United Methodism in the U.S. shares its history with the:
Ancient Hebrew faith
Early Christian Church
Anglican Church (English)
Methodist Church (English)
Evangelical and Moravian Churches (German)
United Church of Canada
Other Methodists 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, copyrighted 2000; used by permission.

There are several million United Methodists in the U.S. today and over one million on other lands.

The United Methodist Story begins in the 18th Century. In England, Methodism helped spread the Christian faith
to the poor masses, giving them 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 throughout the new frontier. Here's how it all began...

Childhood: John Wesley was born in 1703 in Epworth, England, to Samuel Wesley, an Anglican priest, and
Susanna Wesley, a devout Christian. She had a strong influence on her son's life.

Education: At age 11, Wesley was sent to school in London, and at 17 he was elected a fellow at Lincoln
College. Two years later, at the age of 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, took
Communion weekly. Other students tease 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 Indians. The project was a failure, and Wesley returned to England 2 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 (with Charles and a friend, George Whitefield) spread the Work
of God's love and salvation throughout Britain. The neglected poor and lower class 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 as a separate sect.

1740: Conflicts -- The Anglican Church refused to the Wesley brothers preach in church and denied Methodist
converts communion. Many Methodist preachers and followers were persecuted for their beliefs.

1741: Circuit System -- Wesley organized a network of traveling preachers who made the rounds to distant
communities, telling the good news and bringing men and women to faith.

1742: Further Organization -- Religious societies were divided into classes under lay leaders. The following year,
Wesley wrote the "General Rules of the United Societies."

1744: Conference -- The first conference between the Wesleys and their preachers was held to settle questions about
doctrine and discipline. Conferences became annual events.

Following Years: Ordinations -- In 1784, Wesley began to ordain ministers for American -- 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 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 Organized -- Methodism in American began as a lay movement. In New York in 1766, a
small society was started by Philip Embury and Barbara Heck.

In 1768 they built the John Street Church. Societies were also organized elsewhere:

In Maryland, by Robert Strawbridge, a revivalist

In Philadelphia, by Thomas Webb (who had often preached to the New York group)

In Virginia, by Deveraux Jarrat (an evangelical clergyman)


1769: Missionaries Sent to America -- In 1769, Wesley sent his first preachers to American to take charge. Later,
Francis Asbury, Richard Wright, George Shadford and Thomas Rankin were also assigned to the colonies. (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 - all but Asbury, who worked tirelessly and at great risk to
keep the societies together. He rode thousands of miles to preach and organize throughout the colonies; by the war's
end, membership had tripled to 15,000 due to Asbury's extraordinary efforts!

Establishment of 3 New American Churches. These three churches were formed in the U.S., all sharing a
common purpose, spirit and love.

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.


Church Growth -- In the following years, the church expanded along the frontier and into New England. Rugged young men, filled with evangelical spirit, brought the message of God's love and
salvation to people in outlying areas. These circuit riders filled the same role as Wesley's
preachers had in England.
The church grew to 1,500,000 by 1850!

United Brethren in Christ -- Two great men founded this denomination:
Philip Otterbein was a minister of the German Reformed Church who served German settlers in
Pennsylvania and later in Baltimore

Martin Boehm was a powerful Mennonite preacher who had studied Wesley's writings

The two met in 1767 at a revival meeting in Lancaster, PA. After Boehm's sermon, Otterbein embraced Boehm, and said "We are brethren." In 1800, they formed the United Brethren, a German-speaking
church that followed Methodist discipline.
Evangelical Association -- Jacob Albright, founder, was originally a Lutheran farmer from
Pennsylvania. When 3 of his children died, leaving him spiritually shaken, he found
strength and renewed faith in attending Methodist meetings. He became a Methodist
preacher, whose fervor won him many followers among German settlers in Pennsylvania,
Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley. As early as 1803, followers organized around
Albright in a movement that become known as the Evangelical Association.

1800s -- Divisions in the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the 19th Century, a number of churches
withdrew from the main body of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Conflicts resulted from disagreements about such issues as church authority and slavery, rather than differences in
religious doctrine.

Black Churches: These were formed as a result of discrimination that prevented early black Methodists from serving
the gospel as they wished. These churches include:
1816: African Methodist Episcopal Church -- This church was founded in Philadelphia by Richard Allen and Daniel
Coker.
1822: African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church -- The church was created in New York largely by black members
of the John Street Church.
1870: Colored Methodist Episcopal Church -- Members of this church cam primarily from the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South. In 1954, the church name was changed to Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

1828-1830 Methodist Protestant Church: This denomination was formed by Methodist who wanted lay people to
share power with clergy in governing the church.
1845: Methodist Episcopal Church South -- Once again, the slavery issue led to a division in the Church.
The Conference of 1784 had forbidden Methodists to own slaves. But in many southern states, it was illegal to free
slaves. This inevitably led to conflict.
1843: Wesleyan Methodist Church: Growing hostilities between southerners and radical abolitionist members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church over the issue of slavery interfered with conference work. When moderate members
prohibited discussion of slavery, the radicals withdrew and formed the Wesleyan Methodist Connection.
In 1844, the Church voted to suspend a bishop from Georgia who could not legally free his slaves. Southerners,
contending that the conference had no authority to suspend bishops, decided to separate.
In May, 1845, Southerners organized the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Doctrine, policy and discipline
remained the same as that of the northern Church.
The first attempt at reconciliation occurred in 1876 in Cape May, N.J. Both churches acknowledged each other to be
true branches of the original church. This laid the ground-work for reunion.
1900s -- Unification - after many years of discussion and planning, The United Methodist Church was
formed.

Methodist Church: was formed by the merger of 3 churches.
1904: northern and southern denominations agreed on a joint hymnal; other differences were resolved at subsequent
meetings.
1910: Methodist Protestant Church and MEC discussed future union.
1939: all 3 denominations passed a Declaration of Union and drew up a new constitution, creating The Methodist
Church.
Evangelical United Brethren -- was formed by the union of 2 churches. 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 -- The 2 churches had always shared theology, doctrine and a similar Book of
Discipline. The major difference between them had been language. By the mid-20th century, this was no longer a
barrier. So, on April 23, 1968, in Dallas, Texas, the 2 churches joined to form The United Methodist Church.

Social Consciousness - has always played an important part in Methodist history. For example, the Church
as been involved in:
Education:
Beginning in the 18th century, Methodists founded many colleges, including McKendree, Wesleyan, Syracuse,
Duke, Boston University, Northwestern, Southern Methodist University and many more.
Publishing -- Through the 19th and 20th centuries, Methodists have been active in publishing hymnals and
magazines such as "Christian Advocate" and "Methodist Magazine.: The "Ladies' Repository and Gatherings of the
West" was one of the first women's magazines.

Women's Rights: In the 1800s, there were many famous women preachers in Methodist churches. For example:
Maggie VanCott, Amanda Smith (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); the right to be conference
members (1956).

The Methodist Church Supports:
Charitable works:
In the late 1800s, Methodists began to set up hospitals, shelters for children and the elderly, etc. The number of
these grew rapidly in the 1900s.

In 1902, Methodists founded Goodwill Industries, an organization that helps people all over the United States.

In 1894, a Methodist Minister supported pullman workers who went on strike in Chicago. In the Social Creed of
1908, Methodists supported such issues as factory safety, arbitration, abolition of child labor, shorter working
hours and adequate wages.