Benny Hinn Reveals a Shocking Detail About Kathryn Kuhlman at Kenneth Copeland’s Church

How One Life-Changing Experience with Kathryn Kuhlman’s Ministry Shaped Benny Hinn’s View of Faith and Dependence on God

Before becoming an internationally known evangelist, Benny Hinn was a young preacher from Toronto, Canada, still finding his place in ministry.

He began preaching at the age of twenty-one, filled with passion but still learning what it meant to trust God completely.

During those early years, one ministry profoundly influenced him more than any other.

That ministry belonged to Kathryn Kuhlman, whose healing services had become known around the world for their strong emphasis on the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Hinn recalled attending her meetings regularly, often traveling by bus from Toronto to Pittsburgh alongside groups of believers hoping to witness God’s work firsthand.

He described those gatherings as unlike anything he had ever experienced.

While Kuhlman’s dramatic presentation initially surprised him, he said the overwhelming sense of God’s presence left an even greater impression.

Worshippers often wept throughout the services, and Hinn remembered feeling deeply moved every time he attended.

One particular journey became unforgettable.

Among the travelers was a woman suffering from severe arthritis whose body had become so badly bent that Hinn compared her posture to the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

During the long bus ride, he and another young volunteer helped care for her, lifting her wheelchair, assisting her during every stop, and helping her move throughout the trip.

Because wheelchairs were not permitted on the main floor of the auditorium, they carried her into the service before finding seats for themselves high in the balcony.

Then something extraordinary happened.

Within minutes of Kathryn Kuhlman walking onto the platform, Hinn recalled seeing the woman’s body begin to straighten while she remained seated.

He insisted that no one had laid hands on her and that the transformation unfolded before the eyes of everyone nearby.

Unable to contain his amazement, he repeatedly nudged the person sitting beside him as he watched the dramatic change take place.

By the end of the service, the woman who had arrived unable to stand upright walked forward on her own.

Hinn remembered another unforgettable moment as Kuhlman prepared to pray for the newly healed woman.

Just before Kuhlman could lay hands on her, the woman interrupted and pointed out that one finger remained bent.

She wanted complete healing.

According to Hinn, Kuhlman smiled and declined to pray further, suggesting that the remaining imperfection would serve as a lifelong reminder of what God had done.

The moment stayed with him for years.

Not only had he witnessed what he believed was a remarkable miracle, but he also saw the joy and gratitude that filled the room as hundreds celebrated together.

That experience alone would have remained unforgettable.

Yet another event soon followed that Hinn describes as even more life-changing.

When he was only twenty-four years old, representatives of the Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation unexpectedly invited him to lead Kuhlman’s first memorial service, held one year after her passing.

The invitation left him stunned.

He could not understand why someone so young and relatively unknown had been chosen for such an important occasion.

Nevertheless, he accepted and traveled to Pittsburgh, where thousands of people gathered to honor Kuhlman’s memory.

Before the service began, Hinn met Maggie Hartner, one of Kuhlman’s closest associates.

Expecting spiritual advice about preparing for such an important event, he instead received unexpected counsel.

Rather than encouraging extended prayer or intense preparation, Hartner simply told him not to become so consumed with trying to make everything happen himself.

Instead, she suggested he go and rest.

At the time, Hinn admitted he found the advice almost unbelievable.

Convinced that such an important responsibility demanded constant prayer, he ignored her recommendation and continued preparing as intensely as possible.

Nothing, however, prepared him for what happened next.

Standing backstage inside the packed Carnegie Music Hall, Hinn looked through the curtain and froze.

Thousands of people filled the auditorium.

The pressure became overwhelming.

As the choir sang, he remained hidden behind the curtain, unable to bring himself to step onto the stage.

Only after an usher physically encouraged him forward did he finally appear before the audience.

The opening moments quickly unraveled.

Attempting to join the music, he entered on the wrong key, stopped mid-song, and felt completely overwhelmed.

Convinced he had failed before even beginning, he raised his hands and quietly confessed that he could not continue.

At that moment, Hinn says everything changed.

He recalled hearing what he believed was the Lord speaking to his heart with a simple response: “I’m glad.

Now I will.

”

For Hinn, those words became the defining lesson of his ministry.

He described immediately sensing God’s presence as people began coming forward with testimonies of healing.

According to his account, individuals approached the platform reporting physical restoration, while others fell under what they believed to be the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hinn insisted that he had done nothing remarkable himself.

He had not delivered a sermon, offered elaborate prayers, or attempted to create an emotional atmosphere.

Instead, he believed everything began only after he fully acknowledged his own inability.

That realization became the central message he has continued sharing throughout his ministry.

Human strength, he argued, often becomes the greatest obstacle to experiencing God’s power.

Only when people stop relying entirely on themselves and recognize their own limitations do they become fully available for God to work through them.

The testimony also reflects a broader biblical theme found throughout Scripture.

From Moses’ reluctance at the burning bush to the Apostle Paul’s declaration that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness, many of the Bible’s most influential figures first confronted their own inadequacy before witnessing God’s provision.

For Hinn, his experience at Kathryn Kuhlman’s memorial service became a deeply personal example of that principle.

Looking back decades later, he believes neither the remarkable healing he witnessed in Pittsburgh nor the events surrounding the memorial service were ultimately about personalities or public recognition.

Instead, they reminded him that genuine ministry begins not with confidence in one’s own abilities but with complete dependence on God.

Whether listeners agree with every aspect of Hinn’s testimony or simply appreciate the spiritual lesson it conveys, the message remains clear: the greatest breakthroughs often begin at the very moment people stop trusting in themselves and surrender completely to the One they believe is able to accomplish what they never could.