John Wesley and the Methodist Movement — Comprehensive Study Notes
Texts for this week
Proverbs 3:5-8
John 3:16
Childhood & Early Life
John Wesley born 28 June 1703 in Epworth, near Lincoln; father Samuel Wesley was a Church of England clergyman; mother Susanna Wesley (née Annesley) was devout and emphasized moral values.
John was the fifteenth of nineteen children; siblings, including girls, were educated to read/write English and expected to study Latin, Greek, and memorize major parts of the New Testament by heart.
9 February 1709: the roof of their home caught fire while all slept; the family evacuated most siblings, but John was trapped on the first floor until a parishioner on a human-ladder pulled him to safety; this incident left a lasting memory; he later cited a Bible verse, A Brand Plucked out of the Fire (Zechariah 3:2).
1714: at age 11 Wesley was sent to Charterhouse School in London; graduated in 1720 and entered Christ Church, Oxford on scholarship with classics and logic.
1724: earned a Bachelor’s degree; pursued a Master’s degree and became a fellow; ordained a deacon on 25 September 1725.
March 1726: elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; began to receive a salary; but the call to the ministry grew stronger; after a Master’s degree in August 1727, he returned home to Epworth.
Education and Early Career
1727: began career as a curate in his father’s parish; ordained priest on 22 September 1728; served as curate until November 1729.
Returned to Oxford at the request of the Rector of Lincoln College and served as a junior fellow; taught Greek Testament.
Around this period, his younger brother Charles Wesley formed an association at Oxford with like-minded students to read scriptures, practice self-examination, perform charity, and visit prisons.
John soon led this group; initially called The Holy Club; from 1732 they were called Methodists due to their methodical approach and disciplined daily schedule.
The rising concerns from authorities over indoctrination affected his career; his father asked him to take charge of his parish, but Wesley declined.
He was invited to become minister of Savannah parish in the Province of Georgia (American colonies); sailed from Gravesend in Kent with Charles on 14 October 1735.
On the voyage, a terrible storm occurred; he observed the German Moravians praying calmly, which impressed him; this encounter influenced his faith perspective.
February 1736: they arrived in the colony; his main mission was to convert Native Americans, but practical work focused on European settlers; published Collection of Psalms and Hymns, the first Anglican hymn book published in America.
December 1737: fled the colony due to legal problems stemming from a failed love affair; returned to England broken.
In England, he met Peter Böhler, a Moravian missionary; Böhler counseled him; on 24 May 1738 he attended a Moravian meeting at Aldersgate Street and heard Martin Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans; Wesley experienced a pivotal conversion moment and felt his heart warmed toward faith in Christ alone for salvation.
After this, he and Charles founded the Fetter Lane Society.
1738: Wesley visited the Moravian headquarters at Herrnhut, Germany; on return, he drafted rules for bands and published a collection of hymns for them; he began preaching extensively on salvation by faith alone, which angered the established church and led to him being barred from preaching.
Despite this, he began open-air preaching near Bristol in April 1739, which proved effective in reaching people who avoided churches; he continued field preaching and expansion of his movement.
He appointed lay preachers, built chapels (beginning at Bristol and expanding to other towns), and separated from the Moravians to form the Methodist Society.
Organization and Growth of Methodism
1742: introduced the class-meeting system to enforce discipline within the society.
1743: introduced the probationer system to manage membership quality; original personal visits occurred at least once every three months; as the movement grew, a more formal structure became necessary.
1743: issued a set of rules for all units; these rules later formed the basis of the Methodist Discipline.
1744: held the first Methodist conference (in the context of the growing organizational structure).
Over the next decade, Wesley traveled across Great Britain and Ireland, preaching to thousands who were otherwise excluded from church life.
He organized the movement more systematically by dividing groups into societies, then classes, connections, and circuits, with a superintendent at the helm.
Wesley’s health deteriorated; contracted tuberculosis; after recovery in 1751, he continued to push the movement forward to ensure its survival after his death.
Major Works, Mission, and Global Spread
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can.
Slow spread of Methodism to the United States; as a member of the Church of England, he refrained from ordaining priests but worked with locally ordained priests and lay preachers.
1776: American independence changed church governance; 1784: the Bishop of London refused to ordain priests for American Methodists.
Wesley ordained two lay preachers and appointed Thomas Coke as superintendent before sending them to America; this marked a shift toward a separate Methodist denomination outside Anglican ordination.
What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.
Major Works and Legacy: John Wesley, with Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, laid the foundation of the Methodist movement within Protestant Christianity.
Vigorous missionary work spread the movement throughout the British Empire and the USA.
Global reach today: approximately adherents worldwide.
Missionary travels and preaching: Wesley is said to have traveled over miles and preached about sermons.
Social reform efforts: prison reform and universal education remained ongoing concerns until his death.
Personal Life, Relationships, and Legacy
1751: at age 48, Wesley married Grace Murray, a well-to-do widow with four children from a previous marriage; however, his work kept him very busy, and marital life suffered.
Grace Murray, appointed as housekeeper at the Newcastle Orphan House in 1743, nursed Wesley through a serious illness; his diary notes his growing affection for her and his proposal in 1749.
