Wesleyan Holiness Church

Last updated
Wesleyan Holiness Church
Classification Methodism
Orientation Conservative holiness movement
Polity Connexionalism
Associations Interchurch Holiness Convention
Separated from Bible Missionary Church
Congregations24 [1]

The Wesleyan Holiness Church, also known as the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the conservative holiness movement. It has congregations throughout Canada, the United States and missions in other parts of the world.

Contents

History

The formation of the Wesleyan Holiness Church is a part of the history of Methodism in the United States and Canada; it sits within the Holiness movement which emerged in Methodism during the nineteenth century. [2] The church is a schism from the Bible Missionary Church that happened in 1959, the result of perceived overly-lenient views on divorce and remarriage within that group. [3] [4] Congregations that belong to the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches joined it, such as that in Portage, which held its first service of worship was held on 18 March 1956. [5]

General Conference, Annual conferences and Camp meetings

The Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches holds a General Conference. [1]

The Central District of Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches holds its annual conference and camp meeting at the Orleans Wesleyan Campgrounds in Orleans, Indiana. [6]

The Northeast District of Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches holds its annual conference and camp meeting at the Orleans Wesleyan Campgrounds in Clinton, Pennsylvania. [6]

Publications

The official organ of the Wesleyan Association of Churches is the Eleventh Hour Messenger. [7]

United Kingdom

In the UK, the British Isles District has 16 churches. The head office is at New Life Wesleyan Church in Handsworth, Birmingham. This District is associated with the Wesleyan Church and not the same as the denomination which left the Bible Missionary Church.

Related Research Articles

Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive 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 Anglicanism originating out of the Church of England in the 18th century 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, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.

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 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.

The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th-century Pennsylvania, as well as close ties to Methodism. It was organized in 1800 by Martin Boehm and Philip William Otterbein and is the first American denomination that was not transplanted from Europe. It emerged from United Brethren churches that were at first unorganized, and not all of which joined this church when it was formally organized in 1800, following a 1789 conference at the Otterbein Church.

The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Indonesia, and Australia. The church is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and has roots in the teachings of John Wesley. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian doctrine and is a member of the World Methodist Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp meeting</span> Christian gathering which originated in 19th-century America

The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. Revivals and camp meetings continued to be held by various denominations, and in some areas of the mid-Atlantic, led to the development of seasonal cottages for meetings.

The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).

Pilgrim Holiness Church (PHC) or International Apostolic Holiness Church (IAHC) is a Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement that split from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the efforts of Martin Wells Knapp in 1897. It was first organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the International Holiness Union and Prayer League (IHU/IAHC). Knapp, founder of the IAHC, ordained and his Worldwide Missions Board sent Charles and Lettie Cowman who had attended God's Bible School to Japan in December 1900. By the International Apostolic Holiness Churches Foreign Missionary Board and the co-board of the Revivalist the Cowmans had been appointed the General Superintendents and the Kilbournes the vice-General Superintendent for Korea, Japan and China December 29, 1905. The organization later became the Pilgrim Holiness Church in 1922, the majority of which merged with the Wesleyan Methodists in 1968 to form the Wesleyan Church.

The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Friends) that emphasize the doctrine of George Fox, as well as River Brethren who emerged out of the Radical Pietist revival, and Holiness Restorationists in the tradition of Daniel Sidney Warner. Schisms began to occur in the 19th century and this movement became distinct from parent Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment, and other "old holiness standards" reflective of the related emphases on the Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine of outward holiness or the Quaker teaching on the testimony of simplicity or the River Brethren and Restorationist teachings on nonconformity to the world, depending on the denomination. Christian denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement share a belief in Christian perfection, though they differ on various doctrines, such as the celebration of the sacraments and observance of ordinances, which is related to the denominational tradition—Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist. Many denominations identifying with the conservative holiness movement, though not all, are represented in the Interchurch Holiness Convention; while some denominations have full communion with one another, other bodies choose to be isolationist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Methodist Church</span> Methodist denomination in the US

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.

The Bible Missionary Church, founded in 1955, is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition aligned with the Conservative Holiness Movement. It is headquartered in the United States.

The Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is a Wesleyan-Holiness, Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches. The Church sponsors missionaries in seven countries.

The Churches of Christ in Christian Union (CCCU) is a Wesleyan-Holiness and Restorationist Christian denomination.

The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (AWMC), originally the Wesleyan Methodist Church (Allegheny Conference), and also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church (WMC), is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement primarily based in the United States, with missions in Peru, Ghana, and Haiti.

The Bible Methodist Connection of Churches is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.

The Interchurch Holiness Convention (IHC), formerly the Interdenominational Holiness Convention, is an ecumenical organization of denominations and congregations within the conservative holiness movement. Aligned with the conservative holiness movement, the majority of these IHC members are Methodist, though others have a Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist background. There are a number of denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement, however, that are not affiliated with the Interchurch Holiness Convention. The IHC was founded in 1952 during the post-World War II era. Thousands of individuals are present at the Interchurch Holiness Convention's annual international meeting that is usually held in Dayton, Ohio or in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; in addition the Interchurch Holiness Convention hosts regional meetings at local churches in different parts of the world throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Wesleyan Church</span>

The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel Association of Churches</span> Group of Churches in the United States

The Emmanuel Association of Churches is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Free Methodist Church</span> Methodist church

The Reformed Free Methodist Church (RFMC) was a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immanuel Missionary Church</span> Methodist denomination

The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.

References

  1. 1 2 Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches Thirty-First General Conference Journal. West Harrison: Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches. 15 June 2019. pp. 4–9.
  2. Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (21 September 2010). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition [6 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 303. ISBN   978-1-59884-204-3.
  3. Moyer, Ina: The Way It Really Was, pp 15-18
  4. Bainbridge, William Sims (1997). The Sociology of Religious Movements. Psychology Press. p. 77. ISBN   978-0-415-91202-0.
  5. Portrait of a Town: Portage, Pennsylvania, 1890-1990. The Committee. 1990. p. 59. On March 18, 1956, the first service of what is now the Wesleyan Holiness Church was held in the Miner's Hall under the leadership of Rev. Alvin Cottle.
  6. 1 2 Manley, Stevan; Myers, Bryon G. (2021). "Building on the Foundation". Eleventh Hour Messenger. LXII (2): 7.
  7. Eric Jude (2019). "Troy Lighthouse Advances to Established Church Status". Eleventh Hour Messenger. LX (1): 1.