BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“Reinhard said my uncle had made a tremendous impact on his life. He was very interested in me because of my family connection. I thought that maybe the Lord really had spoken to me when I was 16. Maybe now Reinhard would invite me to travel with him. Except, that’s not what happened. He said that it had been nice to meet me and left. He went one way, and I went another. That was the end of that.” A Divine Connection After graduating from the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry, Daniel attended Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla., where he majored in business. During that time, he also became the worship leader at a church in the city. Over the next few years, Daniel planted five churches and pastored another. One day, he received a call from Eric Gilmour, a friend he’d met while at Brownsville. “I’m working for a ministry in Orlando,” Eric explained. “They need someone with a business degree, and I wondered if you’d be interested in applying for the job.” Now married with children, Daniel needed to put food on the table. “Yes, I’d be very interested,” he told his friend. “What ministry is it?” “Christ for all Nations,” Eric explained. “It’s the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke.” In the years since Daniel had met him, Reinhard had moved his ministry from Frankfurt, Germany, to the U.S., settling in Orlando. Daniel was hired to develop and run a fulfillment department for the ministry—with no staff. One day, Reinhard walked into the office and saw Daniel sitting at a desk working. Soon after, a supervisor paid Daniel a visit. “Reinhard wants to know if you’ll travel with him,” he said. Daniel knew in his heart this was what God had spoken to him about when he was 16. The Power of Partnership “I traveled with Reinhard as his assistant,” Daniel says. “When I wasn’t with him on the road, I still ran the warehouse. I still pastored my church and oversaw a couple of others. I never told Reinhard any of that. I never told him I could preach or that I was called to Africa. I never told him that I’d been planting churches or that I pastored one. I didn’t want him to feel like I was there with any ulterior motive. I wasn’t there to become his successor. That thought never crossed my mind. I was just there to serve him.” It was through Reinhard that Daniel met Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. “Kenneth and Reinhard went way back,” said Daniel. “Kenneth has been one of the greatest single supporters of the ministry. When Reinhard was just beginning and hadn’t shown much fruit, Kenneth prophesied to him that he would see a million people saved in a single service. “That was in the days when Reinhard’s biggest meetings were 20,000 or 30,000 people. The idea that a million people could be saved in one meeting bordered on preposterous. But Reinhard believed that word and spoke it until in 2000 he saw it come to pass. That year, 1.6 million people attended a crusade. Over a million signed decision cards in that meeting. “Reinhard told me stories about a couple of times, early in his ministry, when they were in real financial trouble. He said, ‘If Kenneth Copeland hadn’t helped us, we wouldn’t be here right now.’ Kenneth and Gloria were there helping Reinhard at the beginning. They’re still helping us now.” An Unexpected End During his meetings, Reinhard often announced: “One day someone in this room might inherit my microphone.” Unbeknownst to Daniel, Eric was talking to Reinhard one day and said, “I only know one person who could inherit your microphone. That person is Daniel Kolenda.” Another time, Eric reminded Reinhard of their conversation about Daniel and gave him a CD of Daniel preaching. One morning not long after that, while having breakfast, Reinhard looked at Daniel and said, “Daniel, you’re called to preach the gospel. You’re called to be an evangelist.” “Yes, sir, that’s true.” “Well, I think you should go do what you’re called to do.” Daniel blinked. Reinhard had just fired him. But not in a way that most view firing. 24 : BVOV

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