Confirmation Part 7/10: A History of Methodism
This is part of a series of mix-and-match curriculum resource for UMC Confirmation Classes and Teachers
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Methodism
in the United States
Every church has a story. Here's ours.
The United Methodist Church shares its history with the ancient Jewish faith, the early Christian Church, the Anglican Church (English), the Methodist church (English), the Evangelical and Moravian Churches (German), the United Church of Canada, and other Methodist bodies in the U.S.
United Methodist faith and doctrine are based on the Word of God — the Holy Bible.
"We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation." — The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2012
The UMC story takes focus in the 18th century. In England, Methodists helped spread the Christian faith to the masses, giving hope for a better tomorrow. In America, it's a story of dedicated preachers who traveled thousands of miles on horseback to spread the Word of God.
John Wesley: The Founder
Childhood: John Wesley was born in 1703 in Epworth, England, to Samuel Wesley, an Anglican priest, and Susanna Wesley, a devout Christian. Susanna had a strong influence on her son's life.
Education: At age 11, Wesley was sent to school in London, and at 17, he began study at Oxford. In 1726, he was elected a fellow at Lincoln College. Two years later, at age 25, he was ordained a priest of the Church of England.
Origin of the "Methodists": While at Oxford, Wesley, his brother Charles, and other students formed a religious society. Dedicated to methodical religious life, they studied the Bible daily, fasted regularly, and took Communion weekly. Other students teased them, calling them "Bible Moths" and "Methodists" — a name that stuck.
American Mission: In 1735, John and Charles sailed to the American colony of Georgia as missionaries to the pioneers and indigenous populations. The project was a failure, and Wesley returned to England about two years later, depressed and doubting his faith.
Conversion: Back in London, Wesley befriended members of a German Christian society, the Moravians. (On the voyage to America, he had been impressed by the faith of a group of Moravians.) On May 24, 1738, while attending a religious society meeting, Wesley had a deep religious experience:
"I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
A New Mission: With renewed faith, John — along with Charles and a friend, George Whitefield — spread the Word of God's love and salvation throughout Britain. The neglected poor and lower classes were given their first hope of salvation and their first incentive to lead better lives through Christ. Services were held anywhere: in fields, barns, abandoned buildings, even mining pits. The great number of converts were organized into religious "societies" — small local groups guided by Wesley's teachings.
Beginnings of a New Church
Methodism began as a renewal movement within the Church of England, not a separate sect.
1740 — The Anglican Church refused to let the Wesley brothers preach in churches and denied Methodist converts communion. Many Methodist preachers and followers were persecuted for their beliefs.
1741 — Wesley organized a network of traveling preachers (the circuit system) who made the rounds to distant communities.
1742 — Religious societies were divided into classes under lay leaders. The following year, Wesley wrote the "General Rules of the United Societies."
1744 — The first conference between the Wesleys and their preachers was held. Conferences became annual events.
1784 — Wesley began ordaining ministers for America, an act which deepened the split between Methodists and the Anglican Church.
John Wesley did not set out to form a new Church. He always maintained that Methodists were part of the Anglican Church, and he encouraged his followers to take part in Anglican services and sacraments whenever possible.
Foundations of Methodism in America
The Methodist movement spread rapidly in the colonies.
1760s — First Lay Societies: Methodism in America began as a lay movement. According to tradition, a small society was started in New York in 1766 by Philip Embury and Barbara Heck. In 1768 they built the John Street Church. Societies were also organized in Maryland (by Robert Strawbridge), in Philadelphia (by Thomas Webb), and in Virginia (by Devereux Jarratt).
1769 — Missionaries from England: Wesley sent his first preachers to America. Later, Francis Asbury, Richard Wright, George Shadford, and Thomas Rankin were also assigned. Rankin was appointed superintendent over American Methodist activities.
The Revolutionary War: Wesley supported England in the war, so in many colonies it was dangerous to be Methodist. The British preachers returned to England. Everyone else went home. Asbury stayed. He worked at great risk to keep the societies together, riding thousands of miles to preach and organize throughout the colonies. By the war's end, membership had tripled to 15,000.
Three New American Churches
Three churches were formed in the U.S., all sharing a common purpose, spirit, and love: the Methodist Episcopal Church, the United Brethren in Christ, and the Evangelical Association.
