Sometime in November 1729, four young men of Oxford named Mr. John Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College; Mr. Charles Wesley, Student of Christ Church; Mr. Morgan, Commoner of Christ Church; and Mr. Kirkham of Merton College decided to meet regularly to spend some time together in the evenings for prayer, reading, and meditating on the Scripture (chiefly, the Greek Testament), to take part in the Lord’s Table, spend time in charity works and building one another for God’s work.  In the following year, a few of John Wesley’s and Charles Wesley’s pupils preferred the freedom of meeting with them.  It was in 1732, that Mr. Ingham of Queen’s College, and Mr. Broughton of Exeter, were added to their number.  Following that, in April 1732, Mr. Clayton along with few of his pupils joined the group. About the same time Mr. James Harvey was permitted to meet with them; and in 1735, Mr. George Whitefield, an Anglican Clergyman, joined them.

The precise regularity of their lives, as well as studies caused a young man of Christ Church to say, ‘Here is a new set of Methodists sprung up;’ referring to some ancient Physicians who were so called. The name was new and appealing; so it was taken on immediately, and the Methodists were known all over the University. They were all zealous members of the Church of England; followed all the doctrines and the discipline, to the minutest circumstance. They were similarly zealous observers of all the University Statutes. But they observed and were bound by their one book, the Bible and were absolute Bible-Christians. The one charge against them was that they were over-righteous and too strict, carrying things to great extremes. Particularly that they laid too much stress upon the Rubrics and Canons of the Church. In October 1735, Mr. John and Charles Wesley, and Mr. Ingham, left England, with a design to preach to Native Americans in Georgia and the rest of them continued to meet at the same place.  However, in about two years’ time, all were ordained and left the University to continue with their God-given task of preaching the gospel in a methodical way.  In February 1738, Mr. Whitfield went over to Georgia with a design to assist Mr. John Wesley; but Mr. Wesley just then had returned to England. Soon after he had a meeting with Messrs. Ingham, Stonehouse, Hall, Hutchings, Kinchin, and a few other Clergymen, who all appeared to be of one heart, as well as of one judgment.  They resolved to be Bible-Christians in all regards; and wherever they went, they preached with all their might the plain Scriptural Christianity.  They were perfectly regular in all things, and zealously attached to the Church of England.  In the meantime, they began to be convinced that, ‘by grace we are saved through faith,’ that justification by faith was the doctrine of the Church, as well as of the Bible. As soon as they believed, they preached salvation by faith that implied three things:

1. All people, by nature, are dead in their sin and, consequently, children of wrath.
2. They are justified only by faith, and
3. That faith produces inward and outward holiness.

All these points they developed based on God’s mercy and grace, the sacrificial and substitutionary death of Christ on the cross; and one’s personal faith in Jesus Christ, which they insisted on day and night. In a short time, they became popular Preachers. The congregations were large wherever they preached. The former name was then revived; and all of them along with their followers, were entitled Methodists.  Thus, the Methodist teachings were based on the Universality of God’s redemptive work; the sanctity of one’s life, that is, being made holy; and the assurance of one’s salvation.

In March 1741, Mr. Whitefield after his return to England was entirely separated from Mr. Wesley and his friends because he did not hold the decrees. Here was the first breach, when Mr. Whitefield had a difference of opinion. Those who believed in universal redemption, had no desire to separate; but those who held particular redemption would not accommodate, being determined to have no fellowship with men that were in so dangerous errors.  This resulted in two groups of Methodists, those for particular, and those for general, redemption. Not many years passed, before William Cudworth and James Relly separated from Mr. Whitefield, avowed enemies to the law of God, which they never preached or professed to preach, but termed all legalists who did. For them preaching the law was an abomination. They had nothing to do with the law. They would only preach Christ but without one word either of holiness or good works. Yet they were still known as Methodists. In 1762, George Bell and a few other persons began to preach great messages. In the later part of the year, they foretold that the world would be at an end on the 28 of February. Mr. Wesley, with whom they were then connected, withstood them both in public and private. In January and February 1763, they separated from him. Soon after that, one of Wesley’s preachers, Mr. Maxfield, and several of the people left Mr. Wesley, but still Mr. Maxfield and his adherents were called Methodists. Finally, those who remained with Mr. Wesley were mostly from the Church of England.

John Wesley furnishes the clearest account of the principles and practices whereby the Methodists are distinguished from other men. Primarily, the name Methodists was not the name they took for themselves as we have seen earlier but was fixed upon them.  However, John Wesley states: “…and perhaps some of you who hate what I am called, may love what I am by the grace of God; or rather, what ‘I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.’”