ATLANTA, GA – John Edmund Haggai entered the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Heaven when his work on this earth was completed on November 18, 2020.
A tireless and relentless force in evangelism and worldwide missions, he might be the single most prolific producer of Christian leaders over the last 50 years. Through the Haggai Institute, he “equipped and inspired 123,000 leaders in 189 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin American, and the Middle East.”
Haggai’s Institute
Haggai was invited to address Christian missionaries in Beirut in 1964. That visit changed his life and was the spark that ignited an entirely new approach to making disciples through foreign missions.
According to Christianity Today, “The local leaders told him that Westerners did not cooperate with local Christians and often barred them from leadership positions, even if they had more experience and education than the missionaries. They misunderstood local cultures, causing unnecessary offense, and seemed to the unconverted to represent colonial power rather than the cause of Christ.”
“People aren’t rejecting Jesus. They’re rejecting Western domination.”
Within just a few years, the Haggai Institute began training men and women in an entirely different and much more effective approach to missionary work. The cultural conflicts could be avoided by equipping and inspiring Christian leaders to reach out to their own countrymen. Cultural and language barriers would disappear, eliminating the perception of imperialism in countries that had been subject to colonialism in the past.
One of Haggai’s first students was K.P. Yohannan, the founder of Gospel for Asia and the author of Revolution in World Missions. Yohannan said that “Haggai was the first person who made me believe that nothing is impossible with God.”
Haggai’s Influence
One of the best ways to measure a man’s influence is to read what others have to say about him. The remainder of this article shares just a few of the comments that have begun to appear on the Memorial page of the Haggai Institute website.
Mario Simoes:
“If we are the army of God on earth today, Dr. Haggai was one of our generals!”
Dr, Michael Youssef:
“I have learned untold life lessons from Dr. John Edmund Haggai.”
Magda Odendaal:
“You were faithful till the end – your legacy is impossible to erase.”
Premkumar Samuel:
“A missionary for the Living God.
A revolutionary in training leaders.
A visionary par excellence.
An extraordinary writer.
An emissary sent by God.
A legendary leader.
A luminary for many like me.”
Dr. Ezekiel Adeleye:
“You came, you saw, and you conquered. Your concept of ending Gospel poverty is a paradigm shift of the traditional approach of sending missionaries to foreign countries.”
John McIntyre:
“His inspirational spirit and commitment to the Great Commission, along with living life from an eternal perspective has had a lasting impact on me.”
Dr. Prateep V. Philip:
“When I met John Haggai . . . he told me he expected to be around until 120. But he has, indeed, accomplished more for the kingdom of God than someone who lived 120 years.”
Dr. Colin Ellis:
“Dr. Haggai was a truly remarkable man of God, an inspiration to each and every one of us. We give thanks and praise for his life.”
Read more news on World Missions on Missions Box.
Sources:
- Christianity Today, Died: John Edmund Haggai, Evangelist Who Trained Evangelists
- Haggai International website, Memorial Page
- Haggai International, Facebook
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, John Haggai
- Missions Box News, The Haggai Institute: Rewriting the Story of Global Missions