Heidi Baker

Heidi Baker
Heidi Baker in one of the Iris Global children's centers
Born (1959-08-29) August 29, 1959
Laguna Beach, California
Nationality United States
Education Vanguard University
Occupation President and CEO of Iris Global
Missionary
Author
Speaker
Spouse(s) Rolland Baker
Children Elisha Baker (born July 15, 1982) and Crystalyn Human (born May 11, 1987)
Website irisglobal.org

Heidi Baker (born August 29, 1959) is a Christian missionary, itinerant speaker, and the CEO of Iris Global, a Christian humanitarian organization. She is the author of several books on Christian spirituality.

Early life and education

Baker grew up in Southern California, becoming a Christian after hearing a Navajo preacher's message while volunteering on a Choctaw reservation. She has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from Vanguard University,[1] and a PhD in systematic theology from King's College London (1995).[1]

Career

Baker met Rolland, the grandson of missionary H. A. Baker,[2] in 1979. They married six months later in 1980; they left for the mission field two weeks after that.[3] They were ordained as ministers in 1985.[1]

In 1980 the Bakers founded Iris Global,[4] a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to charitable service and evangelism, particularly in developing nations.[5]

In 1995 the Bakers moved to Mozambique in order to begin a new ministry focused on the care of orphaned and abandoned children.[2] A year later, Baker became sick with tuberculosis and pneumonia, but despite her doctor's recommendation, she went to a healing meeting in Toronto, Canada. There, she had a vision where Jesus showed her thousands of children to feed; when she exclaimed that it was impossible to help them all, he said "There will always be enough, because I died." After which, she was healed. [6]

Iris Global negotiated with the Mozambican government to assume financial and administrative responsibility for a former government orphanage in Chihango, near the capital city of Maputo. There were roughly 80 children present.[2] Since that time Iris Global's operations have expanded to include well-drilling, free health clinics, village feeding programs, the operation of primary and secondary schools, cottage industries and the founding more than 5000 churches in Mozambique, with a total of over 10,000 Iris-affiliated churches in more than 20 nations.[4] Their ministry is known for its reports of miracles,[2] and in September 2010 the Southern Medical Journal published an article presenting evidence of "significant improvements" in auditory and visual function among subjects exhibiting impairment before receiving prayer from the ministry.[7]

Beyond their administrative duties the Bakers are authors and frequent conference speakers,[8] traveling worldwide to speak on Christian ministry and spirituality. Candy Gunther Brown, professor of religious studies at Indiana University, has called the Bakers "among the most influential leaders in world Pentecostalism."[5]

Bibliography

  • There Is Always Enough, with Rolland Baker. Chosen Books (2003) ISBN 1-85240-287-3
  • The Hungry Always Get Fed, with Rolland Baker. New Wine Press (2007) ISBN 978-1-903725-85-6
  • Expecting Miracles: True Stories of God's Supernatural Power and How You Can Experience It, with Rolland Baker. Chosen Books (2007) ISBN 978-0-8007-9434-7
  • Compelled by Love, with Shara Pradhan. Charisma House (2008) ISBN 978-1-59979-351-1
  • Learning to Love: Passion, Compassion and the Essence of the Gospel with Rolland Baker. Chosen Books (2013) ISBN 978-0-8007-9552-8
  • Birthing the Miraculous: The Power of Personal Encounters with God to Change Your Life and the World. Charisma House (2014) ISBN 978-1-62136-219-7

References

  1. 1 2 3 Miracles in Mozambique by Hope Flinchbaugh, Ministry Today, Mar/Apr 2002
  2. 1 2 3 4 Christy Biswell. "Heidi Baker: Intimacy for Miracles". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  3. ↑ Compelled by Love: How to change the world through the simple power of love in action by Heidi Baker and Shara Pradhan
  4. 1 2 "Iris Global webpage". Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 Stafford, Tim. "Miracles in Mozambique: How Mama Heidi Reaches the Abandoned". http://www.christianitytoday.com/. Christianity Today. Retrieved 31 January 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  6. ↑ Baker, Rolland and Heidi, There Is Always Enough. Chosen Books (2003) ISBN 1-85240-287-3, p. 50
  7. ↑ Brown, Candy Gunther; Mory, Stephen C.; Williams, Rebecca; McClymond, Michael J. (2010). "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Prayer (STEPP) on Auditory and Visual Impairments in Rural Mozambique". Southern Medical Journal. 103 (9): 864–869. doi:10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181e73fea. ISSN 0038-4348.
  8. ↑ "Official Speaking Schedule". Iris Global Website. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
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