Have you ever wondered why we are called the United Methodist Church? Well, in this session, you are about to find out! Woohoo!!! J
Ok, the early church started after the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, like we said in the last session. Fast forward a bunch of years to 170 A.D., and the start of the Catholic Church. (Catholic means universal). Over the years, the Bishop in Rome became more influential than the other bishops in the church, and by 590 A.D. the church became known as the Roman Catholic Church, and the Bishop of Rome was the first Pope. In 1054, the part of the church that was in Constantinople (now Istanbul) split off into the Eastern Orthodox Church. So, at this point, the church looked like this.
Time passes, and some of the leaders of the Catholic Church become corrupt. They let people buy their way out of trouble, and ultimately out of Hell. A priest named Martin Luther had had enough of this by 1517. He went to the big wooden door of a church in Wittenberg Germany and nailed a list of 95 grievances (issues with the way things were being run) to the door. Luther and the rest of his friends who were upset became known as Protestants (because they protested what the church was doing). They felt that ALL people should be able to read the scriptures for themselves, in their own language. He and his followers were excommunicated (kicked out of the Catholic Church and told they lose their salvation) and this became known as the Protestant Reformation. So the church went like this.
At about the same time, the people in England were reading the scriptures themselves and began to get upset that their offering money had to be sent to Rome. Also, their King wanted a divorce (remember King Henry VIII? He beheaded two of his six wives!) and the Church didn’t allow divorces. So HE split off too, and started the Church of England, or the Anglican Church. He was the one in charge of that church. So, at this point in time, the church roughly looks like this.
In 1703 John Wesley was a member of the Anglican Church. His father was a Pastor in a poor farming area, and his mother raised him and his siblings at home, where she taught them about God. He went to Oxford University and was ordained into ministry (he became a pastor). He, his brother, and a few of their friends created the “Holy Club”, and spent all their time researching God’s word and talking about what God did, and why. They were pretty sure they were impressing God with all their knowledge, and they became known as “Methodists”. What do you think God thought of their Holy Club?
Soon John and his brother Charles felt called to America (Georgia to be exact). Although they felt called and stayed for two years, John came home. He was sad and confused, because he had kept all the “rules”, but still wasn’t happy serving God.
One night he went (not too happily) to a bible study on Aldersgate Street in London. The leader talked about Martin Luther’s explanation of the book of Romans. During this time, John felt his heart “strangely warmed”, and God made it known to him that, though he had all the information about Jesus, he has not accepted Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Once he did, his life changed.
He started preaching all over England. In the streets, in fields, anywhere he could get people to listen. People loved to hear his messages, in their own words and full of excitement for God. He gathered a lot of followers, and the name from his years at Oxford came back…his followers became known as Methodists.
The first Methodist missionaries were sent to America in the 1760s. They set up churches and ordained pastors. Circuit riders were pastors who rode the country, preaching to different congregations each week. Francis Asbury, a famous circuit rider, was consecrated bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784.
Over the next few years there were many splits and unions. People disagreed over views on slavery, equal rights, and social justice. Eventually, in 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.
The United Methodist Churches (I’ll call them the UMC from now on) in the USA are split into jurisdictions, which are broken down into Annual Conferences. Click this link to see what Conference we are in. Type it here . Each Annual conference is overseen by a Bishop. Use this site to find out who our Bishop is, and type it here . The annual conferences are broken down into Districts (our conference has 9 Districts. Look at this map to see how our conference is broken up. Now click this link to see what district we are in. Type it here . Each District is overseen by a District Superintendent. Go back to our district site and type the name of our District Superintendent here.
Ok, so wow. Take a breath, this session is almost finished. I gave you a LOT of information just now, so I am going to give you a review (quiz! Haha!) to see how much you remember!
Who Am I?
I preached for years before understanding that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone!
I was angry with the church’s divorce laws, so I began the Church of England.
I protested corruption in the church that I loved by nailing a list of problems to a church door.
We are a group of people who followed John Wesley and were jokingly called a name because we had a method to everything we do
I am your Pastor
I am your Youth Director
I am your Bishop
I am your District Superintendent
Ok, Good job! Don't forget to put your name in the box before submitting!!!!
