Preacher: Prayer helped lead me to Lynn

LYNN ?The founder of an independent Pentecostal church in Manchester, N.H. says he plans to expand his ministry to Lynn to “turn The City of Sin into The City of Saints.”Preacher Chris Anu, who along with his wife Philomena escaped political persecution in their native Cameroon to Nigeria in 1995, immigrated to America and started the Revival Assembly International Church in Manchester three years later.Anu will hold Revival Assembly?s first local service on Sunday afternoon in the rented gymnasium of Saugus? Lynnhurst School, which is the church?s temporary location.?We?re launching the church in Lynn partly because of the high number of immigrants, but because when we were praying about [where to expand] someone mentioned to me that Lynn is called ?The City of Sin,? and I was moved by that. I said, ?Then that?s where we need to be. We can change that. We can combat that image,?” he said.Anu, also a contributing writer to a New Hampshire newspaper and broadcast journalist with a focus on political news in Cameroon, has been a preacher for most of his adult life and shepherds a congregation of roughly 150 each Sunday at the church in Manchester, at 495 Hall St.He said he is answering a call to expand his ministry and outreach to the poor, largely as a way to give back for what American missionaries gave to impoverished African nations in the 1960s, ?70s and ?80s. Although political and economic strife persist in much of the continent, he said, “The church in Africa today is actually stronger than in America.”Anu said he is now committed to spread faith, deliverance and spiritual healing to as many people as possible in America.?It can be quite difficult starting a new church, but we do have people planning to attend on Sunday and all are invited,” he said, adding the service in the Lynnhurst gymnasium, scheduled for 2:30 p.m., is free and open to all.?I will be preaching a little bit about what our church is about, and we will conduct healing and deliverance for those who have issues in their lives,” Anu said. “We hope people will be open to the word of God and subsequently join the church.”He added, “We have our eyes out for a permanent location in Lynn. Once we have permanent facilities, we will do a lot of outreach – to the homeless, to single parents and those going through divorce – and have events such as town meeting healing revivals.”Anu describes his church?s mission on Revival Assembly?s website this way: “Besides Evangelism, which we vehemently believe is the Supreme Task of the church, our vision is summarized in three phrases ?Save Them, Empower Them and Send Them.? We build up personal ministry in every believer by encouraging them to develop and function in the gifts of the Holy Spirit so they can effect an impact in their immediate communities.”Tailoring that mission to the planned local church, Anu told The Item in a telephone interview, “We will turn The City of Sin into The City of Saints.”To learn more about Revival Assembly Church, visit its website, revivalassembly.com, call the Manchester, N.H. church at 877-850-2935, or attend the service Sunday at Lynnhurst School, 10 Elm St., Saugus.Watch a video of Anu2012, What Lies Ahead from Chris Anu on Vimeo.Sean Leonard can be reached at [email protected].