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The Infrastructure of the Wesleyan Revival

John Wesley (1703 –1791) preaching outdoors

John Wesley (1703 –1791) preaching outdoors

The original Methodist revival was a movement intended to produce “real Christians,” that is, Christians who would actually live out the faith they professed. In my opinion: we are in desperate need of such a thing today.

In the Methodist revival, the means used to achieve this goal were:

  1. a message of experienced religion & holiness which drew heavily from the Bible,
  2. large praise and preaching gatherings (the Societies),
  3. small accountability groups (the classes, bands & select societies),
  4. works of service and mercy (generally: addressing the needs of the poor or imprisoned).

This was not intended to produce “Church Growth” or some such thing, it was intended to produce Christians who visibly and noticeably loved God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and their neighbors as themselves.

What can be learned by this evangelistic & discipleship strategy for our day? (more…)

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