BIOGRAPHY OF KENNETH HAGIN

 Kenneth  Hagin was an American preacher known for pioneering the Word of  Faith movement. He served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the father of modern faith movement. 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 was born August 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas to Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin. He was born with a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease. Due to his condition, he was not expected to live. At age 15, he became paralyzed and bedridden, then  In April 1933 he converted to Christianity. 

During his conversion, he died three times in 10 minutes due to the deformed heart with each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life. He remained paralyzed after his conversion.

On August 8, 1934,  he was raised from his deathbed by a revelation of "Faith in God's Word" after reading Mark 11:23–24. He was also healed of his paralysis and never struggled with walking again. His healing is detailed in Roberts Liardon's book "God's Generals"

His most frequently quoted verse was Mark 11: 23-24 which says "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"

In 1936, he founded his first non-denominational church. He preached his first sermon as the pastor of a small, community Baptist church in Roland, Texas. Then in 1937, he became an Assemblies of God minister. During the next twelve years he pastored five Assemblies  of God churches in Texas.

On November 25, 1938, he married Oretha Rooker, they had two children. His two children are Kenneth Hagin Jr. and  Patricia Harrison. His son Kenneth Hagin  Jr. is currently the pastor of Rhema Bible Church and President of Kenneth Hagin Ministries.

Hagin began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist in 1949 after an appearance by Jesus. He joined the Voice of Healing Revival in the U.S. with Oral Roberts, Gordon Lindsay and T.L Osborn between 1947 and 1958.

On January 23, 1963, he formed the Kenneth Hagin Evangelistic Association now called  Kenneth Hagin Ministries in Garland, Texas. In September 1966, the ministry offices were moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma into a space previously used by T.L. Osborn. He started selling his sermons on reel-to-reel tape in 1966. In November of that year, he taught for the first time on radio on KSKY in Dallas.

In 1967, the North Texas District Council of the Assemblies of God ordained him a minister. In the same 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that still continues as "Faith Seminar of the Air."

Since Hagin's incorporation 1963, his organization grew to include numerous media outreaches and ministries. These are: Faith Library Publications  with 65 million book copies in circulation, "q Praise", a weekly television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, "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, Rhema Prayer and Healing Center located on the Rhema campus in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. At a camp meeting in 1973, Hagin announced the creation of a bible training center then 1974, He opened RHEMA Bible Training College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, which now has training centers in fourteen different countries and has also planted over 1,500 congregations worldwide, and has 25,000 alumni.

In 1979, he founded the Prayer and Healing Center to provide a place for the sick to come and "have the opportunity to build their faith." Its Healing School continues to be held free of charge twice a day on the Rhema campus. On May 20, 1994, he received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Faith Theological Seminary in Tampa, Florida.

Hagin went to bed on Saturday September 13 feeling well, he sat at the breakfast table on Sunday morning and smiled at his wife Oretha, then sighed and his head fell to his chest. He died on Friday, September 19, 2003, at the age of 86. After his death, his son, Kenneth Hagin Jr., continued to run the institution. Rhema has trained over 80,000 graduates who reside and minister in 52 countries.

Rhema Bible Training Institute has established training centers in Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Greece, Singapore, South Africa, the The South Pacific, Thailand, Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, and the Philippines.