Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their doctrine of practice and belief from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide.
The Holiness movement involves a set of Christian beliefs and practices that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is Wesleyan-Arminian in theology, and is defined by its view of personal sin, and emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace generally called entire sanctification leading to Christian perfection. 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.
Roberts Wesleyan College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Rochester, New York. It was the first educational institution established for Free Methodists in North America. Roberts is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, is a member of the Association of Colleges and Universities of the State of New York, the Rochester Area Colleges, the Association of Free Methodist Educational Institutions, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).
Sanctification or in its verb form, sanctify, literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God. The concept of sanctification is widespread among religions, including Judaism and especially Christianity. The term can be used to refer to objects which are set apart for special purposes, but the most common use within Christian theology is in reference to the change brought about by God in a believer, begun at the point of salvation and continuing throughout the life of the believer. Many forms of Christianity believe that this process will only be completed in Heaven, but some believe that complete holiness is possible in this life.
The Primitive Methodist Church is a body of Holiness Christians within the Methodist tradition, which began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
Wesleyan University-Philippines (WU-P) is a private, non-stock, non-profit and non-sectarian university located in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines and run by the United Methodist Church (UMC). Founded in 1946 as the Philippine Wesleyan College, it is named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. The university offers pre-elementary, grade school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate programs. It also initiated the Support for the Handicapped and their Rehabilitation through Education (SHARE) Program, the first school in Central Luzon to integrate hearing-impaired students into mainstream classes.
Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana.
What became Westminster College began in 1888 in Seven Points, Texas, United States, northeast of McKinney, Texas, where classes were first held in a building that once housed Seven Points College. Founded by J. M. Harder, the school was purchased five years later by I. P. Rosser. In 1895, he sold it to the Methodist Protestant Church and the school was named Westminster College and served as a preparatory school for ministers. Shortly thereafter, the town of Seven Points changed its name to that of the school. In 1902, Westminster outgrew the facilities and the college moved to Tehuacana, Texas and continued as a junior college.
Southern Wesleyan University is a private Christian university in Central, South Carolina. It was founded in 1906 by what is now the Wesleyan Church. The institution is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
The Congregational Methodist Church is a Methodist denomination located primarily in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It is within the Holiness movement and adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology. As of 1995, the denomination reported 14,738 in 187 churches.
The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines and several European and African nations in 2018, and a total of 34,656 members worldwide.
Wesley Biblical Seminary is a multi-denominational Protestant graduate school of theology and Bible College in Ridgeland, Mississippi. The seminary's history and teachings align with Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. 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 has its main residential campus in Jackson and a virtual campus made up of students from around the globe.
John Wesley University was a private interdenominational Christian college in High Point, North Carolina. In 2018, the university merged into Piedmont International University in Winston-Salem.
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons, theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher.
The Association of Independent Methodists is a Methodist Christian denomination founded in 1965 by individuals who had left the Methodist Church because of disagreements on church government and doctrinal matters. As of 2019, the denomination had 40 churches in 8 U.S. states, concentrated mostly in the South.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the majority Methodist movement in England following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements. The word Wesleyan in the title differentiated it from the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists and from the Primitive Methodist movement, which separated from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyan Methodist Church followed the Wesleys in holding to an Arminian theology, in contrast to the Calvinism held by George Whitefield, by Selina Hastings, and by Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, the pioneers of Welsh Methodism. Its Conference was also the legal successor to John Wesley as holder of the property of the original Methodist societies.
Kansas Christian College is a private, four-year Christian college in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, affiliated with the Church of God (Holiness). The college is accredited with the Association for Biblical Higher Education, a commission recognized by United States Department of Education. The sports programs associated fielded by Kansas Christian College are nicknamed the Falcons, and compete in the NCCAA.
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.
Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism was established in Kerala at the start of the 20th century.
Thomas OsmondSummers was an English-born American Methodist theologian, clergyman, hymnist, editor, liturgist and university professor. He is considered one of the most prominent Methodist theologians of the nineteenth century.
