Anthony Norris Groves (1 February 1795 – 20 May 1853) was an English Protestant missionary,[1] who has been called the "father of faith missions".

[4] He met with other Christian believers in private houses for study of the apostles' doctrine, for fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, as was the custom of the early church (Acts 2:42), without requiring the presence of any ordained minister.

In 1829 Groves and his wife Mary set out for Baghdad, together with their two young sons, Henry and Frank,[6] and accompanied by several Christian friends, one of whom was John Kitto.

In March 1831 Baghdad entered upon a year of intense misery, with civil war, plague, floods and famine, in which Groves suffered the death of his wife Mary[1] on 14 May, and a recently born baby daughter on 24 August.

On invitation from Colonel Arthur Cotton, in 1833, Groves visited widely among missionaries in India, and found open doors for the gospel in many parts of the country.

In 1834 he accompanied the Scottish missionary educator Alexander Duff from Calcutta to Scotland, nursing him slowly back to health.

Rejoined by his sons and others from Baghdad, he established a missionary team in Madras supported largely through his dentistry, and later a farm and mission settlement in Chittoor.

He recruited a number of missionaries to assist existing efforts in several parts of India, and to pioneer new ventures, notably in the Godavari Delta and Tamil Nadu.

[9] He considered his life a failure, and did not live long enough to see the worldwide impact of his ideas and example on a new generation of "faith missions" springing from the 1859-60 Revivals.

In 1825, Groves wrote a small booklet Christian Devotedness, expounding Jesus' teaching concerning stewardship of material possessions.

This booklet had a major impact upon George Müller, and through him on James Hudson Taylor (who soon after conversion attended the Kennington meeting where Edward Cronin was local) and many other significant Christian leaders.

By his example, Groves challenged much of previous (and current) thinking about the missionary task through his journeys to Mesopotamia and India which he undertook without the backing of the State or Church.