Methodist

Methodism grew out of Protestantism sometime in the 1700s.

The actual term Methodist was given to a group of students at Oxford University in England because of their devotion to their Christian faith. One of these faithful worshippers at Oxford was named John Wesley and Wesley would actual go on to become the founder of the new Christian movement known as Methodism.

Together with his brother Charles, John preached about personal salvation through devotion to Christian faith. The Wesleys also stressed the importance of being socially conscious.

After Methodism gained popularity the Church of England began to oppose the new movement so instead of holding services in church, like most other Christians, the early Methodist worshippers would hold their religious services in open fields.

Methodism came to the United States with immigrants from Ireland and England and eventually this Christian movement gained quite a bit of popularity all over the world.

Methodists stress two of the Christian sacraments in particular: baptism and the Lord’s Supper and they tend to believe in both the importance of personal religious experience and the importance of the universal salvation of the masses.