Methodism as a global movement is the last in the series, “An Exploration of Methodism and Its Untimely Relevancy.” 

In this series, and so far, I’ve talked about: 

• Methodism as a Christian Movement, and 
• Methodism as a Thriving Community. 

Just in case you did not know, Methodists are all over the world today. It started as a small group of students; the Methodist movement would reach almost every corner of the world by the early twenty-first century.

Today, we talk about over 12 million United Methodists, and over 80 million people who have come from Wesley’s Methodism.

What helped the early Methodists gain a global identity? 

There could be many possible answers to the above question. But, for the sake of our reflection, I am going to talk about a couple in the following lines.  

Embrace the Hallmarks of Early Methodism

The hallmarks that made the early Methodists grow so fast in numbers are:

• They focused on growing in faith.
• They increased and abounded in love.
• They turned everything into something useful for their movement.
• They lived with the end in mind. Learn more about that in my other post, Methodism as a Christian Movement. 

Those characteristics of early Methodism made it a timeless movement. That’s why we continue talking about Methodism until now.

No matter Methodism may look in the future, it will always be something about which, generations to come will talk. Also, the above hallmarks of early Methodism make this a global movement.

Whether you are in the U.S., the Philippines, Germany or the Congo, we all share their heritage. We will all then be able to say, just as Wesley did: “the world is my parish.”

Of course, not that all of us are preachers, but we belong to the same global parish, the people called Methodists. Everywhere you find a United Methodist Church; you claim it as your church family even if you don’t reside in that specific community. 

Be Organized for Holiness

John Wesley organized the early Methodists into societies, bands, and classes with the goal that can translate today into:

• • Faithful discipleship. 
  • Mutual accountability. 

John Wesley experienced rejection from most parishes in the Church of England. That didn’t, however, stop him from preaching the good news. He went to the fields and mining areas to share the Word of God with everyone he met. 

What made Methodism grow to become a global Christian movement? 

The Methodists had a clear vision of who they were.

The ticket to join a Methodist society was the desire “to flee from the wrath to come” and the choice to work on their salvation. 

They had a new way of life: holiness, love and good works.

Later on, John Wesley would talk about the general rules, which Bishop Job talks about in his book, “Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living.”

• • Do no harm.
  • Do good.
  • Stay in love with God. 

The Methodists had an active Christian fellowship among themselves.

John Wesley, to help the Methodists move toward perfection, organized the movement into three groups.

Methodist Society

Society is the gathering, which takes place once a week. Anyone can come, even those who are not yet Methodists.

Today, it would make the position of the local Church. The other two groups started to help those who had lost their initial enthusiasm or zeal for righteousness.

Methodist Band

A band was gender or age-based gatherings of Methodists. Women met with other women. Men with other men, and so forth.

Methodist Class

I’m going to say a little bit more about Methodist classes for the reason that they represented the basic unit of Methodism as a movement.

A class is a small group of between 10 and 12 people. It initially started as a way of collecting money to pay off a debt for the building the first Methodist society was using. The decision was to group Methodists into classes, a model that had already existed before.

Each class would have a leader who collects some money from every class member. Later, after observing that some Methodists needed more help on their spiritual journey, Wesley would then establish a way to help with that.

Classes allowed Wesley to have spiritual oversight in the entire movement. A class leader, serving as pastor over his class members, I would say, met with the steward (the person in charge of the offerings) and the traveling preacher. Methodism was not just about the numbers, but people.

The preacher, when in town, would visit each class member in their house. The idea of having every Methodist in a class would also come to America when early Methodists began moving to the American colonies.

With the American revolution, the Church of England is banned from the United States of America. What that means is there were not enough ordained people to help with the sacraments. Wesley would request the Church of England to ordain Methodists to serve in the United States.

But, the Church did not approve of his request. He would then decided to ordain, even though Wesley had no power to do so, a few. Wesley sends Thomas Coke to the U.S. to consecrate Francis Asbury to oversee the newly established Methodist Episcopal Church. The Methodists established the Methodist Church on December 25, 1784.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was the smallest of the denominations in 1800. However, it becomes the largest by 1900. In the process, the Methodist Episcopal Church would go through schisms while experiencing growth until the 20th century.

Much decline begins happening soon after the Methodist Church joins with the United Brethren Church to become the United Methodist Church in 1968.

How do we reclaim our global identity as Methodists?

John Wesley used to say: “the world is my parish.” He embraced this attitude when none of the Churches in England would allow him to serve. He went out to the people in the fields, outside the Church’s building walls.

Three things that can help us maintain a global identity, which we can learn from Wesley and the Methodists.

First, have the assurance of your salvation. 

The experience of salvation is a universal thing. It connects you with the rest of the body of Christ around the world.

Second, have your heart entirely fixed on God.

The choice to let God be everything in life makes you an active member of the universal Church. Wherever you may be, you’ll be able to serve.

• • Choose to move toward perfection.
  • Have a time of the day to pray.
  • Have time to study God’s word on your own.
  • Have time to serve somebody: Church, family, Workplace, School, everywhere you are, join a group. 

Third, be a shouting Methodist.

People made jokes of early American Methodists and referred to them as “shouting Methodists.” That pointed out that Methodists did not keep their faith to themselves. They shared it with everyone they encountered.

What does all that mean to us today?

Using Acts 2, it’s about three things: 

1. Let’s be One Community. The community is the place where we should all be.
2. A Community grounded in the work of God’s Spirit is that, which impacts people’s lives.
3. Don’t keep it all to yourself.

In Conclusion

Methodism is just one expression of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Wesley, with no intention of either starting a Church or even starting the Methodist movement, came up with a way to help us work on our salvation. His genius helped the early Methodists organize themselves in a way that they would best watch over each other’s souls. The result of doing so made this movement global.