IOverview
Methodism is the church family that grew out of John Wesley's movement within the 18th-century Church of England. The name Methodist began as a jibe at students who lived too methodically, and was later adopted by the movement itself.
Its most recognisable marks are the conviction that God's grace is offered to all, the call to a life of holiness, and fellowship in small groups. Methodism also left a vast hymn tradition, much of it written by John's brother Charles Wesley, and a strong tradition of social action.
IIHistory
At Oxford around 1729 John and Charles Wesley led a group of students who read Scripture, prayed and visited prisoners on a fixed schedule. On 24 May 1738, at a meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, John Wesley wrote that he felt his heart strangely warmed while hearing Luther's preface to Romans read aloud. That moment is taken as the start of the movement.
Wesley preached in the open air to miners and the poor and set up societies and classes across England, yet he remained an Anglican priest all his life. After his death in 1791 the movement gradually became separate churches. In the United States the Christmas Conference of 1784 in Baltimore founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, and circuit riding preachers made Methodism the largest Protestant family in 19th-century America.
- 1729Holy Club at OxfordThe Wesley brothers' student group.
- 1738Aldersgate24 May, John Wesley's experience, the usual starting date.
- 1784Methodist Episcopal ChurchFounded in Baltimore, United States.
- 1791Death of WesleyBritish Methodism then gradually separates from the Church of England.
- 1968United Methodist ChurchFormed by merger in the United States, the largest Methodist church in the world.
IIIBeliefs and Distinctives
- Grace for all: God calls everyone, and prevenient grace enables a response. This is the Arminian position, distinct from Calvinist predestination.
- Assurance: believers can know inwardly that they are forgiven.
- Sanctification: the Christian life aims at perfect love of God and neighbour, what Wesley called Christian perfection.
- The Wesleyan quadrilateral: later writers summed up Wesley's theological method as Scripture first, illuminated by tradition, reason and experience.
Methodists keep two sacraments, baptism and communion. They baptise infants and invite all believers to the table regardless of denomination. The 19th-century Holiness movement, and through it Pentecostalism, grew from Methodism's emphasis on sanctification.
IVWorship, Rites and Daily Life
Methodist worship usually follows a light liturgical order with plenty of hymn singing. The small group tradition lives on in Bible study classes and fellowship groups. A distinctive rite is the Covenant Service, often held at the new year, when members together renew their dedication.
Social action has been tied to faith since Wesley: schools, hospitals, opposition to the slave trade and, in many places, the temperance movement. Many universities in the United States, South Korea and Africa were founded by Methodists.
In the United States and many other countries Methodists have bishops, elected for a term or for life depending on the church, but they are not understood as apostolic successors in the Catholic sense. British Methodism has no bishops.
VOrganisation and Distribution
Methodism is connexional: congregations are bound together in annual conferences, and ministers are appointed and moved rather than called by each congregation. The global forum is the World Methodist Council, formally established in 1931.
According to the World Methodist Council's website, accessed in 2026, it brings together 80 Methodist, Wesleyan and uniting churches representing over 80 million members in 138 countries. Since 2019 the United Methodist Church has gone through a major division over marriage and sexuality, and some congregations left to form the Global Methodist Church in 2022.
VIIn Vietnam
No Methodist body appears among the 11 recognised Protestant organisations in the 2023 publication of Vietnam's Government Committee for Religious Affairs.
According to the United Methodist mission agency, in an August 2021 release, Methodists had been present in Vietnam for about twenty years. A February 2013 report from the Pacific Northwest Conference in the United States counted over 14,000 United Methodists in Vietnam, most in small house churches. The same report said twelve local leaders had been ordained in January 2013 and that the mission had applied for recognition as a denomination. The library has not found a government document on the outcome.
There are also Vietnamese Methodist congregations abroad, especially in the United States.
VIISymbol of the Branch
Cross and flame
Cross and Flame
VIIISub-branches
- United Methodist Church
- Methodist Church of Great Britain
- Holiness churches
- African Methodist Episcopal Church
IXOther Branches of Protestantism
Pentecostal ChurchesPentecostalismThe youngest and fastest growing family, stressing that gifts of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues, healing and prophecy are active today.
Reformed and Presbyterian ChurchesReformed, PresbyterianStems from Zwingli in Zurich and Calvin in Geneva.
Anglican CommunionAnglicanismSeparated from Rome in England in 1534, keeping bishops and the Book of Common Prayer.Methodist ChurchesMethodismGrew from John Wesley's movement within 18th-century Anglicanism and became separate after 1791.
Lutheran ChurchesLutherische KircheThe first family, beginning with Martin Luther in 1517, with the Augsburg Confession of 1530 as its basic creed.
BaptistsBaptistsBegins with John Smyth in Amsterdam in 1609.Uses the common symbol of the path
Seventh-day AdventistsSeventh-day Adventist ChurchFormed in 19th-century America from the movement awaiting Christ's return.
Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA)Christian and Missionary AllianceFounded by A.
Anabaptist and Mennonite ChurchesAnabaptism, MennonitesBegan in Zurich on 21 January 1525.XSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What is Methodism?
It is the Protestant family that grew from John Wesley's movement within the 18th-century Church of England. It stresses grace for all, holiness of life and fellowship in small groups.
How do Methodists differ from Anglicans?
Methodism was born inside Anglicanism and keeps much similar liturgy. After Wesley's death in 1791 it became separate churches with a connexional structure and itinerant ministers.
Is there a recognised Methodist church in Vietnam?
According to the 2023 publication of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, no Methodist body is among the 11 recognised Protestant organisations. The United Methodist Church has carried out mission work in Vietnam since the early 2000s.
Why the name Methodist?
It began as mockery of the Wesley brothers' Oxford group for living too methodically. The movement later took the name as its own.