John Wesley

John Wesley (1703-1791), the son of the rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, was born in 1703.
He was an English evangelical preacher and founder of Methodism. After being educated at
Christ Church College, Oxford, John Wesley was ordained a priest in the Church of
England in 1728. After finishing his studies John remained in Oxford where he taught
Greek at Oxford University. There he became a member of and led a group of students,
including his brother Charles and George Whitefield. The group of Christians became
known as the Holy Club or the Oxford Methodists. They were called Methodists for their
methodical devotion to study and religious duties.

In 1735 John Wesley and his brother Charles accompanied James Ogelthorpe to America
and settled in Georgia where he was deeply influenced by Moravian missionaries. After
three years with the English settlers, Wesley returned to England and joined George
Whitefield in Bristol. John Wesley's passionate sermons upset the local clergy and he found
their pulpits closed to him. To overcome this problem, he built a Methodist Chapel in Bristol.
Wesley and Whitefield also gave sermons in the open-air.

On May 24, 1738, at a religious meeting in London, he experienced an assurance of
salvation through faith in Jesus alone, which was his message for the rest of his life. John
Wesley continued to travel the country where he mainly visited poor neighbourhoods, and
most of the people who attended his meetings were industrial workers or agricultural
labourers. His main message was of God's love. He told the people who attended his
meetings that if they loved God in return, they would "be saved from sin and made holy".
He also had a lot to say about personal morality. In his sermons he encouraged people to
work hard and to save for the future. He also warned against the dangers of gambling and
drinking. In his evangelistic work, he is said to have preached 40,000 sermons and, on the
advice of Whitefield, he preached in the open air. Because of his Arminianism and belief in
Christian perfection, he repudiated (c.1740) the Calvinist doctrine of election, which led to a
break with Whitefield. In 1784 he established the legal status of Methodist societies, and
although he did not form a separate church, he did make plans for the societies to continue
after his death.

Although there were Methodist ministers, John Wesley encouraged people who had full-time
jobs to become lay preachers. He found time to write a large number of books during his
life-time. This included collections of psalms, hymns and sermons. He also founded and
edited the Methodist Magazine. Wesley received over Ł30,000 in royalties from his writings.
This was used for charitable work including the foundation of Kingswood School in Bristol.
Wesley and his followers became known as Methodists. By the time John Wesley died in
1791, the Methodist movement had over 76,000 members.