Leadership Profile: Hannelore Illgen, Women’s Ministry, Prayer Warrior, Evangelist, Germany | Lausanne World Pulse Archives

Q. Please tell us about your family.
A. For forty years I have been married to a freelance graphic designer. We have three children, two of whom are married. I was a primary school teacher and have worked in this profession for twenty-six years. I belong to the Pentecostal Church and live in northern Germany.

Q. Please give us a brief overview of your work and ministry.
A. For the past thirty years I have been involved in women’s ministry, starting with a meeting for young mothers in my church. I became familiar with AGLOW International, a charismatic movement among women, and was involved on all levels of leadership for twenty years. I am now chairing the women’s ministry, called “Women with Vision,” of my Pentecostal denomination. I am also coordinating the women’s branch of the European Pentecostal Fellowship (PEF-Women), a network of fifty European Pentecostal movements.

From 2000 to 2008 I chaired Filia—Christian Forum for Women in Germany, a German expression of the European Evangelical Alliance and The Lausanne Movement. We held nationwide days of prayer and two big evangelistic days for women, where we reached many thousands in my nation.

I am the first female on the board of my Pentecostal denomination and am co-publisher of my denomination’s national publication.

I also work in different networks for prayer and evangelisation. These include “Jesus Day”; a prayer-chain before Easter for social, political, and spiritual needs in our nation; and an initiative to impact our nation from a Christian worldview on our national celebration day (3 October). On the European level, I am a member of the steering committee of “Women in Leadership,” a branch of Hope for Europe, a European expression of the European Evangelical Alliance and the Lausanne Movement.

Q. What is your favorite thing to do in ministry?
A. I like to facilitate new challenges. In my nation, this means reaching out to Turkish women with the gospel. It started in 2009 with an invitation to hold an evangelistic women’s day in Istanbul/Turkey, a first in this nation. Across Europe, I enjoy motivating women in every Pentecostal movement for creative, evangelistic outreaches for women. I also enjoy networking.

Q. Who has been the most influential person in your life/ministry, and why?
A. Betty (from the U.S.), who was called to establish AGLOW International in Europe and especially in Germany at the end of the 1970s. When I did not see my gifts and calling, she did. Her prayers, spiritual training, and encouragement laid the foundation for everything that followed in my life.

Evangelism. On Point. Q. Please describe a time in which you shared your faith in Christ with someone who didn’t know him, and then saw God clearly work in that situation. A. I was a young mother and had contact with other young mothers because I was working as a teacher. We saw some come to Christ through personal witnessing and an evangelistic meeting for women (a breakfast meeting, for example). In one case, years after sharing my testimony, one woman came to a meeting and received Christ. This also changed her family; her son is now studying to become a pastor!