Birth : 01-02-1795 Home Calling :20-05-1853 Native Place : Hampshire Country : England Place of Vision: Iraq and India
Anthony Norris Groves was a dentist by profession and an ardent Christian from his youth. He accepted the Lord as his personal savior when he was 21 and had a deep understanding of the New Testament. While still pursuing his dentistry, he published a booklet called ‘Christian Devotedness’ based on the instructions given in the Sermon on the Mount. Through the book, he intended to encourage the believers to commit themselves and their all to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world. George Muller was one of many people who was moved by that book and completely surrendered his life to the Lord.
In 1829, Groves left his lucrative job and followed God’s call to Baghdad, Iraq along with his family. There they established the first Protestant mission to Muslims. They also established elementary schools to educate the local boys and girls. A year after they arrived in Baghdad, civil war broke out, during which he lost his wife and newborn daughter. Despite the civil war devastation, Groves continued the evangelistic efforts along with few others. Later he moved to India in 1833. There he worked closely with Alexander Duff in parts of Calcutta. Later, he started a missionary team in Madras and did pioneering missionary work in several parts of Tamil Nadu and the Godavari Delta.
Groves is called the ‘Father of Faith Missions’ due to his influence on missionary initiatives. He encouraged the young Christians to ignore Western church tradition and follow only the teaching and practice of Christ and His apostles. He advocated local leadership development in churches and encouraged the local believers to help one another develop their own spiritual abilities and ministries. His ideas stimulated the birth of a new generation of missions that functioned based on ‘faith principles.’ His idea of using the New Testament as a practical manual of missionary methods influenced the ministry of many indigenous leaders like John Christian Arulappan, Bakht Singh, and Watchman Nee.
