John Wesley

John Wesley

A Methodist is one who loves the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength. God is the joy of his heart, and the desire of his soul, which is continually crying, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire besides thee.” My God and my all! “Thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” He is therefore happy in God; yea, always happy, as having in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life, and over-flowing his soul with peace and joy. Perfect love living now cast out fear, he rejoices evermore. Yea, his joy is full, and all his bones cry out, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten me again unto a living hope of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven for me.”

– from A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by John Wesley

John Wesley

John Wesley (1703-1791) was an English theologian, cleric, and missionary who, with his brother Charles Wesley and fellow English theologian George Whitefield, founded Methodism. Ordained an Anglican priest, Wesley spent two years serving as a missionary in the Georgia colony at Savannah before returning to London and joining the Moravian Christians. On May 24, 1738, he experienced a conversion to evangelical Protestantism, which he described as a having his “heart strangely warmed.” This experience was the first step toward co-founding Methodism.