John Wesley

Lore & Background

John Wesley was born on 28 June [O.S. 17 June] 1703 in Epworth, 23 miles north-west of Lincoln. He was the 15th child of Samuel Wesley and Susanna Wesley. At age 11, he was sent to Charterhouse School in London. In June 1720, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1724. On 17 March 1726, Wesley was unanimously elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. He was ordained a priest on 22 September 1728. At Oxford, he led the "Holy Club", a group that met daily from six until nine for prayer, psalms, and reading of the Greek New Testament. They took Communion every Sunday, fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays until 3:00 pm, and began visiting prisoners in gaol in 1730. After an unsuccessful two-year ministry in Savannah, Georgia, he returned to London and joined a religious society led by Moravian Christians. On 24 May 1738, he experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion. He left the Moravians and began his own ministry. A key step was to travel widely and preach outdoors, embracing Arminian doctrines. He appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists—both women and men—to care for small Christian groups. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues, including the abolition of slavery and support for women preachers. Wesley argued against Calvinism and for the notion of Christian perfection. He taught that it was by faith a believer was transformed into the likeness of Christ, and that Christians could achieve a state where the love of God "reigned supreme in their hearts". By the end of his life, he was described as "the best-loved man in England".

Reader's Guide

John Wesley's significance lies in his role as the principal leader of the Methodist revival within the Church of England. His evangelical conversion on 24 May 1738 marked a turning point, after which he left the Moravians and began his own ministry. He traveled widely across Great Britain and Ireland, preaching outdoors and embracing Arminian doctrines. He formed and organized small Christian groups with intensive personal accountability, discipleship, and religious instruction, appointing itinerant unordained evangelists—both women and men—to care for them. Wesley argued against Calvinism and for Christian perfection, teaching that by faith a believer could be transformed into the likeness of Christ and achieve inward holiness. He held that means of grace played a role in sanctification. His teachings, collectively known as Wesleyan theology, continue to inform the doctrine of Methodist churches. In his early ministry, Wesley was barred from preaching in many parish churches and the Methodists were persecuted; he later became widely respected, and by the end of his life was described as "the best-loved man in England".

Did You Know?

• John Wesley was the 15th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley; only nine of their 19 children lived beyond infancy.
• At age five, Wesley was rescued from a rectory fire when a parishioner lifted him out of a window, an event that became part of the Wesley legend.
• Wesley developed a detailed daily grid in 1734 where he recorded his activities hour-by-hour and ranked his hourly 'temper of devotion' on a scale of 1 to 9.
• The name 'Methodist' was first used as a term of derision by university wits for Wesley's Holy Club at Oxford.
• Wesley continued to support Thomas Blair, a prisoner found guilty of sodomy in 1732, despite the controversy it caused.