This journal examines the Methodist church in the UK, its behavior, historical roots and the problem it is facing in the 21st Century and suggests a solution based on research conducted.

1. The
Methodist
Church
in
the
UK
Jason
Worsley
INTRODUCTION
&
AIM
This
report
is
based
on
St.
Andrews
Methodist
Church
in
County
Durham.
The
reason
I
picked
a
Methodist
church
is
that
of
my
roots
as
a
Pentecostal.
William
Seymour
was
fond
of
John
Wesley
and
its
doctrine
of
holiness
but
when
the
Methodist
moved
away
from
their
core
vision,
William
Seymour
moved
on
and
today
is
known
as
the
catalyst
of
the
Pentecostal
movement.
As
an
Evangelist/Missionary,
I
wanted
to
write
on
a
church
that
influenced
the
fastest
growing
tradition
in
Christianity
and
will
aim
to
show
the
issue
the
church
is
facing
at
large
now
and
give
an
overall
view
of
a
Methodist
church
in
its
cultural
setting
with
core
convictions,
its
structure
and
governance
with
a
theological
reflection
and
conclusion.
STRUCTURE
AND
GOVERNANCE
The
church
structure
and
governance
as
a
whole
has
been
in
place
since
1746.
John
Wesley
was
always
known
by
his
peers
to
be
a
genius
he
never
wanted
to
start
a
new
denomination
but
at
Christ
Church
Oxford
his
new
form
of
doctrine
on
living
was
known
as
Wesley
Method
hence
how
the
name
Methodist
was
birthed.
The
church
as
a
whole
is
structured
in
a
methodical
way,
with
many
structures
influenced
by
its
founder
John
Wesley,
a
Circuit
oversees
local
churches,
a
District
oversees
the
circuit
and
the
President
of
the
conference
oversee
the
districts.
Its
members
are
called
Methodist
who
are
part
of
large
connexions
and
take
part
in
service
during
the
week
at
local
Methodist
churches.
(Acc:8/5/18
Methodist)
St.
Andrews
is
run
by
stewards,
treasurer,
secretary
and
overseen
by
Rev.
Andy
Longe,
the
church
is
not
numerically
strong
but
uses
its
numbers
effectively
in
the
community,
the
church
is
part
of
a
group
of
other
local
Methodist
churches
which
fall
under
a
circuit
led
by
a
Superintendent
Minister.
Local
preachers
and
clergymen
circulate
the
circuit
on
a
Rota
basis
and
members
run
weekly
activities
as
community
groups
under
the
church
banner.
The
church
opened
in
1983
and
is
based
in
Brandon,
County
Durham
and
was
once
part
of
eight
different
Methodist
churches
that
eventually
became
one.
The
church
is
in
an
area
where
coal-­‐mining
community
existed
and
contributed
to
the
growth
of
the
Methodist
in
the
North
East.
The
church
is
looking
forward
to
its
annual
conference,
which
was
established
in
1744
by
John
Wesley.
CULTURE
&
CONVICTIONS
The
church
works
closely
in
mind
of
its
cultural
heritage
and
understands
its
community
that
it
serves.
The
area
has
developed
from
its
original
heritage
of
coal
mining
with
professionals
and
middle
class
working
for
families
at
a
majority.
The
church
is
committed
in
its
conviction
to
reach
out
to
the
community
in
different
ways;
the
SPA
club
that
runs
every
Tuesday
is
a
local
government
funded
initiative,
the
club
attracts
people
above
the
age
of
50
and
runs
activities
such
as
exercises,
textiles,
bowling
and
social
gathering.
The
church
opens
its
door
to
other
communities
groups
who
use
the
church
hall
for

2. their
activities
this
is
a
great
form
of
exposure
for
the
church
and
brings
awareness
to
the
community
about
the
church.
John
Wesley
would
be
proud
in
this
branch
of
the
Methodist
as
it
has
stuck
to
its
roots
of
working
with
the
community
but
would
be
disappointed
with
the
church
evangelism
approach.
The
effectiveness
of
the
SPA
club
should
be
taken
advantage
of
by
using
Wesley
evangelistic
approach
but
because
the
SPA
club
is
local
government
funded
it
has
to
work
for
the
benefit
of
the
community
rather
than
the
church.
