Kelby Milgrim Ministries
John Wesley
JOHN WESLEY
The Wesley family was made famous by the two brothers, John and Charles, who
worked together in the rise of METHODISM in the British Isles during the 18th
century. They were among the ten children surviving infancy born to Samuel
Wesley (1662-1735), Anglican rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, and Susanna
Annesley Wesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley, a dissenting minister.
John Wesley, b. June 28, 1703, d. Mar. 2, 1791, was the principal founder of the
Methodist movement. His mother was important in his emotional and educational
development. The rescue of little "Jackie" from the burning rectory ("a brand
plucked from the burning") has become legendary. John's education continued at
Charterhouse School and at Oxford, where he studied at Christ Church and was
elected (1726) fellow of Lincoln College. He was ordained in 1728.
After a brief absence (1727-29) to help his father at Epworth, John returned to
Oxford to discover that his brother Charles had founded a Holy Club composed of
young men interested in spiritual growth. John quickly became a leading participant
of this group, which was dubbed the Methodists. His Oxford days introduced him not
only to the rich tradition of classical literature and philosophy but also to spiritual
classics like Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and
Dying, and William Law's Serious Call.
In 1735 both Wesleys accompanied James OGLETHORPE to the new colony of
Georgia, where John's attempts to apply his then high-church views aroused
hostility. Discouraged, he returned (1737) to England; he was rescued from this
discouragement by the influence of the Moravian preacher Peter BOEHLER. At a
small religious meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738, John
Wesley had an experience in which his "heart was strangely warmed."
After this spiritual conversion, which centered on the realization of salvation by faith
in Christ alone, he devoted his life to evangelism. Beginning in 1739 he established
Methodist societies throughout the country. He traveled and preached constantly,
especially in the London-Bristol-Newcastle triangle, with frequent forays into Wales,
Ireland, and Scotland. He encountered much opposition and persecution, which
later subsided.
Late in life Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a widow. He continued throughout his life
a regimen of personal discipline and ordered living. He died at 88, still preaching,
still traveling, and still a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1784, however, he
had given the Methodist societies a legal constitution, and in the same year he
ordained Thomas COKE for ministry in the United States; this action signaled an
independent course for Methodism.
Charles Wesley, b. Dec. 18, 1707, d. Mar. 29, 1788, was perhaps England's
greatest hymn writer. Educated at Oxford, he was ordained in 1735 and went to
Georgia as Oglethorpe's secretary. He returned a year earlier than John. After a
religious experience similar to John's, he continued for many years in close
association with the Methodist movement. After 1756, however, he left the itinerant
ministry and settled first in Bristol and later in London. He wrote more than 5,000
hymns, among them "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves
Excelling."
Frederick A. Norwood
Bibliography: Ayling, Stanley, John Wesley (1979); Cell, G., The Rediscovery of
John Wesley (1983); Green, V.H.H., John Wesley (1987); Kimbrough, S.T., Jr., ed.,
Charles Wesley (1992); Outler, A.C., ed., John Wesley (1964); Pudney, John, John
Wesley and His World (1978); Rowe, K.E., ed., The Place of Wesley in the Christian
Tradition (1976); Tuttle, Robert, John Wesley: His Life and Theology (1978; repr.
1982).
©1996 Grolier Electronic Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
The Wesley family was made famous by the two brothers, John and Charles, who
worked together in the rise of METHODISM in the British Isles during the 18th
century. They were among the ten children surviving infancy born to Samuel
Wesley (1662-1735), Anglican rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, and Susanna
Annesley Wesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley, a dissenting minister.
John Wesley, b. June 28, 1703, d. Mar. 2, 1791, was the principal founder of the
Methodist movement. His mother was important in his emotional and educational
development. The rescue of little "Jackie" from the burning rectory ("a brand
plucked from the burning") has become legendary. John's education continued at
Charterhouse School and at Oxford, where he studied at Christ Church and was
elected (1726) fellow of Lincoln College. He was ordained in 1728.
After a brief absence (1727-29) to help his father at Epworth, John returned to
Oxford to discover that his brother Charles had founded a Holy Club composed of
young men interested in spiritual growth. John quickly became a leading participant
of this group, which was dubbed the Methodists. His Oxford days introduced him not
only to the rich tradition of classical literature and philosophy but also to spiritual
classics like Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and
Dying, and William Law's Serious Call.
In 1735 both Wesleys accompanied James OGLETHORPE to the new colony of
Georgia, where John's attempts to apply his then high-church views aroused
hostility. Discouraged, he returned (1737) to England; he was rescued from this
discouragement by the influence of the Moravian preacher Peter BOEHLER. At a
small religious meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738, John
Wesley had an experience in which his "heart was strangely warmed."
After this spiritual conversion, which centered on the realization of salvation by faith
in Christ alone, he devoted his life to evangelism. Beginning in 1739 he established
Methodist societies throughout the country. He traveled and preached constantly,
especially in the London-Bristol-Newcastle triangle, with frequent forays into Wales,
Ireland, and Scotland. He encountered much opposition and persecution, which
later subsided.
Late in life Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a widow. He continued throughout his life
a regimen of personal discipline and ordered living. He died at 88, still preaching,
still traveling, and still a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1784, however, he
had given the Methodist societies a legal constitution, and in the same year he
ordained Thomas COKE for ministry in the United States; this action signaled an
independent course for Methodism.
Charles Wesley, b. Dec. 18, 1707, d. Mar. 29, 1788, was perhaps England's
greatest hymn writer. Educated at Oxford, he was ordained in 1735 and went to
Georgia as Oglethorpe's secretary. He returned a year earlier than John. After a
religious experience similar to John's, he continued for many years in close
association with the Methodist movement. After 1756, however, he left the itinerant
ministry and settled first in Bristol and later in London. He wrote more than 5,000
hymns, among them "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves
Excelling."
Frederick A. Norwood
Bibliography: Ayling, Stanley, John Wesley (1979); Cell, G., The Rediscovery of
John Wesley (1983); Green, V.H.H., John Wesley (1987); Kimbrough, S.T., Jr., ed.,
Charles Wesley (1992); Outler, A.C., ed., John Wesley (1964); Pudney, John, John
Wesley and His World (1978); Rowe, K.E., ed., The Place of Wesley in the Christian
Tradition (1976); Tuttle, Robert, John Wesley: His Life and Theology (1978; repr.
1982).
©1996 Grolier Electronic Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
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