Plymouth Brethren - Worldwide Expansion

Worldwide Expansion

The expansion of the Plymouth Brethren outside of the UK started early, when Anthony Norris Groves left to become a missionary in 1829, first in Baghdad and then in India. Although his work as a dentist in the Godavari delta area of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu progressed slowly, it produced in time a flourishing movement of Indian Brethren with a particularly emphasis in Kerala.

JN Darby's visits to Switzerland between 1835 and 1840 with critiques of Methodist perfectionism resulted in the establishment of meetings in Vevey in 1838 and Lausanne in 1840 drawn from some of the dissenting churches. Later he moved to France establishing outposts in the Montpelier region. During this time he was also translating the New Testament into French. "During the five years that followed Darby’s arrival in Lausanne, his principles spread far and wide in French Switzerland, and obtained some successes in Berne and Bâle."

The next move came from a visit by George Müller to a Baptist church in Stüttgard in 1843 at the invitation of a lady who had visited him in Bristol. "One or two of the elders having determined to reject him, a meeting "for the breaking of bread" was started in his private room the same evening. Seventeen persons were present." In 1854, Darby visited Germany with meetings being set up at Elberfeld and Düsseldorf among others.

Itinerant preachers carried both the open and exclusive brethren to North America after the middle of the 19th century. Darby made a number of visits in the 1870s and his emphasis on prophecy was influential. They continued to multiply and divide and currently number around 120,000 in 1,250 assemblies.

Brethren missionaries were active in many parts of the world and there are still assemblies in Chile, Dominican Republic, Peru and South Africa, among others.