The first missionary whom God used to launch the Brethren Movement in India was a medical missionary, Dr. Anthony Norris Groves. He was a dental doctor by profession, and is known as the “Father of Faith Missions.” He came to India in 1833 at the invitation of Sir Arthur Cotton who was known as the “Father of Irrigation System” in India. Groves returned to England, and then came back to India in 1936, and established the first Brethren Assembly in Godavari Delta, Andhra Pradesh.
In 1915, the Brethren missionaries established a hospital in Narasapur, Adnhra Pradesh, which was a pioneering effort in that region. Several schools, student hostels, orphanages and clinics were also set up by them. Later a Women’s Hospital, facility for Leprosy patients, and a Nurses Training School were established in Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh.
Ida Scudder, an young American woman, a graduate of D.L. Moody’s school at Northfield in America, came to visit this missionary father in South India in 1892. One night, a Brahmin man came to her and said that his wife was ready to deliver the baby, and sought her help to deliver the baby. Ida replied, “No I’m just a girl. I’m not a doctor, I know nothing about medicine. My father is the physician; you can take him” The Brahmin answered, “I can’t take a man to see my wife!” The same night a Muslim and Mudaliar came with similar requests. She refused again.
By the morning, all three women were dead. This shook Ida. She believed God was saying something to her. She went back to America, trained at Cornell Medical College. And then returned to India in 1900 to establish a one-bed clinic, which grew in to Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore. Mahatma Gandhi called it “the best medical college in Asia” and it became the largest in India.
During 1930, an Indian doctor by name Dr. V Verghese purchased a piece of land in Tiruvalla, Kerala and built a small hospital. As a medical student he had been blessed through the ministry of George Muller. Earlier, he served in the Indian Medical Service. When he became too old to continue the hospital, he contacted missionary Gordon Fountain who invited Dr. R.S. Churchward who took over Tiruvalla Hospital in 1939. Today, the Tiruvalla Medical Mission (TMM) hospital has become one of the most sought-after hospitals in Central Kerala, with the motto: ‘Hospital with God’s Signature’ The 400-bed hospital has most of the medical, surgical and diagnostic departments, and is currently under modern high-tech expansion. Its Obstetrics and Gynecology department is very famous having completed 300,000 births in 2019 since its inception.
TMM is also one of the pioneers in health education and training. The Graduates and Masters level Nurses Training College is the first in Central Kerala. The graduates from this college today have a global presence, known for their compassionate service and professionalism.
Dr. K.N. Namboodiripad was a renowned neurosurgeon trained in the United Kingdom. While studying there, he had an encounter with Jesus Christ primarily through reading the Bible and through watching the Christian life of a Nursing staff who worked in the same hospital. He was a Brahmin from North Kerala. Since his commitment to Christ, he had an urge to serve the marginalized of India. Thus, he joined the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Ludhiana. It was in 1881 that two Scottish evangelist sisters, Martha Rosa Greenfield and Kay greenfield started a small health facility in Ludhiana. Dr. Dame Edith Mary Brown joined them in 1893. In 1894 they established the North Indian School of Medicine for Christian Women in Ludhiana, the first medical school for women in Asia.
Dr. Stephen Alfred was trained as a Gastroenterologist in the UK. But God called him to serve in India. In 1992, he set up a small clinic in Thane, Mumbai. But he had a vision to establish a high-quality hospital. Over the years, God enabled him to fulfil it. Today “Bethany Hospital” in Thane is a world class health facility, serving the poor and the rich alike.
The Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home in Baripada, Orissa was started by an Australian Missionary Kate Allanby in 1985, at the invitation by then Maharajah of Mayurbhanj, Sri Ram Chandra Bhanj Deo. Scores of missionaries continued this noble mission. Among them was Graham Staines from Australia who came to Baripada at the age of 24, in January 1965, commended by the Brethren Assembly in Brisbane. He served the leprosy patients for 34 years. On 23 January 1999, 59-year-old Graham and his two sons were burnt alive by communal fanatics.
With a population of 1.4 billion, India is currently facing a famine for qualified medical professionals, in all fields. The Christian medical profession indeed is a commission to live a sacrificial life. We are men and women called not only to relieve the sorrows of body and mind, but surely to heal the cry of the souls going to eternal hell. It’s time Christian doctors, nurses, pharmacists and para-medicals fan out to the villages and small towns of India, establishing hundreds of small clinics.
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