John Wesley

John Wesley was born on June 28, 1703, in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, as the fifteenth child of Samuel Wesley, an Anglican clergyman, and Susanna Wesley, a devout mother who took care to educate her children in the Christian faith. John was educated at home until he was ten years old, when he was sent to the Charterhouse School in London. He then went to Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1724 and a Master of Arts degree in 1727. He was ordained as a deacon in 1725 and as a priest in 1728 in the Church of England. At Oxford, John Wesley joined a group of students who were known as the “Holy Club” for their strict discipline and devotion to prayer, Bible study, fasting, and charitable works. The group was led by his brother Charles Wesley and also included George Whitefield, who later became a famous preacher. The members of the group were mockingly called “Methodists” by their fellow students because of their methodical way of living. John Wesley became the leader of the group after his brother left Oxford in 1735. In 1735, John Wesley and his brother Charles sailed to the colony of Georgia as missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. John served as a chaplain to the settlers and tried to evangelize the Native Americans, but he met with little success and faced many difficulties. He also had a failed romance with a young woman named Sophia Hopkey, who married another man after Wesley hesitated to propose to her. Wesley returned to England in 1738, disillusioned and depressed. On May 24, 1738, John Wesley had a life-changing experience that he described as his evangelical conversion. He attended a meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, where he heard someone reading from Martin Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. He wrote in his journal: “I felt my heart strangely warmed. 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.” This marked the beginning of his ministry as an evangelist and revivalist. John Wesley followed the example of George Whitefield and began to preach outdoors to large crowds of people who were not reached by the established church. He traveled extensively throughout Britain and Ireland, preaching up to fifteen times a week and covering more than 250,000 miles on horseback. He also organized his converts into small groups called societies, classes, and bands, where they could receive instruction, fellowship, and accountability. He appointed lay preachers, both men and women, to oversee these groups and to assist him in his work. He also founded schools, orphanages, dispensaries, and other institutions to help the poor and needy. John Wesley’s preaching emphasized the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. He also taught that Christians could attain a state of perfection or holiness in this life by the power of the Holy Spirit. He rejected the Calvinist doctrine of predestination and affirmed human free will and responsibility. He also upheld the authority of Scripture as the rule of faith and practice, but he also recognized tradition, reason, and experience as sources of theological knowledge. His theological system came to be known as Wesleyan or Arminian theology. John Wesley remained within the Church of England until his death, but he also recognized that his movement had become a distinct ecclesial body with its own identity and mission. He ordained some of his preachers for the work in America and Scotland, where the Anglican church had no jurisdiction. He also gave the Methodist societies a legal status and a structure of governance through the annual conferences. He wrote and published many books, sermons, hymns, and tracts to spread his message and to defend his views. He also engaged in dialogue and debate with other religious groups, such as the Moravians, the Roman Catholics, and the Quakers. John Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a wealthy widow with four children, in 1751, but the marriage was unhappy and they soon separated. Wesley had no children of his own. He died on March 2, 1791, at the age of 87, in his house in London. He was buried in the graveyard of Wesley’s Chapel, which he had built in 1778 as his base of operations. His last words were: “The best of all is, God is with us.” He left behind a legacy of faith and works that continues to inspire millions of Christians around the world.