Zahur-ul-Haqq, born in Tilhar, India, in 1834 and raised in a prominent Muslim family, practiced Islam until 1854, when hearing the gospel preached on the streets of Bareilly turned his heart toward Jesus Christ. As a new believer, he attended church and studied Christian doctrines, and on July 24, 1859, before English and Indian witnesses, he was baptized and publicly committed himself as a follower of Christ. Recognized as the first convert of the Methodist mission in India, he then worked as a teacher in the mission school and over the next two decades served as a teacher, preacher, and reverend in several parts of northern India, ultimately in the Amroha District, the central point for 146 villages with nearly 1,500 Christians. In 1882, he became the first Indian Presiding Elder and continued spreading the gospel throughout India, seeing the number of Christians grow to nearly 50,000 in the four districts where he worked as an elder. He died in July 1896, and his legacy continued through his five sons and four daughters, including three sons who served passionately as pastors in Delhi, Meerut, and Moradabad.