Facing Tomorrow, Understanding Yesterday, A History of Orange ...

The Appearance of Methodism in the
American Colonies
Methodism began in 1729 as a reform movement within the Church of
England when John Wesley and his brother Charles found the established
church unable to provide believers with a satisfying spiritual
experience.The faith that emerged from meetings with Oxford Universitystudents
placed a great emphasis on a believer's inner feelings about
God.Although Methodism, as it soon was called, accepted the basic
tenetsofthe Anglican faith, those persons who followed John Wesley, the
recognizedleader of this evangelical movement, were convinced that the
HolySpirit had a direct influence on a believer's life, and were confident
that individuals could know that they were children of God.
Wesley originally planned to keep his growing Methodist societies
withinthe Church of England. Opposition to many of his basic teachings,
however, soon caused changes in plans that ultimately strongly influenced
the way in which the church would grow in America. Wesley's
followers,for instance, were refused access to Anglican facilities for
meetingsand were forced to hold their meetings out-of-doors. Thus, field
preaching became common in Methodist practice; in the United States,
such field preaching would assume its most popular form in camp
meetings. Methodist chapels developed in England to serve those who
wished to follow the Wesleys' teachings, and because John Wesley
refusedto sever ties with the Church ofEngland and the Anglicans would
notordain clergy to serve the Methodists, these chapels often were led by
laymen.Many of these lay leaders were licensed by the Methodists to
serve as local preachers who taught in their own neighborhoods on
Sundays and then held regular jobs during the week. In addition, the
circumstances led to the development oftraveling preachers who gave all
oftheir time to spreading Methodism throughout the country. Both lay
preachers and circuit riders would become well known in the developmentof
Methodism in the United States.
As Methodism developed in England, leaders of the Church of
Englandslowly changed their attitudes toward the evangelistic societies.
Anglicanclergymen allowed Methodists to occupy their pulpits, and the
church itself was revitalized as the Wesleyan teachings spread through
itsranks. Neither John nor Charles Wesley considered their movement
as separate from the Mother Church. They advised against holding
Methodist meetings to compete with Anglican services and urged Methodists
to receive sacraments only from ordained Anglican clergymen.
These stands, however, would cause significant problems for Methodism
inthe British colonies.
In fact, Methodism came to the colonies without John Wesley's
knowledge or approval. Two men who had served as local preachers in
Ireland, Robert Strawbridge and Philip Emory, settled in different parts
ofthe colonies and began spreading Methodist beliefs. The enthusiasm
ofthese two men, rather than an express order from John Wesley, led to
the start of Methodist societies in the American colonies. They were
joinedby Captain Thomas Webb, a British officer assigned to the colonies
by the army. By 1768, Methodist societies had appeared in New York,
NewJersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
When] ohn Wesley heard ofthese spontaneous activities, he sent two
English preachers, Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmore, to spearhead
Methodist work in the colonies. Although they arrived in 1769, the man
who had the greatest impact on American Methodism, Francis Asbury,
did not arrive until 1771. Asbury's commitment to spreading Wesleyan
theology led him to travel up and down the Atlantic coast to preach the
FACING TOMORROW, UNDERSTANDING YESTERDAY 1
John Wesley
Photo by permission of Methodist Library,
United Methodist Church Archives and
History Center, Drew University, Madison
New Jersey
Charles Wesley
Photo by permission of Methodist Library,
United Methodist Church Archives and
History Center, Drew University, Madison
New Jersey