The
church
is
focused
on
its
community
that
it
holds
a
church
service
in
a
local
care
home
once
a
month.
The
care
homes
members
don't
get
a
visitor
sometimes
for
years
and
have
no
other
activities
within
the
walls
of
the
care
home
but
the
church
reaches
to
them
with
spiritual
encouragement
and
is
a
breath
of
fresh
air
for
the
member
of
the
care
home.
WORSHIP/PRAYER
The
worship
at
St.
Andrews
is
very
contemporary
they
use
the
Book
of
Common
Prayer,
which
they
inherited
from
the
Anglicans
and
freelance
preaching
with
visual
projection
describing
the
sermons,
which
I
find
as
a
very
effective
form
of
preaching.
The
church
carries
the
original
John
and
Charles
Wesley
blueprint
of
how
the
Methodist
church
should
run.
It
is
neither
seen
as
an
Anglican
or
Free
Church
and
was
built
on
a
two-­‐fold
ministry
of
John
and
Charles,
the
liturgy
of
The
Book
of
Common
Prayer
and
freelance
preaching.
The
church
is
proud
of
its
historical
organ,
which
was
imported
from
Europe
and
is
perfect
for
its
congregation
size
and
vibrant
hymn
singing.
This
style
of
worship
and
prayer
is
very
distinctive
to
the
Methodist
and
has
evolved
over
the
nineteenth
and
twenty
centuries,
John
Wesley
was
a
convinced
Anglican
and
once
stated
(2013:
8):
“I
believe
there
is
no
liturgy
in
the
world,
either
in
ancient
or
modern
language,
which
breathes
more
of
a
solid,
scriptural,
rational
piety
than
the
Common
Prayer
of
the
Church
of
England.”
John
Wesley
During
one
Sunday
service
the
preacher
called
for
a
free
will
offering
but
to
my
surprise
as
I
was
putting
my
offering
together
the
offering
basket
walked
straight
past
me,
I
observed
the
congregation
and
saw
that
the
congregation
noticed
the
same
and
put
their
offering
back
in
their
pockets,
this
could
be
that
the
Methodist
over
the
years
have
become
self-­‐funded
from
local
government
initiative
and
various
other
charitable
group
using
the
church.
I
eventually
walked
to
the
front
and
dropped
my
offering
in
the
basket
and
at
the
end
of
the
service
the
treasurer
made
a
joking
remark
that
they
need
to
open
the
safe
to
put
my
offering
in,
that
remark
gave
me
an
idea
of
the
expectation
the
church
has
on
collection.
REFLECTION
&
CONCLUSION
According
to
Petre
(Acc:8/5/18
telegraph)
On
the
17th
of
June
2003
the
Methodist
Church
gathered
at
the
Anglican
Cathedral
in
Epworth
where

3. Christian
leaders
from
across
the
world
came
to
celebrate
the
300th
birth
anniversary
of
its
founder
John
Wesley
it
celebrated
how
some
of
the
core
value
espoused
by
its
founders,
such
as
holiness
and
social
gathering
remains
the
focus
of
the
Methodist
Church
but
the
month
before
at
the
Annual
Conference
its
plight
was
highlighted
by
one
of
its
most
respected
member
Rev
Howard
Mellor,
principal
of
Cliff
College
who
warned
Methodism
in
the
United
Kingdom
has
five
years
to
reform
or
die.
The
organisation
that
is
struggling
with
the
numerical
decline
and
financial
difficulties
has
tried
to
reform
itself
but
is
today
known
as
the
fastest
declining
denomination
among
Christian
traditions.
St.
Andrews
in
Durham
has
a
history
of
academia
one
of
its
members
Dr
Rev.
David
Wilkinson
is
the
current
principal
of
St.
John
College
in
Durham.
The
church
has
published
a
book
called
“Eight
Became
One”
a
historical
timeline
of
local
Methodist
church
which
was
part
of
eight
strong
churches
in
Durham
which
over
the
years
has
become
just
one
church
and
gives
a
detailed
record
of
how
the
Methodist
in
and
around
Durham
came
to
be.
I
do
not
agree
with
Rev
Howard
Mellor
timeline
but
I
do
agree
with
his
warning
of
reformation,
the
Methodist
must
find
a
solution
to
their
problem
or
they
might
not
celebrate
300
years
of
Methodism.
