The Methodist movement came out of the teachings of John Wesley, although his brother Charles, and George Whitefield, also had a hand in it.

Beginning as a revival within the Church of England, Methodism became a separate denomination after John Wesley's death, and quickly spread through the British Empire, the United States, and Canada.

John Wesley was an Anglican cleric, influenced by the Moravians. Although he never left the Church of England, Wesley formed his own Christian societies, adopting the unusual practice of using unordained lay preachers, and preaching outside of established church buildings, wherever people congregated. Also unique was the emphasis on preaching to those who had no previous religious influences. Wesley organized members of his societies into classes that met each week for prayer and edification. These classes were tied together through a system of conferences, which met quarterly for a sacramental meal. Annual conferences of preachers were held, in which they received their preaching assignments for the following year.

Charles Wesley, John's younger brother was also an Anglican cleric, and credited with being a co-founder of the Methodist denomination, although he was strongly opposed to a break with the Church of England. Charles became known as a hymn writer, responsible for more than six thousand hymns.

George Whitefield is the third co-founder of Methodism. Also an Anglican cleric, he never settled in any particular church, but served as an evangelist, preaching a series of revivals in North America that became known as the Great Awakening.

Methodism was largely a lay movement, and all three of its founders did their best to keep it within the framework of the Church of England. Eventually, it became clear that a separate Methodist organization was needed in order to deal with the large numbers of members who were recruited from among the unchurched.

Methodists had large successes evangelizing slaves and free blacks in the United States. Originally, the Church spoke against slavery, but later tolerated the practice in order to be allowed to preach to the enslaved. The Methodists also used converted slaves as lay preachers and evangelists who preached under the authority of ordained white members. In the free states, blacks were ordained as pastors. Only the Baptists had more black members.

Between 1813 and 1917, large groups of African-Americans formed independent Methodist churches, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

For a time, the Methodists were the only Christian body with a large membership in nearly every county in the United States. Hundreds of American denominations have roots in the Methodist movement. Until it was eclipsed by the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church was the largest religious organization in the United States, and still has the largest geographical scope. Methodist hymns are part of Protestant and Catholic services throughout the English-speaking world.

In 1844, the issue of slavery led to a split between Northern and Southern Methodists when the General Conference asked that a Georgia bishop desist from the exercise of his office while he remained a slaveholder. Southern delegated rebelled, and organized their own Methodist body. This split remained until 1939, when the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Church reunited to form the Methodist Church.

Although without a formal relationship to the Methodists, the United Brethren, formed in the 1700s, were very similar to the Methodist societies. In the early 1800s, a group separated from the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the Evangelical Association. These two bodies united in 1946 to form the Evangelical United Brethren, which united with the Methodist Church in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church.

Today, the larger Methodist denominations in the United States are the United Methodist Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. However, there are several other Methodist denominations throughout the world, and other Christian bodies with strong historical ties to Methodism.

Although Methodism is declining in the United Kingdom and the North America, it is growing in other places. There is no universal Methodist Church with worldwide jurisdiction, although many are members of the World Methodist Council.

English-language websites representing of any of these denominations, associations, and organizations affiliated with them are appropriate for this category or its subcategories. However, websites representing local congregations should be submitted to the appropriate Local & Global category.

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