everywhere including at the basement where I was. 

On the final day of the conference, Reinhard Bonnke did something extraordinary. He laid hands on everybody in attendance in that meeting. Because of the sheer number of people there that day, he stood on a table by the pulpit which enabled him to stand some feet above the floor, so as people walked by his left and right side this enabled him to put his hands on the heads of two persons at once. It made the process faster. Everything was organised, those in the gallery and ground floor were the first people he attended to, before those of us at the basement were ushered into the auditorium in a queue of two to be touched by him. While, he did this, Pastor Jude a gospel singer from Church of God Mission, sang for hours with such panache and fervour that day.

An unsavoury episode of the Benin crusade twenty years ago that relatively took the shine off the programme was the demise of several persons on the opening night of the event. This was due to a stampede. I wasn't aware that such an ugly incident occurred until well into the second day of the programme. It was a sad episode. However, everything regarding the programme eventually passed off without incidence. There was always an announcement during subsequent nights after that incident urging people to thread carefully while leaving the ground.

The impact of the great Gospel crusade on Benin City had the time was enormous. The crusade came at the dawn of a new millennium, which meant it was timely. And as a result, thousands of persons entered the new millennium in the new birth. I could still recall the size of new converts’ forms that my group as well as others had to sort out for effective follow-up.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke traversed the length and breadth of Africa, turning people to Christ. In this, it would always be said in the annals of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ on the continent that this great man walked through Benin City in his life time. A page that would always be captured in the chapters of his life on Earth.