Kenneth E. Hagin
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Erwin Hagin was an influential American Pentecostal preacher
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...

. He is often referred to as the "father" (or "granddaddy") of the "Word of Faith" movement
Word of Faith
Word of Faith is a family of Christian churches as well as a label applied by some observers to a teaching movement kindred to many Pentecostal and charismatic churches and individuals worldwide. The basic doctrine preached is that of salvation through Jesus Christ and what that salvation entails...

. Many of his followers often refer to him affectionately as "Dad Hagin", "Pappa Hagin" and more commonly "Brother Hagin".

Personal life

Kenneth E. Hagin was born in McKinney, Texas
McKinney, Texas
McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States, and the second in population to Plano. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 131,117 The Census Bureau listed McKinney as the nation's fastest growing city from 2000 to 2003 and again in...

, 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 presently the pastor of Rhema Bible Church and President of Kenneth Hagin Ministries, and a daughter named Patricia Harrison.

His most quoted scripture was Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...

 11:23:

Beginning to preach

According to Hagin's testimony, he was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart
Congenital heart defect
A congenital heart defect is a defect in the structure of the heart and great vessels which is present at birth. Many types of heart defects exist, most of which either obstruct blood flow in the heart or vessels near it, or cause blood to flow through the heart in an abnormal pattern. Other...

 and what was believed to be an incurable blood disease. He related that he was not expected to live and became bedfast at age 16. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...

 experience
Religious experience
Religious experience is a subjective experience in which an individual reports contact with a transcendent reality, an encounter or union with the divine....

, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

 and then returning to life. He also claimed that he was raised from a deathbed in 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 (14.5 km) from McKinney.
During the next twelve years he pastored five Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...

 churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean
Tom Bean, Texas
Tom Bean is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 941 at the 2000 census.Tom Bean is part of the Sherman–Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Tom Bean is located at ....

, Farmersville
Farmersville, Texas
Farmersville is a city in Collin County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,118 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Farmersville is located at ....

 (twice), Talco
Talco, Texas
Talco is a city in Titus County, Texas, United States. The population was 570 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from a local candy bar.- History :...

, Greggton, and Van
Van, Texas
Van is a city in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,362 at the 2000 census. According to a 2006 estimate from the U.S...

.

Establishing a faith-based organization

In 1949, he began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....

. Hagin was at this time also given full admission to the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (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
Oral Roberts
Granville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....

, Gordon Lindsay
Gordon Lindsay
James Gordon Lindsay was a revivialist preacher, author, and founder of Christ for the Nations.Born in Zion, Illinois, Lindsay's parents were disciples of John Alexander Dowie, the father of healing revivalism in America. After the family moved to Portland, Oregon, the young boy was influenced by...

 and T. L. Osborn
T. L. Osborn
Thomas Lee Osborn is an American Pentecostal evangelist and author based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Osborn was born at Pocasset in Oklahoma....

. In 1963, Kenneth E. Hagin Evangelistic Association was incorporated, and the offices of the ministry moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

 in 1966. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 — on KSKY
KSKY (AM)
KSKY is an AM radio station in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex under ownership of Salem Communications with a talk format which generally favors views that are politically, culturally, and economically conservative or libertarian...

 in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

. 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
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 outreaches and ministries. These are:
  • Faith Library Publications – with 65 million book copies in circulation
  • "RHEMA Praise" – a weekly television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network
    Trinity Broadcasting Network
    The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...

  • "Faith Seminar of the Air" – a radio program heard on many stations nationwide and on the Internet
  • "The Word of Faith" – 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 Center USA, which now has training centers in fourteen 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.

Theology

The Statement of faith of Hagin's Rhema Bible Training Center is identical to that of the Assemblies of God and most other major Pentecostal denominations. (Rhema Bible Training Center Information Pamphlet; 16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God) Additionally, as mentioned above, some of Hagin's theological beliefs and teachings were similar to those of E.W. Kenyon. For example:

Physical Healing: It is always God's will that a believer be physically healed of any sickness or infirmity. . Hagin based the belief of healing for all on the understanding that healing for the physical body was included in redemption. If redemption was available to all, then healing would also be available to all. (Word of Faith magazine, 6/90; 7/92; 8/92; 12/92, Kenneth Hagin, Redeemed from Poverty, Sickness and Death and Healing Belongs to Us).

