The Hidden Life of Zacharias Tanee Fomum

Zacharias Tanee Fomum was born on June twentieth in the year 1945 in the small village of Bamessing in the Northwest Province of Cameroon. His family was of humble means, farmers who labored upon the red earth of the highlands. From his earliest years he displayed an unusual seriousness of character. Those who knew him as a child said that he was quiet, observant, and given to solitude. Beneath his calmness was a hunger for truth that nothing could satisfy.

His parents raised him within the traditions of their land, yet he grew up during a time when the light of the gospel was beginning to shine through the villages of Cameroon. He attended mission schools run by Baptist and Presbyterian workers, where he learned to read the Scriptures and to understand the message of salvation. As a young boy he began to pray alone, asking God to reveal Himself. The seed of divine purpose was planted early, though its full flower would take years to emerge.

He excelled academically, showing a brilliant mind and an extraordinary capacity for discipline. His teachers spoke of him as one who never wasted time. He pursued higher studies with passion and won a scholarship to study chemistry at the University of Yaoundé. There he encountered the living Christ. The call came quietly but unmistakably. He saw that all his learning and ambitions were meaningless without knowing God. In that moment of surrender his life was turned upside down. He gave up worldly dreams and laid his future upon the altar.

The fire of God began to burn in him. He became known on campus not for brilliance alone but for the depth of his spiritual life. He led Bible studies that became centers of revival among students. His message was always the same: total consecration to Christ, separation from sin, and the pursuit of intimacy with God through prayer and fasting. He was not content with shallow Christianity. He longed for the reality of the Acts of the Apostles in his own generation.

After graduating with distinction, he continued his studies abroad in England, earning a doctorate in organic chemistry. Even in the midst of academic success his heart remained fixed on the kingdom of God. He lived in prayer and fasting, often setting aside food for many days to seek divine direction. He read the Scriptures not as a scholar but as a man hungry to hear the voice of his Beloved. During those years he received a clear call from the Lord to return to Africa and labor for the spiritual transformation of his continent.

When he returned to Cameroon, he accepted a position as a university lecturer, but he regarded it as a platform for ministry. His office became a meeting place for students and staff seeking counsel and prayer. His teaching career was marked by integrity, humility, and tireless diligence, yet his greatest work was not in the laboratory but in the secret place. He lived before God with a broken and contrite heart.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the vision that had long burned within him began to take shape. Out of his ministry arose what became known as the Christian Missionary Fellowship International. It was not planned as an organization but born out of prayer and obedience. The fellowship emphasized holiness, love, discipleship, and the evangelization of the nations. Under his leadership it grew from small home gatherings into a worldwide missionary movement. He trained men and women to win souls, to establish house churches, and to live in radical devotion to Christ.

He preached with the authority of one who had died to self. His words carried both tenderness and fire. He called believers to fast, to pray, to labor, and to love without reservation. He said that the true measure of a man is not in his ministry but in his secret life with God. His sermons were filled with tears. He spoke of the cross not as a doctrine but as a daily experience of dying to the flesh. He often said that a man who will not die cannot bring life to others.

Fasting became the hallmark of his walk. He believed that fasting breaks the power of the flesh and sharpens the soul's sensitivity to God. He fasted for days and sometimes for weeks, always seeking to draw nearer to the heart of the Lord. His life of discipline inspired many to seek God in the same way. He was known to spend entire nights in prayer, interceding for his workers, his nation, and the nations of the earth. He prayed for revival until his face was wet with tears.

Though he was a man of global influence, he remained deeply humble. He lived simply, gave generously, and avoided all luxury. His home was a place of hospitality and prayer. He was a loving husband to his wife, Anne, and a father who trained his children in righteousness. Those who visited his home felt that they had entered a sanctuary of peace. He rose before dawn every day to meet God and would not engage in any task until he had finished his communion with Heaven.

He wrote prolifically, producing more than one hundred books that covered subjects from prayer, fasting, and holiness to discipleship, leadership, and spiritual warfare. His writings combined the depth of a scholar with the simplicity of a man who walked with God. They have been translated into many languages and continue to ignite spiritual hunger across continents. Each book was written out of personal experience, not theory. He wrote as one who had touched eternal things and longed to see the Church become the pure bride of Christ.

As his ministry expanded, so did his burden. He traveled across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, preaching the gospel and establishing missionary bases. Wherever he went, he taught that revival is born not from activity but from repentance and brokenness. He urged believers to live holy lives in secret, to fast in humility, to pray until heaven bends low. Thousands came to Christ through his witness, and countless ministers were raised under his training.

He was not without trials. His message of holiness provoked opposition, and he endured misunderstanding and slander. Yet he never defended himself. He said that no praying man should ever bother to defend his honor, for God will do it in His own time. His response to persecution was always the same: to pray more and love more. His strength lay in meekness. He carried burdens in silence and wept often for the church he loved.

In his final years his health weakened, but his spirit burned stronger than ever. He spoke of finishing his race and meeting the Lord face to face. His last messages were filled with longing for the presence of Jesus and a call to prepare for eternity. On March fourteenth 2009, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, after a brief illness, Zacharias Tanee Fomum entered into the rest of his Master. He was sixty-three years old. His departure left a deep void, yet his influence continues through the countless lives he discipled and the books he wrote under the anointing of the Spirit.