2011 Moving and Changing
//Year in Review
A Global Expansion
In 1973 when Kenneth E. Hagin said, “We’re going to start a Bible school,” who would have thought that less than 40 years later there would be more than 100 campuses worldwide with over 50,000 graduates?
RHEMA Bible Training Center saw amazing growth in 2011 as many more campuses opened around the world. New campuses opened this year in Bolivia, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico (three campuses), Nigeria, Switzerland (Zurich), Northern Ireland (Belfast), England (two campuses), and Zambia. Plans are already in place to open schools next year in Cuba, the Netherlands, and Austria (two campuses), just to name a few.
Jesus gave His disciples a great task: “ ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’ ” (Mark 16:15 NKJV). Each new RBTC campus means more students. More students means more ministers trained to take the Gospel to their world. RHEMA is doing its part to help fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission.
A Traveling Year
Kenneth and Lynette Hagin love preaching the Gospel—whether at RHEMA Bible Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; a Living Faith Crusade across the country; or a meeting halfway around the world. Not many days passed this year when the Hagins weren’t preaching.
At the end of April, Kenneth and Lynette headed west to the Pacific Rim. During this fast-paced, 14-day trip, the Hagins and their crew flew through 14 time zones, crossed the international dateline twice, and typically slept less than five hours a night.
But it was worth it. The RHEMA team visited Bible training centers in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and Samoa (RHEMA South Pacific)—ministering to faculty, staff, students, and alumni at every stop. For more about this trip, visit www.khm.com/pacificrim.
Another missions highlight this year was the Hagins’ August trip to Nigeria, with ministry to millions. See page 7 for details.
The Hagins’ heart for missions is contagious. In June, 34 RHEMA Bible Church youth and their leaders invaded Colombia with the Gospel. After five days of ministry the team looked back on what the Lord had done through them: more than 3,500 people had chosen to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, there were countless healings, a blind eye was opened, and many were set free by the power of God. For more details about this trip, visit www.khm.com/axiscolombia.
Grass had no time to grow under the Hagins’ feet, whether they were abroad or at home. This year they held Living Faith Crusades and special meetings in:
» Naples, Florida
» New Braunfels, Texas
» Lubbock, Texas
» Lebanon, Missouri
» Nanuet, New York
» Lancaster, Pennsylvania
» Warren, Ohio
» Birmingham, Alabama
» Hayward, California
» Lancaster, California
A Passion for Worship
AMPLIFY 511 attended RHEMA’s first-ever Worship & Technology Conference
Amplify 2011, RHEMA’s first worship and technology conference, was an experience. Pastors, worship leaders, and the musically and technologically inclined enjoyed four days of worship and workshops on the RHEMA USA campus.
Worship leaders left encouraged to take their congregations to another level. Here’s a sampling of what conference speakers shared:
“God is a jealous God. He wants our hearts no matter what. He is in pursuit of us, not in pursuit of what we say or sing to Him. He just wants us. When we show up, it doesn’t matter what we sing to Him. We just need to pursue Him.”
—Kari Jobe
“It’s just about loving Jesus. Stay in the moment. I want to mean every single word that comes out of my mouth.”
—Nicole Binion
Back-to-Back Championships
The RHEMA Lady Eagles entered the 2011 Association of Christian College Athletics National Championship Tournament wearing a big target on their backs. Not only were they defending national champions—they were also the number-one tournament seed. For three days the Lady Eagles took their opponents’ best shots, but they still walked away with the top trophy after defeating Ozark Christian College 54-52 in Joplin, Missouri.
Clinging to a two-point lead with 2.5 seconds remaining in the game, the Lady Eagles relied on their team’s biggest strength to bring home a national championship: defense. After a timeout, the Ozark Lady Ambassadors lined up a wall of players on the three-point arc to the left of the free-throw line. As the referee blew his whistle, an Ozark guard stepped behind her teammates and took the inbound pass. When she turned to shoot, one of the Lady Eagles circled the wall of players and got a hand in the Ozark guard’s face as she fired the potential game-winning three. Her shot glanced off the rim and fell harmlessly to the court as the final buzzer sounded. RHEMA’s players, coaches, and fans then stormed center court and celebrated the Lady Eagles’ 2011 ACCA National Championship!
A Light to the World
Rockets over RHEMA || 55,000 people blanketed the RHEMA USA campus
In Matthew 5:14 Jesus said, “ ‘You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden’ ” (NKJV). And RHEMA Bible Church held the Light high through community outreaches that included the RHEMA Christmas Light Display and Rockets Over RHEMA.
On November 23 Kenneth and Lynette Hagin flipped the switch in RHEMA Park, illuminating the RHEMA campus with more than two million colorful lights. Each year more than 200,000 people enjoy the Christmas lights display, which runs from Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Day. Donations are accepted, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to a local charity.
For July Fourth, Rockets Over RHEMA 2011, a free community outreach, went off with a BANG, both literally and figuratively. Local police estimated that up to 55,000 people blanketed the RHEMA USA campus during the event, which was capped by a dazzling, thunderous, 25-minute fireworks display. It was the grand finale of a great day spent celebrating our nation’s freedom. For more on this event, visit www.RocketsOverRhema.com.