Methodism

Methodism is a Protestant Christian tradition that began in the eighteenth-century revival led by John and Charles Wesley. It emphasizes personal faith, disciplined spiritual practice, and social service.

John Wesley: John Wesley was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who helped found the Methodist movement. His preaching, organization, and theology shaped Methodism’s beginnings.
Wesleyan theology: Wesleyan theology is a Christian theological tradition shaped by John Wesley’s teachings on grace, faith, holiness, and salvation. It provides the theological framework behind distinctively Methodist teaching.
Methodist diaconal work: Methodist diaconal work is organized service to people and communities, often through churches and social agencies. It expresses the tradition’s commitment to practical service.
Calvinism: Calvinism is a Protestant theological tradition associated with John Calvin and doctrines including predestination and divine sovereignty. Its stronger emphasis on predestination differs from Wesleyan accounts of grace and free response.
Charles Wesley: Charles Wesley was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer whose work helped establish the Methodist movement. His hymns gave the revival a lasting devotional voice.
Prevenient grace: Prevenient grace is divine grace understood to precede and enable human response to God. Wesleyan teaching uses it to explain how people can respond freely to salvation.
Sunday school: Sunday school is a regular program of religious instruction, often for children, held in connection with Christian worship. Methodist communities helped popularize Sunday schools for religious education.
Baptists: Baptists are Protestant Christians who emphasize believer’s baptism and the autonomy of local congregations. Baptist congregational autonomy differs from Methodist connexional organization.
Holy Club: The Holy Club was a group of Oxford students who pursued rigorous religious discipline in the 1720s. The group’s methodical habits gave early Methodists their name.
Christian perfection: Christian perfection is the doctrine that believers can grow in love for God and neighbor through grace. Wesley described holiness as a central aim of Christian life.

Linked from 34 pages