About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales, United Kingdom. As a result of this, many missionaries came from England and Germany to North-East India to spread the Gospel. At the time, north-east India was not divided into many states as it is today. The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes...Naturally, they were not welcomed. One Welsh missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity. Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man instantly composed a song which became famous down the years. He sang:
"I have decided to follow Jesus. (3 times)No turning back, no turning back."
-Dr. P.P. Job and Indian preacher in His book “Why God Why”
C. Michael Hawn and other modern scholars have traced the song confidently to Simon K. Marak, a pastor, schoolteacher, and missionary from Jorhat, Assam, India. For more details, see the entry on this hymn in the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology (http://www.hymnology.co.uk/i/i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus), UMC Discipleship Ministries (https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus), or Hymnology Archive (https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus).