German-born evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, died in the early hours of Saturday surrounded by members of his family, a statement issued by his wife, Anni, said.
He was 79.
Anni thanked those who stood by the family.
Also, a Facebook post by his ministry, Christ for All Nations (CfaN) on Saturday, said, “It is with sorrow that the Bonnke Family would like to announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke.
“He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on December 7, 2019.”
“For the past 60 years he has preached the glorious Gospel of Jesus throughout the entire world. We want to thank you on behalf of him and our family, for your kind love and unwavering support, which enabled him to preach the matchless message of salvation to countless people,” the post noted.
During his about 60 years of evangelism across the world, Bonnke was instrumental to the conversion of over 70 million people to Christ, especially in Africa.
He visited Nigeria several times on evangelical missions.
He first held his first crusade in the city of Kano, northern Nigeria.
The evangelist also held a five-day crusade in 2000 during which about six million people attended and 3.4 people accepted Christ.
Bonnke held a farewell crusade in Nigeria in 2017 during which about 845,875 people made salvation decision and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
That year, Bonnke reportedly appointed a successor, Daniel Kolenda.
Peter Vandenberg, Vice President of Reinhard Boonke’s ministry, said no fewer than 1.7 million people attended the crusade held in Lagos.
“I am thrilled to report to you that the decision count is in, and in five days of meetings, we had 845,875 people make salvation decision,” Vandenberg said in the ministry’s website.
“These new converts are being ushered into the 8,000 participating churches, to be followed up and disciple into the kingdom of God.
He also said hundreds of Nigerian pastors had reported that thousands of the converts flooded their churches.
He added, “On my arrival back in Lagos, I was inundated with excited reports of what has been happening here after the event. Hundreds of participating pastors reported that on the first Sunday following the crusade, they were flooded with thousands of new church members.
“This phenomenon has been repeated Sunday after Sunday since then with hundreds more arriving in their churches each weekend. Glory to God.”