The Founder of Methodism

• 1703 – Born in Epworth, Yorkshire, England
• 1709 – Rescued from the fire. When he was 5 years old, ‘little Jacky’ was rescued from a house fire. He was saved as some men stood on each others shoulders and rescued him. His mother felt that God must have some special plans for him.
• One of 17 surviving children all home schooled. Susanna, his mother, (actually gave birth to 19 children!) taught them to ‘cry quietly’. His father was a prominent clergyman.
• 1720-1726 – Student at Oxford
• 1725 – Ordained as an Anglican minister
• 1729 – Started first Holy Club. He was an Oxford Scholar, who became an ordained Anglican Priest in 1728. While at Oxford, he and some of his colleagues began to meet in classes, where they would very methodical study the scriptures and seek to live God honoring lives. This is where the term ‘Methodist’ originated – because they were so methodical.
• At a time when the social system didn’t exist, he found time to visit prisons and the poor area of town. He found he only needed 28 pounds to live on, so he gave away the rest.
• 1735 – Traveled to the new world, he liked the idea of being a missionary to the Indians. He left Savannah, GA two years later in shame after a relationship with a woman, Sophy Hopkey caused conflict.
• On the way to the US though, he had a profound experience amidst a huge storm. The storm was throwing the boat around, and he and his brother Charles realized that in the face of death they were as cowardly as anyone. The German Moravian Christians calmly went on singing their psalms with great peace.
• 1738 – Conversion Experience. May 24th, 1738. In the morning he fell on the words of scripture that had great meaning to him, “The Kingdom of Heaven is near”. That evening, unwillingly, he went to a meeting with a little group of Christians in Aldersgate Street. As someone was reading from the writings of Martin Luther, John Wesley felt his heart ‘strangely warmed’ by the love of God. “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.”
• The very next Sunday he preached at two Churches in London. His words were charged with a power that some people felt disturbing, and he was forbidden from speaking there again. As he continued his ministry, he found himself being barred from more and more churches, so he began to speak in the open air. This decision shaped the rest of his life and ministry for the next 50 years.
• In 1742, he was back at home, in Epworth, and wasn’t allowed to speak in the church where his father had been the preacher. After the service finished and all the people let out, he stood on top of his father’s grave and preached. Needless to say, as he continued to do this, it didn’t make him very popular!
  He set up base in Bristol and London, and while in Bristol he found out that because there had been no clergy available, Thomas Maxfield – a layman – was preaching. This disturbed Wesley, who rushed back to London in great haste. The first person he met was his mother, who said, “My son, take care in what you say to Maxfield. He is as much called to preach the gospel as you are”. Wesley listened to him preach and admitted it was God’s doing. “Who am I that I should withstand God” he said, as the first Methodist lay preacher was birthed.
• Wesley never left the Anglican Church, and never had a ‘parish’ of his own. He claimed that the “Whole world was his Parish’. During his life, he traveled 250,000 miles on horse back, preaching several times a day.
• He wasn’t very popular – mobs attacked him, church bells were rung as he was preaching, his life was in danger on many occasions.
• 1751 – He married (separated 20 years later). He got married, but it didn’t work out because he always put his travels first. She was jealous by nature and didn’t like taking second place to his work.
• Charles Wesley was a great hymn writer – writing over 6000 hymns, including – Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, Hark the Heard Angels Sing & Christ the Lord is Risen today.
• One thing John Wesley could and would not tolerate was Idleness. He was up at 4am every morning.
• 1784 – Ordains preachers for America. He had no intention of starting a new Church. He wanted to bring new life to the Anglican Church, and always encouraged people to go back to the churches; however, in 1766, Methodist came to the US, and the need arose for some leadership, so – believing that ordination comes from God, not from Men, Wesley ordained three people to come over and lead the Church in the US.  One was Francis Asbury, the other Thomas Coke (Cokesbury Publishing)
• 1791 – Dies on March 2nd. He lived until he was 88, on his death bed his last words were “Best of All – God is with us”. His funeral service was held at sunrise one morning because of fears of the number of people who would turn up. Despite this, still 10,000 people turned up.