“The world is my parish.” — John Wesley
The Methodist Society was begun in the middle of the eighteenth century by the Rev'd John Wesley MA, an Anglican priest and scholar (1703–1791). In concert with several others, priests and lay people, it began as an outcome of the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century.
Initially, it was intended as a means by which the Church of England might bring faith back into the centre of people's lives. However, after Wesley's death in 1791, the Methodist Society separated from the Church of England and became the Methodist Church, with its own organisation and ordained ministers.
Unlike George Whitefield, a contemporary who was a Calvinist, the Wesleys and their supporters believed – as Methodists do still today – that the wholeness offered by Christ is freely available to all who turn to him.
This belief that all people can be brought into God's Kingdom is a core tenet of the Methodist Church. It is at the heart of why the Wesleys and Whitefield went (amicably) their separate ways.
John and Charles Wesley believed in the need for people to work out the demands of the gospel in daily life. A gospel which did not change the life of the believer and impact society was no gospel at all.
“Whoever you are, and whatever you may have made of your life, you are a valued, cherished, and unique child of God.” This foundational belief shapes every relationship inside and outside our churches.
Because of our commitment to the Social Gospel, Methodist churches are just as likely to be found actively serving in areas of great deprivation as they are in places of affluence across Enfield and Broxbourne.
Methodist belief is traditionally summed up in these four simple statements:
Recognising human frailty and need for divine grace.
God’s redeeming love extends universally to everyone.
Assurance of God’s forgiveness and personal relationship.
Complete holiness and transformation in daily living.
We believe that 'salvation' embraces wholeness of personhood, release from crippling guilt, forgiveness, acceptance, healing, and acknowledgement of each person's unique relationship to the Creator.
This is God's loving and complete life-gift to each of his children who turns to him. In Jesus we see God so truly reflected that we open our hearts in prayer to receive this gift.
