John Wesley and the Methodist Church

In 1703, John Wesley was born in England. He was the son of the rector of Epworth in Lincolnshire. Wesley received his ordination from Christ Church in Oxford, England. His theology, as well as his emphasis on saving faith, was a critical factor in the formation of the Methodist church, both in England and in the Americas.

The development of Methodism is based on a revival of the preaching of the true gospel message. In addition, John Wesley’s conversion, as well as many others, including his own brother, Charles Wesley played a role in the development of Methodism. Prior to this time, the vast majority of churches in England had abandoned ‘true faith’ for “barren moralism” or moral agnosticism. In general, John Wesley’s conversion is accredited to the time when he became assured of saving faith in Jesus Christ in 1738, yet since he was raised in the protestant tradition and actually became an ordained minister in 1725, it is likely that he came to faith far earlier (Lane, 2008, p. 213,214). Methodism embraces the need for true faith and assurance of faith because of this point in his life when he himself, became assured of his faith.

John Wesley only visited the Americas once in 1736, but, upon the establishment of the Methodist movement in England, he sent missionaries to the colonies to assist the lay preachers which had already sprung up there. Wesleyan theology was popular, mainly because it was true to the Gospel, but also because it lacked—at least initially—the social disorder which existed in many churches. Therefore, it was attractive to those who had been legally or socially oppressed, namely the poor, African Americans and women (Abingdon Press, 2008).

An interesting thing happened in the early days of Methodism. In the Americas (Abingdon Press, 2008), as well as in England (Lane, 2006, p.214), the Wesleys existed amidst evangelical churches. In fact, in the colonies, the lay preachers in the Wesley circles refused to administer the sacraments of baptism and communion, instead referring them to the local Anglican Parishes to receive the sacraments from ordained ministers (Abingdon Press, 2008). In England, the entire evangelical revival put pressure on the Wesleyan circles, causing them to unify apart from the Church of England, formally establishing the Methodist Church (Lane, p.214).

Around the same time that the Methodist church was being formally established in England, The Revolutionary War was taking place between England and the American colonies. When independence from England had been established, it became necessary to make changes to the infrastructure of the Methodist church. John Wesley sent ordained ministers to the Americas to establish a system of ordination, enabling them to break off from the Methodist Church in England. In 1784, because of Wesley’s foresight, they were able to do exactly that, and The Methodist Episcopal Church in America was formed, which was based on Wesley’s theology and practices, but had no official ties to English Methodism (Abingdon Press, 2008).

Wesley’s theology and conversion were critical to the formation of the Methodist Church, however there were actually many different people who were a part of its establishment. It is true, however, that without John Wesley’s dedication to the message of the gospel and of saving faith, the Methodist church would not exist in its current form, in England, in the Americas or anywhere else.

References

Lane, T. (2006). A concise history of christian thought. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Abingdon Press. (2008) History of Our Church: Roots, 1736-1816. Retrieved from:

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5399351&ct=6470771