Material Wealth: It is always God's will that every believer be 'financially blessed' through faith. Although Hagin emphasized that material prosperity was a redemptive blessing, he never taught that living by faith excluded hard work and wise business practices. In his later years he wrote a book entitled, "The Midas Touch" in which he wrote sharply and correctively about the so-called prosperity gospel and many of the extreme teachings that were being circulated under this heading. He warned the body of Christ of the dangers of greed and explained that the purpose of financial blessing is for the furtherance of the work of the gospel. (Kenneth Hagin, How God Taught Me About Prosperity and The Midas Touch).

Faith and Authority: Hagin believed that the believer through his position in Christ had authority over elements of this world and elements of the satanic world. By faith the believer can exercise the authority of God to change impossible situations into possibilities (1:37) . Faith, to Hagin, is a matter of belief in God's word which also entails a vocal expression of God's Will or confession thereof. According to Hagin, God has promised to answer believing prayer and respond positively to the believer's exercise of faith (Kenneth Hagin, I Believe in Visions, What Faith Is, Bible Faith; A Study Guide).

Salvation: Hagin claimed in several of his books that he physically died three times as a child. Each time he descended to hell but was brought back to life when a voice spoke. On the third trip to hell, Hagin claims to have asked Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. Crying, 'God! I belong to the church! I've been baptized in water' twice, to no avail, he cried out a third time. It is at that point, he claims, that he was saved and brought back to life a final time. Hagin goes on to say that his mother was praying so loud when he arrived back in his body that "traffic was lined up for two blocks on either side of our house!" After this dramatic experience, Hagin came to believe that church membership and water baptism were not sufficient to save but rather the 'new birth worked by the power of the Holy Spirit' in response to a personal confession of faith in the Lordship and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even though it seems that this new birth could apparently be had even after death, it is only through that he was already 'coming back to life' that he was saved.' (ibid., Word of Faith magazine, 10/01, Kenneth Hagin, The New Birth; I Went to Hell).

Substitutionary Act: Hagin spoke of Jesus' death in substituionary terms. The doctrine of 'Substitution
Substitutionary atonement
Technically speaking, substitutionary atonement is the name given to a number of Christian models of the atonement that all regard Jesus as dying as a substitute for others, "instead of" them...

' as taught by Hagin differs widely from the same doctrine as taught by many other branches of Christianity. The normal theory of Substitutionary atonement
Substitutionary atonement
Technically speaking, substitutionary atonement is the name given to a number of Christian models of the atonement that all regard Jesus as dying as a substitute for others, "instead of" them...

 is that the son Jesus paid our debts, previous, current and future to the Father within the Godhead. Hagin claimed that Jesus died as the substitute for all of humanity, as do most Christians (Bible), but also believes that Jesus suffered the torments of hell for three days and that He 'defeated the devil', stripped him of all authority and was resurrected after being 'quickened in spirit' or 'born again'. Hagin held that those who received Christ were born again and shared in the benefits of Christ's resurrection and power through their identification with His death, burial and resurrection. (Kenneth Hagin,The Name of Jesus; The Triumphant Church).

Sacred Scriptures: Hagin's beliefs followed in the reformed tradition in that the Bible is viewed to be the literally true, inerrant word of God as written by men under the guidance of the Spirit of God. Although Hagin often spoke of the dramatic spiritual encounters he claimed to have had, he always insisted that faith was to be established upon the word of God alone and not upon the experiences of man. Many times in his ministry he made the statement, "Don't believe anything because I said it. Search the scriptures and prove it out for yourself" (Kenneth Hagin, How You Can Know the Will of God and The Believer's Authority).

RHEMA Bible Training Center

Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training Center (RBTC) in 1974. RBTC is an unaccredited
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...

 Bible institute
Bible college
Bible colleges are institutions of higher education that specialize in biblical studies. Curriculum is Bible-based and differs from that of liberal arts colleges or research universities. Bible colleges generally exclude the study of philosophy, unlike seminaries and theological colleges...

 located on 110 acre (0.4451546 km²) in Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County but also with a small section of the city in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 US Census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents...

, a suburb of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 (USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

). The curriculum is taught from a Charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...

/Pentecostal heritage. There are seven ministry concentrations specializing in Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry
Youth ministry (Evangelical)
A Protestant/Evangelical Youth ministry is a Christian ministry intended to instruct and disciple youths in what it means to be a Christian, how to mature as a Christian, and how to encourage others to claim Jesus as their Savior. This is accomplished through teaching, relationship building and/or...

, Evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....

, Pastoral Care
Pastoral care
Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...

, Missions
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...

, Biblical Studies
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...

, and Supportive Ministry. RBTC has also established training centers in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Zambia, and Egypt.

After Hagin's death in 2003, his son Kenneth W. Hagin continued to run the institution. RBTC has trained approximately 30,000 graduates who reside and minister in more than 100 countries.

External links

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