We trace our roots back to John Wesley, the great eighteenth century English reformer whose life was powerfully changed by God. Wesley devoted his life to preaching the news that Jesus Christ can change your life, even to the point of making you into a holy person. Living in a period when many of the churches in England were largely ignoring the spiritual and social problems of the time, Wesley was a master of organizing groups of committed Christians within churches to encourage and hold one another accountable. His movement eventually became known as Methodism.
Later, as the church in the United States debated the issue of slavery, a group of abolitionists decided to take a stand against slavery in the 1840s and withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Today's Wesleyan Church was formed in 1968 by the merger of The Wesleyan Methodist Church with the Pilgrim Holiness Church, which formed from several turn-of-the-century Christian groups that were concerned about the difference holiness can make in combating social ills.
While Wesleyans strongly affirm the basic doctrines, beliefs, and creeds of the Christian faith, here are some of the things we emphasize:
We believe that all people can be saved. God does not decide who will accept or reject him; his grace is available to all who will come to him.
We believe that God's grace works throughout our lives. This means that when we accept that Jesus is Lord, God keeps working in our lives so that through his power, we can actually become free from sin and evil and truly become holy children of God.
We believe that God works through the community of believers. God has not called us to practice our faith by ourselves. We are called to serve God together in a body of believers.
We believe in empowering the whole people of God. Jesus Christ shatters the stereotypes and divisions in the world, makes us brothers and sisters in him, and calls us all to be ministers of his grace. All people–no matter their history, income, gender, or race–are called to be faithful witnesses of what Christ has done in their lives.
We believe in putting our faith into action. God cares about the people and things he has made, and he calls us to live our lives as good servants to others and stewards of what he has given us.
To learn more about The Wesleyan Church, please visit www.wesleyan.org.
Later, as the church in the United States debated the issue of slavery, a group of abolitionists decided to take a stand against slavery in the 1840s and withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Today's Wesleyan Church was formed in 1968 by the merger of The Wesleyan Methodist Church with the Pilgrim Holiness Church, which formed from several turn-of-the-century Christian groups that were concerned about the difference holiness can make in combating social ills.
While Wesleyans strongly affirm the basic doctrines, beliefs, and creeds of the Christian faith, here are some of the things we emphasize:
We believe that all people can be saved. God does not decide who will accept or reject him; his grace is available to all who will come to him.
We believe that God's grace works throughout our lives. This means that when we accept that Jesus is Lord, God keeps working in our lives so that through his power, we can actually become free from sin and evil and truly become holy children of God.
We believe that God works through the community of believers. God has not called us to practice our faith by ourselves. We are called to serve God together in a body of believers.
We believe in empowering the whole people of God. Jesus Christ shatters the stereotypes and divisions in the world, makes us brothers and sisters in him, and calls us all to be ministers of his grace. All people–no matter their history, income, gender, or race–are called to be faithful witnesses of what Christ has done in their lives.
We believe in putting our faith into action. God cares about the people and things he has made, and he calls us to live our lives as good servants to others and stewards of what he has given us.
To learn more about The Wesleyan Church, please visit www.wesleyan.org.
