Kenneth Erwin Hagin (August 2, 1917 â€" September 19, 2003) was an American Charismatic preacher. He is often referred to as the "father" (or "granddaddy") of the "Word of Faith" movement. Many of his followers often refer to him affectionately as "Dad Hagin", "Papa Hagin", and more commonly "Brother Hagin".
Biography
Personal life
Kenneth E. Hagin was born in McKinney, Texas, the son of Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin. He was married to Oretha Rooker. They had two children, a son named Kenneth Wayne Hagin, who is currently the pastor of Rhema Bible Church and President of Kenneth Hagin Ministries, and a daughter named Patricia Harrison.
His most quoted scripture was Mark 11:22-24 Bible
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Beginning to preach
According to Hagin's testimony, he was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart and what was believed to be an incurable blood disease. He said that he was not expected to live and became bedridden at age 15. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion experience, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life. He also says he was raised from his deathbed on August 8, 1934 by "the revelation of faith in God's Word" (Kenneth Hagin, I Went to Hell and What Faith Is).
Two years later he preached his first sermon as the pastor of a small community church in Roland, Texas, 9 miles (14Â km) from McKinney. During the next twelve years he pastored five Assemblies of God churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean, Farmersville (twice), Talco, Greggton, Texas, and Van.
Establishing a faith-based organization
Hagin began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist in 1949. Hagin was at this time also given full admission to the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (also known as the FGBMFI) which had been established in 1951. He was also a part of the Voice of Healing Revival in the U.S. in the 40s and 50s together with Oral Roberts, Gordon Lindsay and T. L. Osborn. In 1963, Kenneth E. Hagin Evangelistic Association was incorporated, and the offices of the ministry moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1966. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio â€" on KSKY in Dallas. In 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that continues today as Faith Seminar of the Air. Teaching by his son, Rev. Kenneth Wayne Hagin, is also heard on the program.
Since its inception in 1963, his organization grew to include numerous media outreaches and ministries. These are:
- Faith Library Publications â€" with 65 million book copies in circulation
- "RHEMA Praise" â€" a weekly television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network
- "Faith Seminar of the Air" â€" a radio program heard on many stations nationwide and on the Internet
- "The Word of Faith" â€" a free monthly magazine with roughly 600,000 subscribers
- crusades conducted throughout the nation
- RHEMA Correspondence Bible School
- the RHEMA Prayer and Healing Center, located on the Rhema campus in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
In 1974, Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training College, which now has training centers in fourteen different countries and has 30,000 alumni. In 1979, he founded the Prayer and Healing Center there to provide a place for the sick to come to "have the opportunity to build their faith." Its Healing School continues to be held free of charge twice daily on the RHEMA campus.
RHEMA Bible Training College
Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training College (RBTC) in 1974. RBTC is an unaccredited Bible institute located on 110 acres (0.45Â km2) in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The curriculum is taught from a Charismatic/Pentecostal heritage. There are seven ministry concentrations specializing in Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, Evangelism, Pastoral Care, Missions, Biblical Studies, and Supportive Ministry. RBTC has also established training centers in Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, the South Pacific, Thailand, Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, and the Philippines.
After Hagin's death in 2003, his son Kenneth W. Hagin continued to run the institution. RBTC has trained over 40,000 graduates who reside and minister in more than 100 countries.
Publications
- Authority of the Believer (1967)
- Believer's Authority (1991)
- Bible Faith Study Course (1966)
- Casting Your Cares Upon the Lord (1981)
- Classic Sermons: The Word of Faith 25th Anniversary 1968â€"1992 Commemorative Edition (1992)
- Demons and How to Deal with Them (1976)
- El Shaddai (1980)
- Exceedingly Growing Faith (1990)
- Following God's Plan for Your Life (1993)
- Faith Food for Spring (1978)
- The Glory of God (1987)
- God's Medicine (1997)
- Having Faith in Your Faith (1980)
- How God Taught Me About Prosperity (1985)
- How to Write Your Own Ticket with God (1979)
- How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God (1978)
- Love: The Way to Victory (1994)
- The Human Spirit (1974)
- I Believe in Visions (1972)
- I Went to Hell (1982)
- The Interceding Christian (1978)
- The Key to Spiritual Healing (1977)
- Knowing What Belongs to Us (1989)
- Ministering to the Oppressed (1977)
- Must Christians Suffer? (1982)
- The Name of Jesus (1981)
- Obedience in Finances (1983)
- The Real Faith (1970)
- Right and Wrong Thinking for Christians (1966)
- Seven Steps for Judging Prophecy (1982)
- Seven Things You Should Know About Divine Healing (1979)
- Three Big Words (1983)
- Understanding How to Fight the Good Fight of Faith (1987)
- What Faith Is (1966)
- What to Do When Faith Seems Weak & Victory Lost (1979)
- Why Do People Fall Under the Power? (1981)
- The Midas Touch" (1999)
References
External links
- Official Website of Kenneth Hagin Ministries
- Rhema Bible Training Center
- Testimony from Kenyon family that Brother Hagin did not plagiarize his books