evangelical hymns for worship<\/em>. John\u2019s brother Charles (1707-1788) wrote thousands of hymns for Methodism, many of which have become classics of Protestant hymnody (see the list below).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMethodism in America was established through the tireless efforts of Francis Asbury (1745-1816). Sent by Wesley in 1771, Asbury quickly became the most influential American Methodist and its first bishop in 1784. Asbury was famous for his work ethic. In his forty-five-year ministry he traveled 300,000 miles on horseback, preached over sixteen thousand sermons, organized hundreds of conferences, and trained hundreds of ministers, all while living on about sixty four dollars a year.<\/p>\n
During the Second Great Awakening (1790-1840), Methodists were well-known for embracing the extravagant emotionalism of frontier revivals. Their numbers grew remarkably during the early republic, from 5,000 in 1770 to a quarter million by 1820, and to just under 2 million by 1860. They were the largest Protestant denomination in the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century.<\/p>\n
While the fervor of its original circuit-riding days were still part of Methodism in the middle of the 1800s, the denomination increasingly embraced features characteristic of established denominations: \u201csettled\u201d ministries, and the founding of colleges, seminaries, and publishing houses. This transition, coupled with other historical shifts of the period, led to several denominational splits. For instance, the issue of slavery introduced division leading to the formulation of black Methodist denominations, like the African Methodist Episcopal Church founded by Richard Allen (1816), and white Methodist groups, like the Wesleyan Methodists (1843) and the Free Methodists (1860), who were outraged that mainline Methodism was not doing enough to counter America\u2019s peculiar institution of slavery. In 1844 the mainline body itself split over the issue of slavery into the northern Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a breach that lasted for ninety-five years (1939).<\/p>\n
At the same time other Methodists sought to keep the original spirit of Wesleyan perfectionism alive through the promotion of doctrines known as \u201choliness\u201d and \u201centire sanctification.\u201d Writers like Phoebe Palmer and Hannah Whitall Smith encouraged countless American Methodists to embrace the life of holiness by seeking a second, post-conversion blessing from the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 In time, these Holiness Methodists left mainline Methodism to form their own denominations, like the Pilgrim Holiness Church (1897). Other denominations formed in the late 1800s that had deep roots in the Wesleyan Holiness tradition are the Church of the Nazarene, The Salvation Army, and The Christian Missionary and Alliance. As we shall see in a later post, Wesley\u2019s doctrine of perfection mediated through the holiness teaching of the nineteenth century, became a prominent factor in the formation of Pentecostalism at the turn of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n
Methodism Today<\/h3>\n Today the largest Methodist denomination in North America is the United Methodist Church. There are currently 8 million United Methodists in America, and 11 million worldwide.\u00a0 Like many mainline Protestant denominations, a large number of United Methodists have embraced theological liberalism in the last century, though pockets of evangelical conservatism can be found. Smaller groups, like the Wesleyan Church, retain a significant evangelical witness for Christ. With worldwide numbers hovering around 80 million, Methodism continues to be a significant voice among the world\u2019s Christian denominations.<\/p>\n
Quick Facts<\/h3>\n\nClassic Charles Wesley Hymns: Charles Wesley (1707-1788) wrote over six thousand hymns in his lifetime, many of which have become evangelical classics\n\n“And Can It Be That I Should Gain?”<\/li>\n “Arise, My Soul, Arise”<\/li>\n “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”<\/li>\n “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”<\/li>\n “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”<\/li>\n “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”<\/li>\n “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”<\/li>\n “Rejoice the Lord is King.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n Current Methodist Denominations in North America and their numbers:\n\nThe United Methodist Church – roughly 8 million (third largest Christian denomination)<\/li>\n African American Methodist Denominations\n\nAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church<\/li>\n African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n Methodist Denominations with a Holiness Background\n\nThe Wesleyan Church<\/li>\n Free Methodists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Methodism is a Protestant denomination that formed in England during the middle of the 1700s. Originally, it was a highly-devotional and energetic evangelical movement which sought to inspire a deep evangelical ethos within the Church of England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9192414,"featured_media":41667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[35,8,28],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Methodism: John Wesley\u2019s plan to bring Christ\u2019s holiness to the world<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n