Current Status: Alumni
Graduation Year: 1979
HIU alumnus and Adjunct Professor, John Hendee (BS ’68, MA’79), has a deep passion to share the Gospel with unreached people, and he has been doing so for the vast majority of his lifetime. Over his nearly half century in ministry, Professor Hendee has authored more than a dozen books and training materials on evangelism.
Perhaps his most impactful achievement to date is a personal evangelism tool he developed titled, “It’s All About Relationship (IAAR),” a training workshop that provides a strategic framework for sharing the Gospel with others in a comprehensive, personal, and respectful way. John has shared his keen insights into disciple-making with Christians all over the United States and as far as East Africa.
Hendee recently shared IAAR with Loren Cunningham, the founder and President of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) based in Kona, Hawaii. After becoming familiar with Relational Evangelism and IAAR, Cunningham asked for permission to have it translated in to 130 languages and used by their staff and outreach teams worldwide. “YWAM is working in 180 countries a staff of 18,000 workers” Hendee shares on the magnitude of this opportunity. “We are thrilled to be able to make a significant contriubution to YWAM’s global missions.”
Hendee has partnered with Pastor Jim Phillips (MA ’85) to share IAAR with leaders in Africa through workshops spanning from 3 days to 4 weeks. The IAAR training focuses on a relational approach while participants gain a working knowledge of how to effectively present the lessons and ultimately share the Gospel with anyone.
With extensive mentoring from Hendee, Pastor Phillips has led seminars for leaders from 70 churches in East Africa, resulting in over 1,000 baptisms. They plan to continue offering this highly-effective tool all over the region. “We are seeing very significant results from IAAR in Africa. Our goal is to train 4,000 leaders in East Africa over the next 5 years,” John states. “Our second trip is coming up in January, 2017.”
In addition to his international efforts, Hendee serves as HIU’s Chair of World Evangelism, and he continues to share his ministry wisdom with HIU students as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ministry and Biblical Studies. The IAAR training is part of the Relational Evangelism course offered by HIU, which prepares students to effectively engage with anyone who is open to learning more about Christ.
