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ENGLISH METHODISM

English Methodism came largely as a reaction against English rationalism and the general spiritual and moral decline of the English nation. John Wesley (1703-91) was the man who called the revival into existence, but he was ably assisted by his brother, Charles Wesley (1708-88), and by George Whitfield (1714-70). John Williams Fletcher (1729-85) was also prominently connected with the founding of Methodism. John Wesley was the organizer, George Whitfield was the great preacher, Charles Wesley was the hymn-writer, and John Fletcher was the theologian of the movement.

John and Charles Wesley were reared in a religious home and greatly influenced by a godly mother. Their father was an Anglican clergyman, rector of the county parish of Epworth. While attending Oxford University, they were members of a group of young men who met for the study of the Bible and other books. This society became gradually more religious. The young men fasted twice a week, prayed much, and visited prisons and the sick. Other students began to call them the "Holy Club" or "Methodists" because of their strict methods of living. They and George Whitfield were all ordained as ministers in the Anglican Church. In 1835 John and Charles left England to be missionaries in the newly established colony of Georgia, but their work was so unsuccessful that they soon returned to England. Charles in 1736 and John in 1738. On the journey to America they met some Moravians and were impressed by their peculiar peace, calmness, and gentleness. They impressed John Wesley with the necessity of a personal experience and assurance of salvation. John did not have this. Then, on May 24, 1738 at 8:45 p.m. at a society meeting on Aldersgate Street while listening to the reading of Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he had a definite conversion. He later wrote in his diary, "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." Charles Wesley and George Whitfield had already had similar experiences. In these specific conversions the evangelical Methodism was born. They began to preach a definite conversion experience followed by holy living. They were soon rejected by the established clergy and began to hold meetings outdoors. The outside meetings at Bristol gathered audiences that at times numbered twenty thousand. Although at first there was no intent to split from the Anglican Church, the number of converts grew so rapidly that they were organized into societies which were composed of bands or groups which were divided into classes of 12 for mutual edification and encouragement. By 1784 the Methodist societies formed into churches or congregations and were given the right to ordain ministers and administer the sacraments. Missionaries were sent to America.

Methodism exerted a world-wide influence. It quickened the spirit of English evangelism. It awakened a new spirit of humanitarianism, especially by its prison reforms and by its fight against slavery. It promoted the modern Sunday School, and founded tract and Bible societies. It greatly stimulated Protestant interest in foreign missions.