Methodist john wesley biography
John Wesley
English clergyman (1703–1791)
This article is about the 18th-century Methodist leader. For other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation).
John Wesley (WESS-lee; 28 June [O.S. 17 June] 1703 – 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a principal leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day.
Educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, Wesley was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1726 and ordained as an Anglican priest two years later. At Oxford, he led the "Holy Club", a society formed for the purpose of the study and the pursuit of a devout Christian life. After an unsuccessful two-year ministry in Savannah, Georgia, he returned to London and joined a religious society led by Moravian Christians. On 24 May 1738, he experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion. He subsequently left the Moravians and began his own ministry.
A key step in the development of Wesley's ministry was to travel widely and preach outdoors, embracing Arminian doctrines. Moving across Great Britain and Ireland, he helped form and organise small Christian groups (societies and classes) that developed intensive and personal accountability, discipleship, and religious instruction. He appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists—both women and men—to care for these groups of people. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the abolition of slavery and support for women preachers.
Although he was not a systematic theologian, Wesley argued against Calvinism and for the notion of Christian perfection, which he cited as the reason that he felt God "raised up" Methodists into existence. His evangelicalism, firmly grounded in sacramental theology, maintai
By Paul Romon
Explore the StoryMap here.
This story map traces 10 notable events in Wesley’s life that demonstrate his evangelism and his impact on the foundation of Methodism. Using quotes from his journal (The Journal of John Wesley), the map combines his words with drawings, paintings, and pictures that relate to the specific event. The map chronologically illustrates Wesley’s life from 1729-1749. The story map includes his experiences in his short stay in America and his lengthy tenure as a popular religious figure in England.
The Early History of the Methodist Society
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-wesley.html
John Wesley’s Methodist society was one of the most impactful and long lasting outcomes of the Great Awakening. Wesley’s religious journey from 1729 to the 1780s coincides with all of the major events of the Great Awakening and you could say that his life span equaled that of the Great Awakening. To remind you, the Great Awakening was an extended historical period that included countless evangelical movements that challenged traditional ideologies of the 17th and 18th century church and was essentially a religious battleground of competing religious ideas and mass conversions. I want to focus on one subject – John Wesley and the evolution of Methodism. Wesley was a key antagonist to other evangelical movements and his ultimate goal was to separate his society from the other popular movements of the time.
After many hours of research through Wesley’s personal journal and various university libraries’ digitized documents, I have organized some of the most significant events that represent the history Methodism and the life of John Wesley.
John Wesley’s entrance into the Great Awakening began in November of 1729 at Pembroke College at Oxford. At Oxford, Wesley and his brother “read over the classics…and on Sunday some book in divinity.” John Wesley was a Methodist traveling preacher, organizer of the Methodist Conference, and founder of the Methodist Church. After his conversion in 1738 he dedicated himself to promoting “vital” and “practical” religion and to preserving and increasing the life of God in men’s souls. Along with his younger brother Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and other associates, he created English Methodism and enacted many religious reforms. Wesleyan College in Macon is named in his honor. Wesley was born on June 17, 1703, in Epworth Rectory, Lincolnshire, England, to Susanna and Samuel Wesley. He received his early education from his mother and later attended Charterhouse School and Christ Church College, Oxford. He received an A.B. degree in 1724, was elected a Fellow of Lincoln College in 1726, and received an M.A. degree in 1727. Ordained deacon in 1725 and priest in 1728, he became leader of the Holy Club, whose members were called Methodists, at Oxford in 1729. Wesley became a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts and, along with Charles, sailed for Georgia in 1735. Charles and John traveled to Georgia with James Oglethorpe on his second voyage to the colony. In Georgia, John served as the rector of Christ Church in Savannah. Wesley’s ministry in America was intended not only for English settlers but also for friendly native tribes in Georgia—with the hope, he once said, “of saving my own soul.” Difficulties arising from Wesley’s strict discipline with his congregation, as well as an unsuccessful love affair, led to his return to England in 1738. His experience in the colony became difficult after his relationship with Sophia Hopkey, whom he met soon after arriving in Georgia, turned sour. Hopkey was the niece of Thomas Causton, the chief magistrate known for his corrupt dealings with the Moravian settlers in colonial Georgia. Hopkey married another man John Wesley Wesley is rescued from the fire John Wesley
John Wesley was born on the 17th of June 1703 (The 28th of June in the modern calendar).
The 15th of 19 children born to Samuel Wesley, Rector of Epworth, and his wife Susanna.
Epworth was isolated and poverty-stricken. Only a few could read or write and the people were deeply suspicious of outsiders. But together with Susanna, Samuel Wesley campaigned for social justice and particularly the care of widows and orphans.
He believed that Christian living depended on acts as well as faith. This puritan parental influence would be the inspiration for John Wesley’s work, and that of his brother Charles, who went on to write over 6000 hymns.
John Wesley was baptised at his father’s Church, St Andrew’s in Epworth, and worshipped here as a child.
The Old Rectory in Epworth was the Wesley family home until 1735. It was rebuilt after fire destroyed the original building 1709. It is suspected that this fire was an act of arson perpetrated by opponents of Samuel Wesley.
The fire could have killed the six year-old John, but he escaped from a first floor window. He was afterwards referred to by his mother as "a brand plucked from the burning".
After attending Charterhouse school in London, John Wesley went on to Christ Church, Oxford, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1724 and a masters degree three years later.
He became a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford in 1726, where he helped establish the Holy Club, dubbed 'Methodist' due to their prescribed method of studying the Bible.
He was ordained a deacon in the Church of England in 1725 and then ordained as a priest in 1728.
He became Curate to his father in the parish of Wroot and remained in the post for two years before returning to Oxford.
Wesley was vocal about ordinary people being excluded from the church. And although he was always fiercely loyal to the established church he was often barred from the pulpit for his o