Kenneth Erwin Hagin remains an influential American Charismatic preacher, Bible teacher, evangelist and notably, the founder of Rhema Bible Training College (RBTC).
Born on August 20, 1917 in McKinney, Texas to the family of Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin. He was so small and lifeless that the doctor thought that he was stillborn.
Following 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 became bedfast at age 15 and was not expected to live.
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.
But in August 1934, he was miraculously healed, raised off a deathbed by the power of GOD and the revelation of faith in GOD’s Word.
Professional Overview of Kenneth E. Hagin
Full name: Kenneth Erwin Hagin
Date of birth: August 20, 1917
Place of birth: McKinney, Texas (USA)
Nationality: American
Occupation: Preacher of the Gospel
Specialty: Faith
Ministry
Hagin began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist in 1949. 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 in 1966, the ministry offices moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 1974, Rev. Hagin founded what is now Rhema Bible Training College (RBTC).
RBTC is a Bible institute located on 110 acres (0.45 km2) in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
There are seven ministry concentrations, specializing in Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Evangelism, Pastoral Care, Missions, Biblical Studies, and Supportive Ministry.
The school has campuses in many countries of the world including Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, the South Pacific, Thailand, Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, and the Philippines.
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.
Favorite Scripture
His favorite scripture was Mark 11:23: “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”
Personal Life
Married to Oretha Rooker, they had two children, a son, Kenneth Wayne Hagin, who is presently the pastor of Rhema Bible Church and President of Kenneth Hagin Ministries, and a daughter, Patricia Harrison. She is the widow of the late Doyle “Buddy’ Harrison and is the owner and publisher of Harrison House, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Overall Life and Transition of Kenneth Hagin
Until shortly before his death on September 19, 2003 at the age of 86, Rev. Hagin continued to travel and teach throughout the United States and into Canada conducting All Faiths’ Crusades and other special meetings.
Known as the “Father of the modern faith movement,” Rev. Hagin was a dynamic preacher, teacher, and prophet.
His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show GOD’s power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
He will be remembered not only as a great minister but as a great family man—for his family was his heart.
He was there at every milestone ready to talk, to answer, to pray.
