METHODIST CHURCH PROFILE – UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Complete Profile & Latest Information About United Methodist Church

The Methodist Church is Britain’s fourth largest Christian denomination and part of the worldwide Methodist family of over 60 million committed members and a further 20 million adherents. Known for her grassroots movements and Evangelism, Methodists belong to local churches or ecumenical partnerships, but also feel part of a larger connected community, known as the Connexion.

METHODIST CHURCH PROFILE

HISTORY OF THE METHODIST CHURCH

The Origin of Methodism are in the 18th Century. Methodism originated as a revival movement within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley’s death. The movement is reported on wikipedia to have spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide.

Christianity was established in Nigeria with the arrival in 1842 of a Wesleyan Methodist Church missionary. He had come in response to the request for missionaries by the ex-slaves who returned to Nigeria from Sierra Leone. From the mission stations established in Badagry and Abeokuta, the Methodist church spread to various parts of the country west of the River Niger and part of the north. In 1893 missionaries of the Primitive Methodist Church arrived from Fernando Po, an island off the southern coast of Nigeria. From there the Methodist Church spread to other parts of the country, east of the River Niger and also to parts of the north. The church west of the River Niger and part of the north was known as the Western Nigeria District and east of the Niger and another part of the north as the Eastern Nigeria District. Both existed independently of each other until 1962 when they constituted the Conference of Methodist Church Nigeria. The conference is composed of seven districts.

The Methodist Church Nigeria is headed by the prelate, who presides over the conference, the overall governing body of the church. This conference meets every two years to deliberate and take decisions on all issues affecting the life of the church. The conference area is divided into eight archdioceses. Each archdiocese is composed of not less than four dioceses over which an archbishop presides at the archdiocesan council meetings. There are 44 dioceses, each made up of a number of circuits and headed by a bishop who presides over the annual synod. The constitution of the church provides for lay participation in the leadership of the church from the local church through to conference level.

FOUNDING DAY: The Methodist Church was founded in the 18th Century.
NUMBER OF MEMBERS: As per the latest count, there are approximately 170,000 people who have made and sustained a commitment to Christian discipleship within the Methodist Church of Great Britain and are active members of a local Methodist church.
HEADQUARTERS: The Church is located at 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.
BRANCHES: The Methodist Church has over 30 districts across the world.
FOUNDER: John Wesley was the original president of the Methodist conference (1703 – 1791).
CURRENT LEADERS: The Revd Richard Teal and Carolyn Lawrence were inducted as President and Vice-President at the Methodist Conference (conducted online) on Saturday 27 June 2020.

The Methodist Church Programme / Events Calendar

Some of the church events are outlined as follows;

Lent and Easter (Holy week and Easter Services)
Advent and Christmas
Pilgrimages
Annual Conferences

The Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church and meets annually to discuss matters affecting the life of the Church, the nation and the world.

THE METHODIST CHURCH MISSION, CALLING AND DOCTRINE

OUR CALLING

The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God’s love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission. She does this through;

Worship
Learning and caring
Service
Evangelism

OUR DOCTRINES

The Methodist church doctrines as reported on her website are as follows;

The Methodist Church claims and cherishes its place in the Holy Catholic Church which is the Body of Christ. It rejoices in the inheritance of the apostolic faith and loyally accepts the fundamental principles of the historic creeds and of the Protestant Reformation. It ever remembers that in the providence of God Methodism was raised up to spread scriptural holiness through the land by the proclamation of the evangelical faith and declares its unfaltering resolve to be true to its divinely appointed mission.

The doctrines of the evangelical faith which Methodism has held from the beginning and still holds are based upon the divine revelation recorded in the Holy Scriptures. The Methodist Church acknowledges this revelation as the supreme rule of faith and practice. These evangelical doctrines to which the preachers of the Methodist Church are pledged are contained in Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament and the first four volumes of his sermons

Mission:

As we venture into the years ahead , our Mission Shall be “ To raise faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ who are passionate to transform the world through preaching teaching and provision of services that carter for the physical and spiritual needs of the Church and the society

Our Vision shall be: “Becoming Faithful and Fruitful disciples of Jesus”.