The Brethren are a Christian Evangelical premillennial [1] religious movement. The "Brethren" churches or Assemblies are completely independent of each other. Local assemblies are autonomous but are often informally linked with each other. There is no denominational headquarters or any governing body to which local assemblies are accountable. Brethren remain affiliated with one another, mostly through common support of missionaries, area conferences, Youth Ministries, and the ministry of travelling preachers Each church will have a number of Elders and these Elders are the spiritual leaders of the assemblies.
This spiritual movement of Plymouth Brethren found its way to India in 1833 through Anthony Norris Groves, who was professionally a dentist. His activities centered in the Godavari delta area of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
John Arulappan, who was a disciple of Groves, acted on Groves' principles and as a full-time worker lived "by faith." Through Arulappan's ministry, a revival broke out in Tinnevelly in South India and many congregations were formed.
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