The United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church was officially born in 1968, with a merger between the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The Methodist movement has its roots in the 18th century in England, with two brothers named John and Charles Wesley.
The Wesley brothers were preacher’s kids, who, as students at Oxford University, formed what they called a “Holy Club.” They devoted themselves to prayer and Bible study (acts of “personal holiness”), but also to the work of “social holiness” (visiting the imprisoned, giving money to those in need, teaching poor children to read).
Since that time the Wesleyan movement, and the various forms of the Methodist church, have devoted themselves to this marriage of personal and social holiness, leading today to a denomination that is dynamic and diverse, bound together in our mission to “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”
The Evangelical United Brethren Church was formed in 1946. Its roots were in the Church of United Brethren in Christ, founded in 1815 by Phillip Otterbein and Martin Boehm, as well as the Evangelical Association, founded in 1816 by Jacob Albright. Those German-language churches embraced similar emhases on personal and social holiness as found in the Methodist movement.
Visit The United Methodist Church to learn more about our denominational affiliation and its work around the world.