American Religion Timelines
Methodist Events and People - Events by Date
| Date (Year-Month-Day) | Event | Introduction | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1733-01-01 | The First Great Awakening | The First Great Awakening (1730s-1770s) was a series of religious revivals that propelled the expansion of evangelical denominations in the colonies. | |
| 1736-01-01 | John and Charles Wesley Visit America | In 1736, John and Charles Wesley arrived in Savannah, Georgia. Although disappointing, the mission impacted the early stages of Methodism. | |
| 1739-01-01 | George Whitefield's First American Preaching Tour | George Whitefield's preaching tour (1739-1740) helped propel his career as the preeminent revivalist of the First Great Awakening. | |
| 1763-01-01 | First Methodist Societies Established | From 1763 to 1766, the first Methodist societies in America were established in Maryland, Virginia, and New York. | |
| 1769-10-20 | First Wesleyan Missionaries Arrive in America | Though Methodists were already in America, John Wesley sent Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmore to America in 1769 in order to further spread Methodism. | |
| 1770-01-01 | Mary Evans Thorne Appointed Class Leader | Mary Evans Thorne is believed to be the first woman appointed as a class leader in American Methodism around 1770. | |
| 1771-01-01 | Francis Asbury Arrives in America | Methodist missionary Francis Asbury travels from England to America in 1771 and becomes the leader of American Methodism. | |
| 1780-01-01 | Wesley's A Collection of Hymns, for Use of the People Called Methodists | This 1780 hymnbook, written by John Wesley, became the definitive hymnbook for Methodists. | |
| 1784-01-01 | Methodist Episcopal Church | In 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church became the first official Methodist denomination in the United States. | |
| 1784-01-01 | Thomas Coke's Anti-Slavery Resolution, "Christmas Conference" | The Christmas Conference of 1784 allowed American Methodists to establish their new denominational identity in the United States and to reaffirm their opposition to slavery. | |
| 1790-01-01 | The Second Great Awakening | The Second Great Awakening(s) (1790s-1840s) fueled the rise of an evangelical Protestant majority in antebellum America, giving rise to new denominations and social reform organizations. | |
| 1792-01-01 | James O'Kelly's Congregational Revolt | In 1792, James O'Kelly, concerned with the power of bishops, led the first schism in the American Methodist Church. | |
| 1794-01-01 | First Camp Meeting, Rehobeth, NC | In 1794, Daniel Asbury and the Methodists held the first recognized camp meeting in the United States. | |
| 1800-01-01 | Church of the United Brethren in Christ | In 1800, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ formed as a result of evangelizing German immigrants. It is the first uniquely American denomination. | |
| 1813-01-01 | Union Church of Africans | In 1813, the Union Church of Africans became the first independently organized black church in the United States. | |
| 1816-01-01 | African Methodist Episcopal Church | In 1816, the African Methodist Episcopal Church formed after years of unequal treatment with white Methodists. It is the oldest existing African-American denomination in the U.S. | |
| 1816-01-01 | Death of Francis Asbury | Francis Asbury’s 1816 death marked the end of an influential 55-year ministry, but American Methodists continued to flourish following his death. | |
| 1819-01-01 | First Methodist Missionary Societies Organized | In 1819, American Methodists organized their first missionary societies in New York and Philadelphia. | |
| 1821-01-01 | African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church | The African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church formed in 1821 as a response to racial discrimination and segregation. | |
| 1826-01-01 | The Christian Advocate First Published | In 1826, the Methodist Episcopal Church commissioned the Christian Advocate, a weekly newspaper that became one of the most popular periodicals in the country. | |
| 1835-01-01 | Indian Manual Training School Founded in Oregon | In 1835, Methodist missionaries established a mission and manual labor school for American Indians, which was largely unsuccessful. | |
| 1836-01-01 | Publication of Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee | Jarena Lee’s 1836 autobiography is one of the first extended life accounts of a black woman in America. | |
| 1836-12-10 | Emory University Founded | In 1836, the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Emory College in Georgia. | |
