A Brief History

Early Methodism

The movement known as Methodism began in England, shortly before the American Revolution. In 1738, John Wesley, an Anglican (Church of England) priest and minister, after experiencing great disappointment in his ministry and mission work to the Georgia Colony, had a life changing experience while worshipping with a group of German expats called the Moravians. He later wrote that while he worshipped with them, he felt his “heart strangely warmed” and wanted to continue to seek after the Spirit of God in earnest throughout his ministry.

Wesley believed that Christian living required two things: an active participation in Christian disciplines like prayer, worship, and community, and a life that was changed from experiencing the living God. The idea that we can experience life altering changes for good when the Spirit of God meets us and moves through us is called holiness, a term many people use to describe the movement that Wesley began hundreds of years ago.

In addition to his “methods” of discipleship, John Wesley also emphasized the importance of love within Christian living, framing Christ’s ministry as a “theology of love.” Taking from Christ’s words about loving God and loving others seriously, he preached that through the Spirit of God working in our lives, the love of God could reign supreme in our hearts, homes, and communities.

While John Wesley never set out to start a new church denomination, the persecution his followers experienced in their local congregations eventually led to the group forming their own denomination—the Methodist Church. As the movement found its way to America, it became the Methodist Episcopal Church, where it flourished in an environment that valued freedom of religion.

When forbidden from preaching from the pulpits of parish churches, Wesley began open-air preaching.