Life & Times of John Wesley

History & Distinctives of the Wesleyan Church
Part 1: The Life & Times of John Wesley

18th Century Context

Political/Religious Environment
 King Charles’s vs. the Puritans
 Catholic vs. Protestant
 State/Religion vs. People

Intellectual Environment
 Rise of Deism
 Rise of Rationalism
 Rise of Empiricism

Social/Economic Environment
 Decline of church participation
 Decline of rural communities
 Decline of quality of life

The Wesley Family

 Samuel & Sussanah Wesley
 Non-conformists vs. Anglican
 John & Charles Wesley


The Life of John Wesley

 Born June 17th, 1703
 Number 15 of 19 children (10 survived)
 Rescued from house-fire (1709)
 School in London (1714), Oxford (1720)
 Leader of the ‘Holy Club’ (1729)
 Missionary to Georgia (1735-1738)
 Charles converts, writes 1st hymn (1738)
 John’s heart ‘strangely warmed’ (1738)
 England’s pulpits close to Wesley brothers
 Begins preaching outdoors (1739)
 3 point circuit (London, Bristol, New Castle)
 Societies, Classes, and Bands created
 Fell on London Bridge, married nurse (1751)
 Spouse separated in 1771, died in 1781
 Ordained 28 ministers, separating Methodism
 Traveled about 250,000 miles for preaching
 Preached 40,000 sermons (3,000 unique)
 Wrote/Edited b/w 200 and 300 books
 Gave away more than 30,000 pounds to needy
 Movement reached 50,000 English members
 Movement reached 15,000 Americans
 Wrote final letter (to William Wilberforce)
 Died on March 2nd, 1791