John Wesley In Georgia

Today we have a special post from Carolyn M., a United Methodist Revered, who has answered questions on Methodism and it's credited founder, John Wesley, and there connections with Georgia.

Enjoy!

John Wesley, Georgia, and Methodism Interview

Who is John Wesley?

John Wesley is known as the father of Methodism.  He was the son of a priest in the Church of England, one of 19 children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley in the early 1700s.  Wesley grew up to become a pastor in the Church of England himself.  In his years as a student at Oxford, he became part of a group of men who devoted themselves to spiritual disciplines as a way of deepening their relationship with God.  Others who watched from a distance found this group to be rigidly religious, so dubbed them “Methodists” as a derogatory term.  The name stuck, and as Wesley became impassioned about the work of spiritually reviving the Church of England, traveling from church to church to wake the people in the pews, the term “Methodist” traveled with him. 

 

Why did John Wesley pick Georgia?

As young college graduates, John and his brother Charles enlisted as missionaries with an organization called The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.  It was his response to a call to greater commitment and surrender to God.  The organization sent them to Georgia.  Their travel over was the best of times and the worst of times.  The voyage took two months and was fraught with dangers.  But it was on that voyage that he first encountered a group called the Moravians — German pietists — who were to impact him deeply.  In them, he saw a level of spiritual depth and intimacy he’d not encountered in his experience in England.  He longed for their experience of the Holy Spirit and especially for the joy with which they worshiped.  After landing in Georgia, he remained in touch with their leader and wrestled mightily with the character of his own faith in and expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

What impact did it have on Georgia?

Wesley’s intent for his missionary journey to Georgia was to minister to the colonists who lived there and convert Native Americans to Christianity.  He also hoped to gain a deeper assurance that he was indeed loved and accepted by God. 

 

His mission to Georgia lasted less than two years.  He spent time as the pastor of a church, but found the parishioners less than enthusiastic about his ministry.  He fell in love with a member of his congregation (a woman named Sophy Hopkey) and when it fell through he was profoundly wounded and became bitter toward her — a response that did not endear him to Sophie’s family and friends (he was actually charged with misconduct because of his behavior toward her!).  He had no significant contact with Native Americans. 

 

Returning to England with his tail between his legs — discouraged and doubtful — Wesley set about to understand his own faith.  He remained in contact with his Moravian friends who continued to be an influence. 

 

Wesley’s influence over Georgia, England and the world is not the result of one major event or one profound idea.  It happened over decades of faithful, passionate, obedient service to God, as Wesley wrote a systematic theology and a system of discipleship that filtered out across a spiritually hungry England and America.  His partners in ministry rode literally hundreds of thousands of miles on horseback (Francis Asbury is said to have ridden more than 300,000 miles on horseback, to every developed town in America). 

 

Did any Methodist come over with James Oglethorpe? If not, when did the first Methodist come to America?

John and Charles were the first “Methodists” to travel to Georgia, and we’ve already heard of their experience here.  Francis Asbury crossed over into Georgia at Augusta on March 1, 1790.  He preached for 16 days throughout eastern Georgia on this first trip here.  He was accompanied by several other preachers, including  a Mr. Whatcoat.

 

Where was the first Methodist church, in England and America?

John Wesley himself never professed to be anything other than a priest in the Church of England.  However, his movement, not to be contained or controlled, spread far beyond him even within his lifetime.  He traveled more than 250,000 miles over 50 years of ministry, preaching the gospel largely in England.  The Foundry, an old factory in London, was his home base.  He made it into a chapel from which most of his social reform programs and gospel initiatives proceeded.

 

Methodism spread in America after the Revolution, with Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury as key leaders.  The movement officially became an organization during a meeting at Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore in 1784.

 

What impact did Methodism have on the Christian way of thinking?

The greatest contribution of the “Methodist Way” is our practical and systematic approach to discipleship.  In two words, that theology can be described as grace and holiness.  Wesley wanted to see folks “grow in grace.”  He was hungry to see nominal Christians find a living and effective faith that worked itself out in acts of piety.  To that end, his theology was practical.  He is credited with saying, “There is no such thing as social holiness without personal holiness, or personal holiness without social holiness.”  That concept of connecting the inner journey with the outward journey of faith is what most attracts me to Methodism as a way of following Jesus.  I thank God for Wesley’s example and influence.  The spread of Methodism is surely the fruit of a life obediently lived in pursuit of the deeper things of God.

~ Carolyn M. United Methodist Revered

 

Thank you for this post!

 

Thank you for reading!

 

 

MJ