How did the Methodist Church begin?

John Wesley preaching outdoors - a stained glass window by Ed Moultrie

Origins and development

The Methodist Church began as a movement for spiritual renewal. Its founders were John and Charles Wesley, both ordained ministers of the Church of England. John (1703-91) was a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; Charles (1707-88) wrote many of our best-known hymns, including “Love Divine, all loves excelling” and “O for a thousand tongues to sing”.

The Wesley brothers and their friends were given the nickname “methodists” because of their methodical approach to spirituality and practical Christian living. John Wesley's quest for peace with God took him from teaching at Oxford University to work as a missionary in America. The decisive change happened, however, when he realized in 1738 that the Christian life rests not on what we do for God, but on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. The Wesleys believed that this message was good news for everyone and they travelled throughout the British Isles preaching, encouraging and organising. The Methodists reached people untouched by the existing churches. Local groups of Methodists met regularly for worship, and to help one another learn and grow as Christians.

In the years after John Wesley's death, the Methodists gradually separated from the Church of England. Several different Methodist denominations developed during the nineteenth century, but most reunited in 1932 to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the largest of the English Free Churches. Today there are more than 70 million Methodists world-wide.

See also John Wesley and Oxford

Methodism today

 Methodism is proud to stand within the mainstream of historic Christianity, sharing core beliefs with other orthodox Christians and working with other Churches locally, nationally and internationally.

We emphasize that the message of Jesus is for everyone, and that no one is excluded from God's love. We aim to grow in faith and to express our faith in daily life, continuing our Church's long tradition of concern for the needy and the vulnerable.

In organisation, our local churches are grouped into `circuits' (ours is the Oxford Circuit), served by ministers and by lay people who share in leading Sunday worship and play a full part in decision-making.

For further information about the wider work of our Church, visit the website of the Methodist Church in Great Britain.