When the Rev. Alyn Waller entered the sanctuary at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in North Versailles Wednesday night, he was on a mission to stir up the souls worn down by grief, addiction, abuse.

John Heller/Post-Gazette
The Rev. Alyn Waller
	NEWSMAKER Residence: Ardmore, Pa. Date of birth: April 8, 1964 Place of birth: Cleveland, Ohio. Education: Ohio University, with a degree in music, 1987; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990; Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1998. Family: Wife, Ellyn Waller; two children, Morgan, 14, and Erica, 13. In the news: For the past decade, Waller, a former preacher in Donora, has been building a reputation for his innovations with family ministry. He was in town last week to lead revival and host a benefit concert at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in North Versailles. Quote: "In order to strengthen families, churches need to get back to traditional biblical teachings about the importance of family and its roles. Family ministry needs to have language that is affirming, and there needs to be intergenerational fellowship. In the past, we've put the men upstairs, the women downstairs and the children outside. We need to come back together."

In his dark suit and crisp white shirt, he stretched out his arms and lifted his voice to encourage worshipers during the three-day revival to turn their pain into praise.

"We must shake off the hurts of life," said Waller. "Some of us are so worn out helping our families, we're no good to ourselves. What we must remember is that God is able to do all things for us."

Waller, 42, a Philadelphia minister with fast-growing family ministry, was preaching on familiar ground.

Nearly a decade ago, he left his first pulpit at First Baptist Church in Donora, and headed to Enon Tabernacle Baptist in the City of Brotherly Love.

When he arrived there, Waller went into the 150-member Enon, one of Philadelphia's oldest black churches, and grew it into a 6,000-member mega-church. Construction of a new church is being planned on the site of the old Temple University stadium.

In enlarging his ministry, Waller has earned a reputation as an innovator.

His urban programming is a mix of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something considered a little "blue" -- he isn't afraid to talk about fornication as an inner-city demon.

A Tuesday noon worship in Center City Philadelphia draws a mosaic of worshipers. Every Sunday in his church a physician shares information on staying well in a health moment, and his church hosts a double-dutch camp.

Waller is the son of a Baptist minister who once led a church in Braddock and ran for mayor of Cleveland. His religion is rooted in a belief that gospel can change society. His goal, however, is to change society by first changing the family, which he believes is the rock of his ministry.

"Empowering the family is the key to church health," said Waller, who followed the "calling" of God in 1987, after an older brother died of diabetes.

A music major at Ohio University, he left behind his desire to be a blues musician to enter Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He later earned a doctorate in ministry, studying marriage and family at Philadelphia's Eastern Seminary.

He brings that family focus to Enon, where he leads classes on parenting that deal with sexuality, dating, family responsibility and fornication --tough issues that he believes a modern generation must deal with to get families back to commitment and values.

Like many black churches, Enon is 70 percent female. But it is a young congregation: The average age for women is 39; for men, it is 37.

Enon is in an area that is rapidly being redeveloped -- luxury condos are going up around the corner -- but Waller claims his congregation remains a wonderful slice of Afro-urban reality.

"We get the ex-cons who come out of jail, the police officers who arrested them and the judges who sent them there," he said.

To lead the city through the challenges of violence, family disintegration and low academic achievement, he preaches community, where caring for others begets harmony.

"People come first," said Waller, "where there are no resources, human spirit abounds. With that we can build relationships that change things."

Waller believes outreach can influence lives as well. He church has initiated the Minn Project, a pro-active education program that offers college preparation and academic counseling and gives private school tuition to black elementary school children being raised in single parent homes. It is named for a child adopted by his single sister, who would have sent the boy to private school had he lived. He died after a brief illness, at 2 1/2, unable to pronounce his name, Quinn.

In an effort to build a worshipful community, Enon placed prayer boxes in 35 retail locations such as restaurants, dry cleaners and bookstores inviting customers to drop in written requests.

After a few days, an evangelism ministry -- called SWAT, for Soul Winning Action Team -- picks up the cards. Then the intercessory-prayer team prays for each of the requests. So far the most "popular" subjects have been family unity, good health, peace in the Iraq situation, and better job opportunities.

"Our goal as a church was to make the spirit of God felt," he said. "It's not always about your money or proselytizing, we'll pray for you anyhow."