Wesley’s brother Charles opposed the idea of marriage and traveled to Hindley Hill to Grace Murray, persuading her to marry another close friend; she returned with him to Newcastle and agreed to marry that friend.
Grace ultimately married another person; John’s wife became Mary Vazeille instead.
Mary Vazeille (often called Molly) was the widow of a Huguenot City banker and merchant; she and John Wesley married in 1751 after a short courtship; their marriage was strained and eventually separated.
The trio of notable relationships in Wesley’s life (as suggested in the source) includes: Varanese, Sophy Hopkey; Grace Murray; Mary Vazeille.
Final years and death: Wesley died in his bed on 2 March 1791 at the age of 87; his last words reportedly were The best of all is, God is with us.
He was entombed at Wesley's Chapel, City Road, London.
Wesleyanism, or Wesleyan theology, refers to the theological system inferred from his sermons, treatises, letters, journals, diaries, and hymns, carrying forward his legacy.
Personal note on relationships: the material emphasizes that Wesley never had a satisfactory love relationship in the full sense of the term.
Notable sayings and works: major statements and writings contributed to the structure of Methodism and its theology.
Key Takeaways and Connections
The Holy Club at Oxford (later Methodists) represented a disciplined, scripturally centered approach that sought to renew personal piety and public service.
Wesley’s conversion at Aldersgate Street (1738) shifted the emphasis from good works to faith in Christ for salvation, shaping Methodist doctrine: salvation by faith alone.
The class-meeting, probationer system, and the layered organizational structure (societies, classes, connections, circuits) provided a scalable governance model for a rapidly growing movement.
Field preaching and open-air sermons were essential to reaching populations excluded from established churches, illustrating a pragmatic approach to evangelism.
The movement’s expansion into the American colonies and eventual separation from the Church of England highlight tensions between parliament, church governance, and empire.
Wesley’s emphasis on social justice (prison reform, universal education) demonstrates a strong connection between faith and social reform.
The personal life details reveal a balance between intense religious leadership and human relationships, including the complexities of marriage and companionship in his era.
Numerical landmarks provide scale: worldwide adherents (~), travel (~ miles), sermons (~) which underscore the breadth of the movement.
Quotes and maxims function as sustaining principles: the Aldersgate moment; the Do all the good you can maxim; and What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.
Theologically, Wesleyanism represents a distinctive Protestant stream emphasizing grace, faith, personal piety, and disciplined community life, with enduring influence on global Protestantism.
Notable People and Terms to Remember
Charles Wesley: John’s younger brother; co-founder of the early Methodist movement; key in developing hymnody and organizing the bands.
Peter Böhler: Moravian missionary whose counsel during a period of depression helped Wesley reframe his understanding of faith.
Martin Luther: Mentioned through Luther’s preface to Romans as a catalyst for Wesley’s renewed faith.
Moravians: Their calm faith during the Savannah voyage inspired Wesley; later, Wesley distanced himself from them as Methodism grew independently.
Fetter Lane Society: A group formed by Wesley and Charles after Aldersgate, named for the London meeting place.
Herrnhut: Moravian center visited by Wesley (Germany) for spiritual renewal and organizational ideas.
Thomas Coke: Appointed by Wesley as superintendent of American Methodists after the 1784 reorganization.
Grace Murray: Early companion and nurse; an important figure in Wesley’s personal narrative until the eventual marriage to Mary Vazeille.
Mary Vazeille (Molly): Wesley’s wife from 1751 until separation; widow of a Huguenot banker; childless.
References to Scripture and Foundational Texts
Zechariah 3:2: A Brand Plucked out of the Fire, cited in relation to the 1709 Epworth fire incident.
Romans: Martin Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans read at Aldersgate Street (1738) that sparked Wesley’s spiritual awakening.
Collection of Psalms and Hymns: Published during the Savannah period; recognized as the first Anglican hymn book published in America.
Wesleyan theology and its textual legacy derive from sermons, theological tracts, letters, journals, diaries, and hymns collected throughout his life.
Key Dates at a Glance
1703: Born in Epworth, 28 June
1709: House fire incident; rescued from danger; belief linked to A Brand Plucked out of the Fire
1714–1720: Charterhouse School; 1720: entered Christ Church, Oxford
1724: Bachelor’s degree; 1725: ordained deacon; 1726: Lincoln College fellow
1727–1729: Curate in Epworth; Oxford fellowship; Holy Club leadership begins
1735–1737: Savannah voyage; 1736 arrival; 1737 departure due to legal issues
1738: Aldersgate conversion; Herrnhut visit; Open-air preaching begins; Moravian influence; hymn publishing
1739: First open-air preaching near Bristol; expands into field preaching
1742–1743: Class-meetings and probationer system introduced; rules established
1744: First Methodist conference
1751: Marriage to Mary Vazeille; tuberculosis battle; continues ministry
1776: USA independence effects governance
1784: Bishop of London refuses ordination; Wesley ordains lay preachers; Coke appointed superintendent; movement moves toward independence
1791: Wesley dies on 2 March, aged 87; buried at Wesley's Chapel