Methodist

The Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their inspiration from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John’s brother Charles Wesley were also significant leaders in the movement. It originated as a revival within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate Church following Wesley’s death. Because of vigorous missionary activity, the movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide. Methodism is characterized by its emphasis on helping the poor and the average person, its very systematic approach to building the person, and the “church” and its missionary spirit. These ideals are put into practice by the establishment of hospitals, universities, orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools to follow Jesus’s command to spread the Good News and serve all people. Methodists are convinced that building loving relationships with others through social service is a means of working towards the inclusiveness of God’s love. Most Methodists teach that Christ died for all of humanity, not just for a limited group, and thus everyone is entitled to God’s grace and protection. In theology, this view is known as Arminianism. It denies that God has pre-ordained an elect number of people to eternal bliss while others are doomed to hell no matter what they do in life. However, Whitefield and several others were considered Calvinistic Methodists. The Methodist movement has a wide variety of forms of worship, ranging from high church to low church in liturgical usage; denominations that descend from the British Methodist tradition tend toward a less formal worship style, while American Methodism—in particular the United Methodist Church—is more liturgical. Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition; Charles Wesley was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of the Methodist Church, and many other eminent hymn writers come from the Methodist tradition. Early Methodists were drawn from all levels of society, including the aristocracy, but the Methodist preachers took the message to labourers and criminals who tended to be left outside organized religion at that time. In Britain, the Methodist Church had a major impact in the early decades of the making of the working class (1760–1820). In the United States it became the religion of many slaves who later formed “black churches” in the Methodist tradition.