What is Methodism?

A worldwide church

The Methodist Church is a worldwide Christian Protestant Church. There are about 300,000 Methodists in the UK and over 6,000 churches/chapels. There are over 70 million Methodists worldwide and the Methodist Church is growing by a million members annually.

The Wesleys

The Methodist Church grew out of the Methodist Movement which was part or the revival of the Anglican Church in the Eighteenth Century led by John Wesley, his brother Charles Wesley and George Whitfield. All three men were Anglican priests. The Methodist Movement was very successful particularly among those who felt excluded from the Anglican Church in London, the Midlands, the North East of England and the South West of England. John Wesley was a great organiser, encouraging people to form local societies which would meet regularly for prayer and bible study. He encouraged the building of preaching houses where the societies could meet and provided support for them by appointing preachers to visit the societies on a regular basis.

Split with the Anglican Church and divided

Soon after the Death of John Wesley in 1791, the Methodist Movement separated from the Anglican Church and became known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Various disagreements caused Methodism to fragment.

Re-united

The Methodist New Connexion was formed in 1797, the Primitive Methodists in 1807, the Bible Christians in 1815, the Protestant Methodist in 1827 and the Wesleyan Methodist Association in 1836. The two latter groups amalgamated in 1857 to form the United Methodist Free Church. The Methodist New Connexion, the Bible Christians and the United Methodist Free Church came together in 1907 to form the United Methodist Church. In 1932 the United Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodists combined and became the Methodist Church.

Where does the name come from?

The name Methodist derives from a derisory nickname given to John Wesley and a group of friends at Oxford University who met regularly for Bible study, prayer and Holy Communion, as well as working among the underprivileged members of the community. Wesley encouraged people to embrace religion from the heart as this would make a real difference in how they lived their lives. By meeting together for worship, prayer and Bible study in a regular and methodical way.

What's so special about Methodists?

Methodists still seek to help all who seek for a spiritual meaning in life and to overcome the major social evils of human rights abuse, misuse of the Earth’s resources and Third World Debt. As followers of Jesus, Methodists seek to reduce poverty and suffering in the World and encourage their followers to get involved in local and national politics.

Four aims of Methodists

Methodism's activities, both alone and with ecumenical and secular partners, are based on four aims known as
Our Calling:

· To increase awareness of God's presence and to celebrate God's love
· To help people to grow and learn as Christians through mutual support and care
· To be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice
· To make more followers of Jesus Christ.

For further information about Methodist history and the Wesleys click on one of the links below (links open new window):-