Anthony Norris Groves

Born in Hampshire in 1795, Anthony Norris Groves first built a successful career as a dentist before turning toward missionary work. He became known for a simple, radical idea: that Christian workers should depend on God for support rather than on guaranteed institutional funding, a conviction that later earned him the label "father of faith missions."

Groves traveled to Baghdad in the 1820s as part of the first Protestant mission to Arabic-speaking Muslims, and later worked in southern India. His life was marked by hardship as well as determination, but his example left a lasting mark on Protestant missions.

He also influenced early leaders in the Plymouth Brethren, including George Müller, who became his brother-in-law. Groves died in 1853, but he is still remembered as a practical reformer whose life challenged how missionary work could be organized and sustained.