Much has been written about the early Jesuits who made Macao a base for spreading Catholicism in China and beyond, but little attention is given to the trajectories of Protestant Christianity in the colony. This article evaluates the empirical findings and analytical insights of R. Lawrence Ballew’s latest book, entitled Like a Tree Planted by Streams of Water: The Baptist Church Takes Root in Macao (John and Lilian Galloway 1904–1968) (Macao: University of Saint Joseph, 2019), which discusses the origin, development and legacy of the American Southern Baptist evangelisation in twentieth-century Macao. Ballew draws on the letters and reports of missionaries John and Lilian Galloway to trace their personal calling to overseas ministry, and to contextualise their proselytising efforts in this cosmopolitan city. One of their enduring legacies is the strong Baptist infrastructure that they created and integrated into the local social and cultural landscape.