The
solution
some
scholars
have
suggested
is
to
emerge
the
Methodist
and
Church
of
England
(CofE)
back
together
after
splitting
over
200
years
ago
both
are
struggling
and
both
fit
each
other
nearly
perfectly
some
differences
such
as
one
President
over
a
conference,
Bishops
and
non-­‐ordained
ministers
preaching
in
the
church
could
be
overcome
just
like
women
ministers
whom
the
Methodist
had
embraced
for
a
very
long
time
but
the
CofE
have
now
embraced.
Evaluating
the
situation
the
church
is
in,
the
only
way
out
for
both
of
them
is
by
emerging
together
this
reformation
could
reignite
the
church
and
Christendom
needs
this
sort
of
reformation
in
the
times
we
live
it
will
spark
something
new
in
the
United
Kingdom
and
politically
the
CofE
was
once
known
to
be
a
Tory
Party
it
will
join
forces
with
what
has
been
long
known
as
the
working
class
Labour
Party
the
Methodist.
(Acc:8/5/18
daily
mail)
Since
the
genesis
of
the
Methodist
they
have
been
keen
on
evangelism
and
according
to
Teasdale
(2013:454-­‐455)
mission
over
the
land
to
spread
holiness
was
emphasised
by
its
founder
John
Wesley
he
wanted
to
“reform
the
nation”
but
certain
historiographical
suggest
the
Methodist
lost
interest
in
mission
as
soon
as
they
gained
social
respectability
in
the
late
19th
century
and
from
the
20th
century
to
the
present
the
Methodist
see
evangelism
from
a
variety
of
lens
in
the
form
of
bible
study,
ethics,
history
and
theology.
As
I
annalysed
Teasdale
suggestion
from
the
optical
lens
of
evangelism
the
history
and
theology
have
contributed
to
Evangelism
and
scholars
will
always
keep
Methodism
alive
even
if
they
were
to
emerge
with
CofE
but
this
conception
of
evangelism
is
not
helping
the
church
forward.
The
Methodist
must
go
back
to
their
original
root
of
evangelism
and
open
up
its
church
governance
to
change
its
traditional
way
of
thinking
and
save
the
church.

4.
According
to
Richardson
“God
is
a
Missionary
God
who
sends
the
church
into
the
world”
and
distinguishes
the
church
in
three
categories
of
how
they
see
evangelism:
Conservative
Christians
Will
use
attraction
strategies
for
evangelism
and
are
focused
on
how
to
extend
evangelism
through
their
members.
Church
Growth
Oriented
Christians
Will
emphasise
on
every
member
being
a
missionary
and
every
geographical
location
is
a
mission
field.
Mainline
Christians
Will
use
relief,
compassion,
charitable
and
will
be
rooted
in
the
theology
of
God
with
focus
on
social
activism.
The
Methodist
church
falls
in
the
mainline
Christian
category
as
they
see
this
as
the
root
of
evangelism,
the
church
has
become
comfortable
and
lost
the
fire
that
John
Wesley
once
engulfed
in
the
Methodist,
When
Wesley
brought
in
Local
Preachers
it
was
because
he
had
members
but
not
enough
preachers
and
these
members
came
to
hear
the
Gospel
that
saves
and
not
the
local
council
funded
activities.
The
church
must
find
its
way
into
a
growth-­‐oriented
church
or
the
only
thing
history
will
write
and
talk
about
is
the
rise
and
fall
of
Methodism.
(1995:132)
This
has
become
a
concern
across
Christendom
and
the
church
knows
it
is
in
trouble
and
must
use
its
respected
members
of
academic
scholarly
background
to
suggest
new
ideas
that
will
help
revive
the
church
and
develop
strategies
for
Evangelism.
“Evangelism
can
be
described
as
a
virtuous
witness”
Bryan
Stones
According
to
Rieger
(2012:37),
mainline
Christians
don't
recognise
how
pressure
contributes
to
the
whole
picture,
yet
some
pressure
of
our
times
facing
the
Methodist
have
become
matter
of
life
and
death
with
lives
being
destroyed
in
the
midst
of
asymmetries.
