This Week in Christian History: Julian the Apostate, Geronimo and John Wesley

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, June 25, 2017

The first Methodist Conference was held on June 25, 1744

John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism. | (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

This week marks the anniversary of when the first-ever conference was held for the Methodist movement, a religious group that eventually became very influential in British and American society.

Held in London starting on June 25, 1744, Methodism's founder John Wesley later wrote that the purpose of the conference was "to consider how we should proceed to save our own souls and those that heard us."

"After some time, I invited the lay preachers that were in the house to meet with us. We conferred together for several days and were much comforted and strengthened thereby," wrote Wesley.

While scholars estimate the total attendance of this first conference to be around 10 men, the 2016 United Methodist Church's General Conference in Portland, Oregon, had an attendance figure around 1,000, representing a denomination with over 12 million members.