Methodist Episcopal Church: On Christmas Eve of 1784, 60 American Methodist preachers met in Baltimore, Maryland, to form the Methodist Episcopal Church. Wesley's Articles of Religion and Sunday Service were adopted. Allegiance to the U.S. government was vowed. Thomas Coke was elected superintendent, and Francis Asbury was ordained deacon, then elder, then superintendent (bishop). Philip Otterbein, a German preacher, assisted in Asbury's ordination.
In the following years, the church expanded along the frontier and into New England, carried by rugged circuit riders filled with evangelical spirit.
United Brethren in Christ: At a revival meeting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1767, a Mennonite preacher named Martin Boehm delivered a powerful sermon. When he finished, Philip Otterbein — a minister of the German Reformed Church — embraced him and said, "We are brethren." Otterbein had studied Wesley's writings. Boehm had the fire. In 1800, they formed the United Brethren — a German-speaking church that followed Methodist discipline.
Evangelical Association: When three of his children died, Jacob Albright — a Lutheran farmer from Pennsylvania — was left spiritually shaken. He found strength and renewed faith through attending Methodist meetings. He became a Methodist preacher whose fervor won many followers among German settlers. As early as 1803, followers organized around Albright in a movement that became the Evangelical Association.
Divisions in the 1800s
During the 19th century, a number of churches withdrew from the main body of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Conflicts arose from disagreements about church authority and slavery, rather than differences in religious doctrine.
1828–1830: Methodist Protestant Church — Formed by Methodists who wanted lay people to share power with clergy in governing the church.
1843: Wesleyan Methodist Church — Radical abolitionist members, prohibited from discussing slavery at conference, withdrew and formed the Wesleyan Methodist Connection.
1845: Methodist Episcopal Church, South — The slavery issue divided the Church again. The Conference of 1784 adopted strong anti-slavery rules — but in many southern states, enforcement proved impossible, and the rules were quickly softened in practice. The gap between the ideal and the reality would fuel decades of conflict. In 1844, the Church voted to suspend a bishop from Georgia who could not legally free his slaves. Southerners organized the MEC, South in May 1845. The first attempt at reconciliation occurred in 1876 at Cape May, New Jersey; both churches acknowledged each other as true branches of the original church, laying the groundwork for reunion.
Black Methodist Churches
These churches were formed as a result of discrimination that prevented early Black Methodists from serving the gospel as they wished. But they are far more than a response to exclusion — they became thriving traditions in their own right, with their own theological emphases, worship practices, and contributions to American Christianity and public life.
1816: African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church — Founded in Philadelphia by Richard Allen and Daniel Coker
1821: African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) Church — Created in New York, largely by Black members of the John Street Church
1870: Colored Methodist Episcopal Church — Members came primarily from the MEC, South. In 1954, the name was changed to the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church.
Unification in the 1900s
After many years of discussion and planning, the United Methodist Church was formed.
The Methodist Church (1939): In 1904, the northern and southern denominations agreed on a joint hymnal. In 1910, the Methodist Protestant Church and MEC discussed future union. In 1939, all three denominations passed a Declaration of Union and drew up a new constitution, creating The Methodist Church.
Evangelical United Brethren (1946): The United Brethren and the Evangelical Church shared similar disciplines, doctrine, and practices. In 1946, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, they joined together as the Evangelical United Brethren.
The United Methodist Church (1968): On April 23, 1968, in Dallas, Texas, the two churches joined to form The United Methodist Church. They had always shared theology, doctrine, and a similar Book of Discipline. The major historical difference between them had been language, and by the mid-20th century, this was no longer a barrier.
Social Consciousness in Methodist History
Social consciousness has always been central to Methodism:
Education: Beginning in the 18th century, Methodists founded many colleges, including McKendree, Wesleyan, Syracuse, Duke, Boston University, Northwestern, Southern Methodist University, and many more.
Women's Rights: In the 1800s, there were many famous women preachers in Methodist churches, including Maggie Van Cott, Amanda Smith (a former slave), and Lydia Sexton. The United Brethren Church began ordaining women in 1889. Methodist women were given full rights as laity (1900), limited rights as clergy (1924), and full clergy rights (1956).
Publishing: Through the 19th and 20th centuries, Methodists have been active in publishing hymnals and magazines, including Christian Advocate and Methodist Magazine. The Ladies' Repository and Gatherings of the West was one of the first women's magazines.
Methodism
in the World
A History of Methodism in the World
Methodism is not just a movement in the United States— it is a global one. Some of the most distinctive things about Methodist faith and practice were shaped outside the United States, in places where local Christians made Wesley's teachings their own.