I
disagree
with
Rieger
on
lives
being
destroyed,
what
makes
a
church
a
church
is
the
pressure
of
running
an
effective
ministry
overtime
and
not
a
single
man
can
run
something
alone
but
requires
a
team
of
vision
runners
that
are
fuelled
by
new
reformation
in
every
generation.
The
Methodist
is
not
in
the
business
of
destroying
lives
but
are
finding
it
hard
to
let
go
of
their
egos
and
embrace
the
21st
century
culture
and
mission
to
the
world
unfortunately
If
they
don't
make
changes
quickly
and
adapt
to
the
cultural
times
they
would
end
up
not
seeing
300
years
of
Methodism.
Grosclaude
suggests
(2017:1-­‐2)
the
Methodist
have
learnt
to
affirm
the
Book
of
Common
Prayer.
When
Methodism
was
founded
in
1738,
John
Wesley
did
not
want
to
split
off
from
the
CofE
but
his
only
intentions
were
to
revive
the
church

5. from
within,
eventually,
Methodism
started
to
operate
independently
and
ultimately
answering
to
one
man
the
founder.
The
ambiguous
relation
of
Methodism
and
the
CofE
can
be
seen
in
the
status
of
the
Book
of
Common
Prayer,
which
was
inspirational
in
John
Wesley
Spirituality
and
his
early
disciples
and
has
now
become
a
lasting
inspiration
for
the
denomination.
As
I
conclude
my
heart
is
saddened
by
the
position
the
Methodist
find
them
self
in
after
over
200
years
of
reviving
the
nations
of
the
world,
its
impact
had
so
much
depth
that
you
could
find
a
Methodist
church
in
every
country
of
the
world
with
famous
celebrities
and
Politicians
such
as
Beyoncé,
Nelson
Mandela
and
George
W
Bush
who
openly
confess
as
Methodist,
its
influence
even
reached
Hollywood
fictional
characters,
as
Superman
himself
was
raised
as
a
Methodist.
The
church
is
actively
working
with
the
community
it
serves
in
but
has
to
work
on
its
conversion
and
needs
revival
from
within.
I
do
agree
with
most
scholars
if
things
don't
change
soon
for
the
Methodist
then
they
must
drop
their
egos
and
reunite
with
the
Church
of
England.
While
I
was
in
Durham
two
of
my
close
friends
in
ministry
came
to
see
me
for
advice.
The
issue
they
had
was
both
of
them
had
a
church
in
the
same
town
in
Sunderland
with
membership
at
15
and
20
respectively,
the
cost
of
running
the
church
was
more
than
the
church
could
balance
but
after
looking
at
their
Missio-­‐
Dei
their
vision
was
nearly
the
same
to
reach
to
local
communities
and
preach
the
Gospel
after
praying
and
interceding
for
over
a
week.
I
suggested
if
both
could
come
together
and
form
a
church
and
set
up
a
new
constitution
of
running
the
church
both
parties
agreed
it
would
be
in
their
best
interest.
This
suggestion
was
given
back
in
November
2017
as
of
writing
this
report
in
May
2018
the
church
now
sits
75
people
on
average
every
Sunday
and
is
a
testimony
not
just
to
the
Methodist
and
Church
of
England
but
to
the
whole
world
that
coming
together
is
not
wrong
but
the
foundational
teaching
of
Christ.
This
experience
has
changed
the
way
I
look
at
ministry
and
one
of
the
things
I
am
implementing
straight
away
in
the
church
I
work
for
in
London
is
the
monthly
church
service
in
local
care
homes
as
I
was
touched
by
this
ministry
to
the
elderly.
This
report
has
identified
the
issue
the
Methodist
are
facing
and
shown
solutions
to
the
issue
it
has
answered
and
showed
an
overall
view
of
a
Methodist
church
in
its
cultural
setting
with
core
convictions,
its
structure
and
governance
with
a
theological
reflection
on
the
issue
and
conclusion.

6.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Firth,
Richard.
“Methodist
Worship”.
2013,
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Websites
http://www.methodist.org.uk/about-­‐us/the-­‐methodist-­‐church/structure/
http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/herb3.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1433118/Deepening-­‐crisis-­‐as-­‐
Methodists-­‐celebrate-­‐Wesley.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-­‐4645474/Methodists-­‐Church-­‐
England-­‐merge.html