Bible & Christianity › Revivals & missions › The Great Awakenings (revivals)
John Wesley and Methodism
1703–1791; Aldersgate 1738· Person· People
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
Anglican priest whose open-air preaching and tight organization founded Methodism, today about 80 million strong worldwide.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
John Wesley and his brother Charles led a 'Holy Club' at Oxford, mocked as 'Methodists' for their strict routines. After a failed mission to Georgia, John felt his heart 'strangely warmed' at a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738. From 1739 he preached outdoors to miners and workers, riding some 250,000 miles over 50 years. He organized converts into small 'classes' led by lay people. Charles wrote about 6,000 hymns, including 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'.
Why it matters
Methodism became America's largest denomination by the 1850s and reached Korea in 1885; its stress on holiness later helped give birth to Pentecostalism.
Life, legacy and sources
Wesley's journal, kept for some 55 years, his sermons and letters, and Methodist conference minutes from 1744 survive; the minutes record membership year by year.
Questions and debates
Wesley stayed an Anglican and opposed leaving the Church of England, yet in 1784 ordained ministers for America himself; whether he intended a separate church is debated.
Connections (4)
▸Underwood and Appenzeller: first Protestant missionaries through Appenzeller, brought to Korea the movement of John Wesley and MethodismHistorical record
The connection
Appenzeller, the Methodist of the pair, carried Wesley's movement to Korea. He founded Paichai school and Chungdong (정동) Methodist Church, Korea's first Methodist congregation. Fellow Methodists Mary Scranton, who founded Ewha girls' school in 1886, and her son William, a doctor, worked alongside him. Korean Methodism kept Wesley's stress on holiness, small groups and education.
When and where
Seoul, 1885–1902; Appenzeller held Chungdong's first service on October 9, 1887. Korean Methodists formed their own autonomous church in 1930.
Historical evidence
Methodist Episcopal mission reports, Appenzeller's diaries and Chungdong's records document it; the church's 1897 brick building still stands in central Seoul.
Questions and debates
Why Methodism stayed much smaller than Presbyterianism in Korea, unlike in America, is debated: mission strategy, the division of territory, or Appenzeller's early death in 1902.
▸John Wesley and Methodism led the British side of The Great Awakenings (revivals)Historical record
The connection
Wesley joined George Whitefield's open-air preaching in Bristol in 1739 and became the Evangelical Revival's chief organizer in Britain. Whitefield was the great orator, making seven preaching tours of America; Wesley built a lasting network of societies, classes and lay preachers that turned revival into a church.
When and where
Bristol, April 2, 1739, Wesley's first open-air sermon, to about 3,000 people; then across England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland until 1791.
Historical evidence
Wesley's and Whitefield's journals record their meetings, crowds and disputes; Methodist membership figures show the movement's growth.
Questions and debates
The two split in 1741 over predestination (Whitefield was Calvinist, Wesley Arminian), and historians debate whether one 'Awakening' really spanned Britain and America.
▸John Wesley and Methodism encouraged Wilberforce and the Christian fight against slaveryHistorical record
The connection
Wesley published Thoughts upon Slavery (1774), calling the trade a crime against justice and mercy. His last letter urged Wilberforce to 'go on' until 'American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun)' vanished. His Methodist followers became mainstays of the anti-slavery petition campaigns.
When and where
London: Thoughts upon Slavery, 1774; the letter to Wilberforce is dated February 24, 1791, six days before Wesley's death.
Historical evidence
Both texts survive; Wilberforce kept the letter, and Methodist conference minutes and petition rolls record Methodist support.
Questions and debates
How much Wesley moved Wilberforce, already committed since 1787, is unclear; American Methodists later softened their anti-slavery rules and split over slavery in 1844.
▸John Wesley and Methodism taught the holiness ideas behind Pentecostalism and the Azusa Street RevivalHistorical record
The connection
Wesley taught that after conversion believers could receive a second work of grace, 'Christian perfection' or entire sanctification. The 19th-century Holiness movement built on this 'second blessing.' Parham and Seymour came from Holiness churches and recast the second blessing as baptism in the Spirit, shown by speaking in tongues.
When and where
Wesley's A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1766); American Holiness camp meetings after 1867; Topeka, 1901; Azusa Street, 1906.
Historical evidence
Historians such as Donald Dayton (Theological Roots of Pentecostalism, 1987) and Vinson Synan traced the line from Methodism through Holiness churches to Pentecostalism.
Questions and debates
Wesley never taught speaking in tongues, and some Pentecostal streams, like the Assemblies of God, drew more on Reformed 'Keswick' teaching. How direct the Wesleyan line is remains debated.