| 1836-12-23 | Wesleyan College | In 1836, Wesleyan College was founded in Macon, GA. It is the oldest college for women in the world. | |
| 1838-01-01 | Duke University Founded | A group of Methodists and Quakers founded a subscription school in 1838 that would eventually become Duke University. | |
| 1843-01-01 | Sojourner Truth's Methodist Conversion | In 1843, Sojourner Truth converted to Methodism and found her calling as an important social activist for blacks as well as women. | |
| 1843-01-01 | The Wesleyan Methodist Church Connection | In 1843, abolitionists split from the Methodist Episcopal Church over slavery and church governance. | |
| 1845-01-01 | Methodist Episcopal Church, South | In 1845, the contentious issue of American slavery divided the Methodist Episcopal Church into Northern and Southern denominations. | |
| 1852-01-01 | Congregational Methodist Church | In 1852, the Congregational Methodist Church broke off from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South over church governance disputes. | |
| 1856-01-01 | Publication of Autobiography of Peter Cartwright | Peter Cartwright’s Autobiography (1856) recounts the famous Methodist circuit rider’s life, from his conversion to his encounters with famous American figures. | |
| 1860-01-01 | Free Methodist Church | Benjamin Titus Roberts and John Wesley Redfield founded the Free Methodist Church in 1860 after failing to reform the Methodist Episcopal Church. | |
| 1861-01-01 | Freedmen's Aid Society | In the 1860s, the Freedmen's Aid Society formed with the goal of increasing educational opportunities for blacks in the American South. | |
| 1864-11-29 | John Chivington Leads Sand Creek Massacre | In 1864, former Methodist Episcopal Church pastor John Chivington led a massacre against Colorado Native Americans, now known as the Sand Creek Massacre. | |
| 1870-01-01 | Christian Methodist Episcopal Church | In 1870, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church formed after southern black Methodists desired to form their own denomination following the Civil War. | |
| 1873-01-01 | Fanny Crosby Writes "Blessed Assurance" | Fanny Crosby’s "Blessed Assurance" (1873) became one of the most popular Christian hymns. | |
| 1873-01-01 | Vanderbilt University Founded | In 1873, Vanderbilt University was founded in Nashville, Tennessee with the initial goal of training local Methodist ministers. | |
| 1880-01-01 | Female Ordination Controversy in Methodist Episcopal Church | In 1880, Anna Howard Shaw and Anna Oliver both were denied ordination rights by the Methodist Episcopal Church, stirring tensions regarding female ordination. | |
| 1897-01-01 | Pilgrim Holiness Church | The Pilgrim Holiness Church (1897) was originally a Methodist prayer league that grew into a denomination by the early 20th century. | |
| 1899-11-21 | President McKinley Addresses Methodist Ministers on Philippines | On November 21, 1899, President William McKinley told Methodist leaders that he had been divinely inspired to annex the Philippines. | |
| 1908-01-01 | The Methodist Social Creed Adopted | In 1908, the Methodist Episcopal Church developed an official creed to address social problems of poverty and child labor exploitation. | |
| 1939-05-10 | Northern and Southern Factions of the Methodist Episcopal Church Reunite | The Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South reunited in 1939, nearly a century after the issue of slavery divided them. | |
| 1946-01-01 | Evangelical Methodist Church | In 1946, the Evangelical Methodist Church formed in response to fears of liberalism within the Methodist Church. | |
| 1946-01-01 | John R. Mott Awarded Nobel Peace Prize | In 1946, John R. Mott was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting religious peace through his ecumenical efforts. | |
| 1956-01-01 | Methodists Approve Full Ordination of Women | In 1956, the Methodist Church finally permitted the full ordination of women after years of resistance. | |
| 1968-01-01 | United Methodist Church | In 1968, Methodist Episcopal Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church, the largest Methodist denomination in the United States. | |
| 1968-06-26 | Wesleyan Church | In 1968, the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Pilgrim Holiness Church merged to form the Wesleyan Church. | |
| 1980-07-17 | Marjorie Matthews Elected Bishop | Marjorie Matthews was elected bishop in the United Methodist church in 1980. She was the first female elected bishop of any mainline Christian church. | |
| 2008-01-01 | UMC General Conference Denies Sexuality Amendment | In 2008 and 2012, the United Methodist Church denied changes in the Book of Discipline, which would have permitted a more liberal stance on homosexuality. |
