Our Missionary’s
Dr. William Arthur Stanton
Dr. William Arthur Stanton was born on 5 December 1867 in Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA, the son of Rev. William E. Stanton and Carrie Kinney.
He graduated from Colgate University with a degree in theology in June 1892. In the same year, Dr. William Arthur Stanton married Fanny Elizabeth. He was ordained at the Hamilton Baptist Church in New York and, with a vision of serving as a foreign missionary, traveled to India with his wife on 24 September 1892.
Dr. William Arthur Stanton and his wife were given a grand welcome in Madras City by a missionary named C. Hadli on 7 November, and then they came to Nellore. After being welcomed by the Downey missionary couple, Dr. Stanton and his wife reached a place called Bapatla some time later. The first Telugu word they learned was “Santosham.”
While serving in Bapatla, on 25 January 1894, by the blessings of God, their eldest son, Betty, was born. On 11 November of the same year, they departed for Kurnool town.
On 15 January 1895, they took over full responsibility as the Kurnool missionaries from the Thomson couple. In 1900, they went to America for a short break, where they had their second son, Edwin, and their daughter, Catherine. In February 1904, he returned to India with his family to Kurnool town. On 5 January 1906, he opened ABM High School, now known as Coles High School.
Dr. William Arthur Stanton baptized 930 people in India from 1898 to 1915 and led them to salvation. In September 1918, a Baptist church was established under the name Kurnool Baptist Church, which is today’s Coles Centennial Telugu Baptist Church. The first pastor of that church was Rev. D. C. Lingaiah. The Coles Centennial Telugu Baptist Church building was dedicated in September 1919, and it was inaugurated by Dr. William Arthur Stanton. This was the result of their 25 years of service.
In 1923, night schools were established in the villages, and in December 1923, the foundation stone of the ECM School building was laid. In December 1924, the ECM High School building was inaugurated.
In November 1925, the Kurnool Field Association was established. In 1933, the Kurnool Field Schools were created, and Christian teachers were appointed in them. The total number of schools was 90; teachers numbered 146, and students were 2,534.
After 40 years of long service, Dr. William Arthur Stanton left Kurnool on 14 March 1934 and returned to his homeland. He accepted the call of Christ and entered the presence of God on 4 March 1954. He lived for 86 years and 3 months. His service in Kurnool lasted 40 years. The Stanton Memorial Telugu Baptist Church was built in memory of Dr. William Arthur Stanton.
Rev. Dr. Tracy Greer Gipson
Rev. Dr. Tracy Greer Gipson was born on 29 August 1917 in Caldwell, Idaho, to Edgar Varney Gipson and Florence Greer Gipson. In 1931, the family moved to Denver when his father became an agriculture inspector. They returned to Twin Falls, Idaho, two years later at the beginning of the Depression. As there was no money for higher education, Rev. Dr. Tracy Greer Gipson prayed fervently for help and was granted a full scholarship to Linfield College, where he graduated Cum Laude four years later.
Rev. Dr. T. G. Gipson first worked in the home missions of Idaho. In 1947, he and his wife Marjorie were appointed by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society to work in South India. They reached Madras on 7 April 1947. With their three small children, they began their work in a primitive village, and three more children were later born in India. As their work progressed, it became clear that the couple had found their life’s calling.
They were then assigned to the city of Kurnool to manage the network of mission boarding schools in the district. From April 1954 to 1960, his ministry bore great fruit. The number of new believers in the Kurnool field increased from 8,600 to 14,500. He established four new churches, most notably the Stanton Memorial Telugu Baptist Church. From 1960 to 1965, they moved their ministry to Calvary Baptist Church in Salem, Oregon. Linfield College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1965.
Rev. Dr. Tracy Greer Gipson studied at Berkeley Divinity School, then transferred to complete his Bachelor of Divinity at Colgate Rochester, NY. In 1972, he completed a Master’s degree in Church History at Yale University.
Rev. Dr. T. G. Gipson’s educational service in Kurnool is unforgettable. His work as Correspondent of Coles High School led to many reforms. Gipson Colony in Kurnool was established with his support and cooperation.
Returning to India once again, Rev. Dr. Gipson became a seminary professor, teaching church history and eventually serving as President of Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad, until his retirement in 1981. Tracy and Marjorie continued to visit India as volunteers, on and off, until 1999.
Dr. Gipson is survived by his wife, Marjorie; his siblings Neal, Priscilla, and Jack; his children Tracy Ann, Marcia, Robert (Reg), Carol, John, and Marjorie (Maj); his fifteen grandchildren; and twenty-two great-grandchildren.
An exemplary couple who went wherever God called them, Rev. Dr. T. G. Gipson and his wife Marjorie lived as true missionaries, working tirelessly in service.