The History of the United Methodist Church:
† John Wesley, born in 1703 in Epworth, England, was the founder and guiding force of Methodism.
† In the 1740s, Methodism began as a renewal movement within the Church of England, not as a separate sect. John Wesley did not set out to form a new church. He always maintained that Methodists were part of the Anglican Church, and encouraged his followers to take part in Anglican services and sacraments whenever possible.
† In the 1760s, Methodism began in America as a lay movement in New York, Maryland, Philadelphia, and Virginia.
† On Christmas Eve of 1784, 60 American Methodist preachers met in Baltimore, Maryland to form the Methodist Episcopal Church.
† Division in the Methodist Episcopal Church occurred in the 1800s: a number of churches withdrew from the main body of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Conflicts resulted from disagreements about such issues as Church authority and slavery, rather than differences about doctrine.
† The 1900s saw many of these breaches healed, and in 1968 the Methodist Church joined with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church.
† The United Methodist Church continues in dialogue with other Protestant denominations about the possibility of future mergers.
† A Methodist "society" was formed in Rutherfordton in 1796 following a visit by Bishop Francis Asbury. This group established what would become First United Methodist Church in 1825.
