Biography
Peter Newman Anim was born in 1890, in Asamankese, in the Eastern Region of what was then the Gold Coast, now Ghana. He was born into a Ghanaian family and grew up in a time of change, when the colonial government and the missions were reshaping the country. He was educated at a mission school and was baptized in the Presbyterian church. He was a bright young man who learned to read and write. He became a clerk and later a trader. He was a respected figure in his community. In 1917, he was a member of a church in his hometown.
In about 1917, he came across a Christian magazine from the United States, called The Sword of the Spirit, which was published by the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, in Philadelphia. It spoke of divine healing and the refusal of medicine. He wrote to the leaders and received more literature. He was moved by its teaching about trust in God alone. At the same time, the great influenza epidemic of 1918 swept across West Africa, and thousands died. In that time of fear, he and a few others began to pray for the sick. Many were said to have been healed. A small prayer group was formed, and he became its leader. It was known as the Faith Tabernacle.
He worked as an evangelist and a healer. He traveled through the towns of the Gold Coast, preaching and praying for the sick. He was a man of simple faith and strong convictions. He taught that the believer should rely on God alone and avoid medicine and charms. He also called for a life of holiness and for the burning of idols. His message drew a large following. In 1930, the Faith Tabernacle Congregation in Philadelphia broke ties with the African groups, because of a dispute over doctrine, as the American leader had been found to be in error. The Africans were left on their own.
In the following years, he looked for a new connection. He heard of the Apostolic Church in Britain, a Pentecostal body that was based in Wales, and he wrote to its leaders. In 1935, he invited a missionary, James McKeown, to come to Ghana to help him. McKeown, a young Irishman, arrived in 1937. The two men worked together for some years. In 1939, a dispute arose between them over matters of church discipline, and there was a division. Anim founded his own church, the Christ Apostolic Church of Ghana, which later was renamed the Apostolic Faith Church, with a few thousand members. McKeown went on to found the Church of Pentecost.
Anim was a gentle and prayerful man, who held a great authority among his followers. He is remembered as a leader of the first generation of African Pentecostals. He was known for his visions and his gift of prayer. He was also a man who suffered the pain of division. The split with McKeown was a heavy cost. He said that he forgave and that he wished no ill. He continued to lead his church until his old age.
He died in 1984, at the age of about ninety-four. The record of his life is limited, and the details here should be checked against fuller sources. His life shows the way that African Christians took the initiative in founding churches and that the gospel took root in the soil of Africa through the faith of those who read a magazine and prayed.