This Week in AG History -- Feb. 25, 1950

The name of Bessie Violet Gager (1874-1957), a pioneering Pentecostal missionary, does not typically appear in Pentecostal history books. Her ministry spanned 31 years in northern India, where she quietly but faithfully served with a passion for evangelism and a deep love for the Indian people that never waned, even into her 80s.

Gager was 37 years old when she first arrived in India in 1911 to assist with a mission for lepers in Uska Bazar. After the death of missionary Minnie Abrams, Gager moved to help Abrams’ assistant, Lillie Doll, with the mission in Basti.

Having been in India for just a few months when Abrams died, Gager struggled with the fear that she, too, would die in India: “The devil would say, ‘Yes, you will be buried alongside Miss Abrams.’” In desperation, she wrote letters back to the United States, asking for prayer. Not long after, her debilitating fear subsided, and boldness took its place.

When Assemblies of God missionary James Harvey arrived in 1915, he was deeply impressed by the work of the single female missionaries. He reported back to Pentecostal Evangel readers that the mission was thriving, with around 90 people in attendance and “a spirit of unity and love.” In 1922, when Lillie Doll Maltby’s health required her to return to the United States, Gager was appointed superintendent of the Basti work.

Though she ministered wherever the need arose, Basti, India, remained Gager’s base of operations for the next three decades. The mission was located along a road that led to several Hindu temples, and Gager developed a profound desire to minister to the people who passed by on their way to the temples. She saw them journeying in search of peace, enduring great trials to appease their gods, only to return disappointed.

Seeing an opportunity for a roadside ministry, Gager greeted people on their way to the temple with gospel tracts and then spoke with them again on their return journey. Through this approach, Gager led many to realize that the idols they worshipped could never bring them satisfaction. In contrast, she explained that Jesus, who was tortured for them rather than demanding that they be tortured for Him, could offer peace to their troubled souls.

Despite her initial fear of never leaving India, Gager rarely returned to the United States for furlough. When she did return, it was typically to recruit other single women to join the mission.

In 1927, while visiting the United States, Gager stayed at a mission home in the Eastern District of the Assemblies of God. There, pastors Robert and Marie Burgess Brown encouraged her to consider joining the Assemblies of God. Following their counsel, Gager became an ordained missionary with the Fellowship, just one month before returning to India. She retained her credentials for the rest of her life.

Upon her return to India in 1928, Gager wrote to her new Fellowship, expressing her gratitude for the love shown to her, but sharing her deep desire to remain in India.

“I greatly appreciate the love that was shown me in the assemblies… however, my most earnest hope is that it will not be necessary for me to take another furlough; I feel that I want to stay here until He comes, so that the remainder of my stay on this earth may be spent in telling India’s lost of the only One who can give them rest in this life and a place in heaven when the earthly journey is finished.”

Over the next 10 years, Gager quietly but faithfully served the people of India wherever opportunity arose. In 1938, Gager wrote to her supporters, stating that it was time to turn over the leadership of the Basti work to a younger missionary couple. The new missionaries encouraged her to remain with them as long as she could. Well into her 70s, Gager would set a chair by the road each day to meet pilgrims on their way to the temples, sharing the love of Calvary with them.

By 1948, Gager’s health required her to return to the United States. She moved into the Assemblies of God retirement home for ministers in Pinellas Park, Florida. The Feb. 25, 1950, Pentecostal Evangel reported her arrival, noting that although she was “exhausted by her long trip,” she quickly got up, dressed, and with a handful of tracts, announced she was going for a walk. She continued walking most days, giving out tracts and testifying to everyone she met. It was rare for her to not request prayer in evening devotions for someone to whom she had witnessed that day.

Bessie Gager passed away in 1957 at the age of 83, having told the workers in Florida that she was “as happy in this home as it is possible for me to be anywhere outside of India.” While her name is largely absent from the history books, there are thousands of Indian believers who heard the gospel and accepted Christ through the work of this faithful missionary who never wavered from her commitment to their salvation.

Read the article telling of Gager’s arrival in Florida on page 9 of the Feb. 25, 1950, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit,” by Willard Cantelon

• “An Investment in Youth,” by Wesley Steelberg

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.