John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day.
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, the MEC reunited with two breakaway Methodist denominations to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.
The Holiness movement, also known as the Wesleyan–Holiness movement, is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, generally called entire sanctification or Christian perfection and by the belief that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine.
Benjamin Titus Roberts (1823–1893) was an American Methodist bishop. He first trained as an attorney, then entered the ministry in the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of New York State. His ministerial studies were done at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He married Ellen Lois Stowe, had seven children, and pastored several churches in New York state.
Hamline University is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline of the United Methodist Church. As of 2017, Hamline had 2,117 undergraduate students and 1,668 graduate students.
Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.
Phoebe Palmer was a Methodist evangelist and writer who promoted the doctrine of Christian perfection. She is considered one of the founders of the Holiness movement within Methodist Christianity.
Asbury Theological Seminary is a Christian Wesleyan seminary in the historical Methodist tradition located in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is the largest seminary of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It is known for its advocacy of egalitarianism, giving equal status for men and women in ministerial roles and for ordination. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).
Wesley Biblical Seminary is a private seminary in the Methodist (Wesleyan-Arminian) tradition in Ridgeland, Mississippi. It was founded in 1974 and serves men and women who come from thirty denominations from all across the United States and other countries. WBS is fully virtual offering polysynchronous online learning with headquarters located outside Jackson, Mississippi.
Dennis Franklin Kinlaw, was a Wesleyan-Holiness Old Testament Scholar, former President of Asbury College.
Henry Clay Morrison was a Methodist evangelist, editor, and president of Asbury College.
John Wesley Hughes was an American minister. He was born in Owen County, Kentucky and was converted at the age of sixteen in a Methodist revival meeting in an old schoolhouse. Hughes attended Kentucky Wesleyan College in Millersburg, Kentucky, and served as a pastor in the Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Church before pursuing further education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Zachary Taylor Johnson (1897–1981) was born June 18, 1897, in Athens, Georgia, to a farmer's family. While working as a printer for the Macon News in 1913, Johnson converted to Christianity and felt called of God to preach. He entered Asbury University in September 1913 and transferred to Trevecca College in 1914.
Benjamin Franklin Haynes (1851–1923), usually known as B. F. Haynes, was a Methodist and later Nazarene minister and theologian from Tennessee. He was associated with the Holiness movement.
Bethel Academy was the first Methodist school established in the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. Established by Francis Asbury in 1790, the school operated in present-day Jessamine County, Kentucky until 1805.
Jarrell Waskom Pickett was an American Methodist minister and missionary to India.
The history of Methodism in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century with the ministries of early Methodist preachers such as Laurence Coughlan and Robert Strawbridge. Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, sent Thomas Coke to America where he and Francis Asbury founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to later establish itself as the largest denomination in America during the 19th century.
The Bible Methodist Connection of Churches is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.
Kenneth J. Collins is an American Wesleyan theologian and ordained minister in the Global Methodist Church. He is a professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is a leader in Wesley Studies, and his work The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace has been translated into Portuguese and Korean. He is the Director of the Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar.
The 2023 Asbury revival was a Christian revival at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. The revival was sparked by students spontaneously staying in Hughes Auditorium following a regularly scheduled chapel service on February 8, 2023. Following the gathering, Asbury President Kevin Brown sent out a brief two-sentence email: "There's worship happening in Hughes. You're welcome to join." The news of the phenomenon quickly spread through social media and in Christian online publications. The revival has been compared to similar revivals at Asbury, notably one that took place in 1970, which had far-reaching consequences in Methodism, culture of the United States, and the growth of the Jesus movement. Notably, news of the revival largely spread on social media, as the participants were mainly members of Generation Z. It was attended by approximately 15,000 people each day. By its end, the revival brought 50,000–70,000 visitors to Wilmore, representing more than 200 academic institutions and multiple countries.