This chapter follows Methodism around the world — not every country and not every story, but enough to show the pattern. Wherever Methodism traveled, local people shaped it. They kept what spoke to their lives and added what was missing. The result is a tradition that looks different depending on where you stand, but shares a common DNA: grace, holiness, community, and concern for the world.
England — Where It All Started
Methodism began in 18th-century England as a renewal movement within the Church of England. John Wesley never intended to start a new denomination. He wanted to revive the one he had. Wesley and his followers preached outdoors to people the established church had overlooked — miners, laborers, the poor. The movement grew rapidly among the working class.
Wesley organized his followers into small groups called "class meetings," where members held each other accountable in their faith. He trained lay preachers — ordinary people, not ordained clergy — to lead these groups and carry the gospel to communities that had no minister. Women also served as leaders and preachers, which was radical for the time.
After Wesley's death in 1791, the Methodist movement gradually separated from the Church of England. The official break came in 1795. English Methodism's lasting contributions include the class meeting model (which became the foundation for small-group ministry worldwide), the emphasis on lay leadership, and the conviction that faith must lead to social reform.
Germany — The Pietist Roots
Before Wesley's famous conversion experience, he was deeply influenced by German Christians — especially the Moravians, a Pietist community led by Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. The Moravians emphasized personal relationship with Christ, emotional honesty in faith, and accountability within small communities. Wesley encountered them on a ship crossing the Atlantic, and their calm faith during a violent storm left a deep impression on him.
Wesley's "heart strangely warmed" moment in 1738 happened at a meeting influenced by Moravian teaching. The Moravians also pioneered cross-cultural missionary work, sending ordinary believers — not just clergy — to share the gospel overseas. This shaped Methodist missionary theology for generations.
Germany later produced two denominations that would eventually merge into the United Methodist Church: the Evangelical Association (founded by Jacob Albright) and the United Brethren in Christ (founded by Philip Otterbein and Martin Boehm). These were German-speaking movements that followed Methodist discipline and shared Wesley's emphasis on grace.
Africa — One of the Fastest-Growing Methodist Regions
Methodism arrived in Africa through British and American missionaries in the 1800s, often tied to colonial networks. But African Christians made it their own. They took leadership of their churches, developed their own worship practices, and connected Methodist theology to African traditions of communal life and social healing.
African Methodism emphasizes that salvation is not only an individual experience — it is a community transformation. Faith is lived out in relationships, in care for neighbors, and in the work of reconciliation. African Methodist worship traditions — including drumming, dance, call-and-response preaching, and strong oral traditions — have reshaped how Methodists around the world think about worship.
African Methodists also developed church-run schools and medical ministries, connecting faith directly to practical social uplift. Some of the largest Methodist populations in the world today are in Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire. In 2008, the UMC's General Conference approved the full admission of the Protestant Methodist Church of Côte d'Ivoire, bringing roughly 700,000 Ivorian Methodists into the denomination.
Korea — The Prayer and Revival Tradition
Methodism arrived in Korea in the late 1800s through missionaries. It grew rapidly during periods of intense national suffering — Japanese occupation, the Korean War, and the long process of postwar rebuilding. Korean Methodism developed a distinctive emphasis on dawn prayer: early morning prayer gatherings that became a defining spiritual practice, rooted in discipline, holiness, and communal intercession.
Korean Methodists blended Wesleyan holiness with revival energy and a theology of perseverance through suffering. The movement was also strongly lay-led — ordinary believers, not just clergy, drove its growth. Korean Methodism's contribution to the global church includes its prayer traditions, its model of lay evangelism, and its understanding of faith as something that endures through hardship.
India — Methodism and Social Reform
Methodism arrived in India in the 1850s and became closely tied to education and social uplift. Methodist communities often welcomed people who had been marginalized by the caste system — a theological statement about human dignity that carried real social consequences. Church-run schools, literacy programs, and hospitals became central expressions of Methodist mission.
Indian Methodism also developed ways to practice Christian faith in a multi-religious society, living alongside Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and other traditions. This interfaith coexistence shaped a theology of respect and witness that influenced Methodist thinking beyond India.
Latin America — Liberation and Social Justice
Methodism spread through missionary networks to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and other Latin American countries during the 1800s. Over time, Latin American Methodists developed a distinctive theology that connected Wesley's emphasis on holiness with a commitment to social liberation. For these communities, holiness includes opposition to poverty, political oppression, and injustice.
