John Wesley - Quick facts

 

 

 

He was born June 28, 1703, at Epworth, Lincolnshire, England. 15th of 19 siblings.

The English evangelical clergyman, preacher, and writer John Wesley was the founder of Methodism.

Wesley was ordained a deacon in the Church of England in 1725, elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1726, and ordained a priest in 1728.

One of England's greatest spiritual leaders, he played a major role in the revival of religion in 18th-century English life.

John Wesley opposed slavery

He is often credited with the phrase: 'Agree to disagree. ' - It stems from his disagreement with Calvinist George Whitfield. They shared certain shared valued - preaching in open air. But, John Wesley disagreed with his calvinist doctrines

He rode 250,000 miles on horseback, preached 40,000 sermons, gave away 30,000 and left behind 132,000 followers.

He saw rain storms as God's punishment on him - or the Devil's attack. He made decisions by opening the Bible at random for God's guidance, and even decided whether to marry by pulling bits of paper out of a hat.

Wesley believed in the importance of pointing out others' errors and faults with utter candour. As "one of the greatest instances of friendship", he told an old friend whose only child was dying that she was the most spoiled he had ever seen, "Happy would it be for both her and you if God would speedily take her to himself!"