One important figure is Bishop Federico Pagura, an Argentine Methodist bishop, liberation theologian, poet, and hymn writer. Pagura emphasized that faith must be tied to justice, that the church must oppose dictatorship, and that Christians from different traditions should cooperate in the work of peace. Latin American Methodism's contributions include strong lay activism, community organizing, human rights advocacy, and a prophetic tradition that insists faith cannot be separated from the struggle for a just world.
The Philippines — Indigenous Leadership and Resilience
Methodism arrived in the Philippines after the Spanish-American War in 1898, carried by American missionaries. Filipino Methodists quickly developed local clergy and reduced their dependence on foreign missionaries — one of the earliest examples of indigenous Methodist leadership in Asia.
Because the Philippines faces frequent natural disasters — typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions — Filipino Methodism developed a strong theology of resilience and hope, along with organized disaster relief systems. Philippine Methodists have also been active in social justice, opposing dictatorship and advocating for human rights.
The Pacific Islands — Creation Care and Community Faith
Methodist missionaries reached Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and other Pacific Islands in the 1800s. In many of these communities, Methodism became deeply woven into local culture. Methodist churches serve as community centers, preserve indigenous languages and traditions, and function as the heart of communal life. In some Pacific nations, Methodism is the largest Christian tradition.
Pacific Island Methodists have made a distinctive contribution to the global church through environmental stewardship theology. For island communities facing rising sea levels and changing weather patterns, creation care is not abstract — it is a matter of survival. Their faith is tied to the land and the sea. Pacific Methodism also emphasizes collective decision-making and extended family church life, where faith is practiced as a whole community rather than as isolated individuals.
Canada — The Social Gospel
Canadian Methodists were pioneers of the Social Gospel movement — the conviction that salvation includes transforming society, not just saving individual souls. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Canadian Methodists championed labor rights, poverty relief, public education, and healthcare advocacy.
Canadian Methodism also demonstrated a strong ecumenical spirit. In 1925, the Methodist Church in Canada joined with the Congregationalist and Presbyterian churches to form the United Church of Canada — one of the first major church unions in modern history. The Canadian Methodist legacy is a reminder that the movement has always been willing to cross boundaries in pursuit of Christian unity.
Zimbabwe and Southern Africa — Liberation and Solidarity
Methodism took deep root in Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa during the colonial period. During liberation struggles, Methodist churches supported anti-colonial justice movements and served as spaces of resistance and solidarity. After independence, these churches continued their work in education, healthcare, and rural ministry.
Southern African Methodism is known for vibrant worship — music, dance, and communal liturgy — and for a strong rural circuit ministry model that echoes the traveling preachers of Wesley's original movement. Here, holiness is expressed through community solidarity: faith that stands with people in their struggles and celebrates with them in their joys.
Finland and the Nordic Countries — Quiet Faithfulness
Methodist communities in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have always been small, but they have been historically steady. Nordic Methodists developed strong cooperation with Lutheran state churches — an ecumenical posture that reflected Wesley's own willingness to work across denominational lines.
Their contribution doesn't always make the headlines, but it is real and consistent. Nordic Methodism emphasizes social welfare, pastoral care, and community service. It is a reminder that faithfulness does not always look like rapid growth — sometimes it looks like steady service over generations.
What the Global Story
Teaches Us
Across every region, Methodism outside the United States tends to develop in three recurring ways.
First, local people shape the movement. Wherever Methodism traveled, indigenous Christians took leadership, adapted the theology to their own context, and made it their own. The movement was never simply imported — it was translated.
Second, holiness looks different depending on local needs. In Korea, holiness expressed itself through dawn prayer discipline. In Latin America, through liberation and justice. In Canada, through social reform. In the Pacific Islands, through care for creation.
Wesley's core conviction — that faith must change how you live — shows up everywhere, but it never looks exactly the same.
Third, Methodism spreads most through ordinary people. Globally, it has been lay leaders, not clergy, who carried the movement forward. This is one of the oldest and most consistent patterns in Methodist history, going all the way back to Wesley's class meetings in England.
The United Methodist Church is part of this global story. When we say we are a "connectional" church, we mean it — not just across conferences and districts, but across continents, languages, and cultures. The church you are joining in confirmation is connected to Christians around the world who share the same roots and the same commitment to grace, holiness, and love in action.
— What do you think?
This is part of a series of mix-and-match curriculum resource for UMC Confirmation Classes and Teachers
