HISTORY

The Wesleyan Church finds its roots in the early 1700's with John Wesley. As an ordained minister in the Church of England, Rev. Wesley experienced a dramatic conversion on May 24, 1738.

After his life-changing experience, he began to preach salvation across England. He reminded the church that salvation was God's gift to all men and that one could experience personal assurance of salvation and Christian holiness. Most famous was his field preaching, when he preached to as many as 13,000 at one time. His preaching had power; thousands repented and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As the number of converts grew, he began to organize them into societies for spiritual instruction and nurture. The growing societies were perceived as a threat to the Church of England. After Wesley died, the societies become the Methodist Church.

Methodism in America Methodism spread to North America during the mid-1700's. John Wesley sent ordained ministers from England, for he saw the need for spiritual leaders. After 1776, the Church of England priests returned to England. In 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was founded. Today it is named the United Methodist Church.

During the next sixty years the Methodist Episcopal Church flourished; as America grew, so did Methodism. By 1850, the church began to turn away from the teachings of John Wesley and the Bible.

Wesleyan Methodism Begins One emphasis of early Methodism, which was later neglected, was the opposition to slavery. John Wesley had strongly denounced human slavery, and early American Methodist preachers followed suit. But with the growth of Methodism in the southern states, and the increasing economic advantages of slavery, church leaders became increasingly reluctant to offend church members in the slave-holding states.

Many Methodists joined together to call the church to return to its earlier standard. When they encountered bitter opposition, they were removed from office or denied pulpits for refusing to be silent on the issue. They saw no hope of change and decided it was time to form a new denomination. Accordingly, from May 31 to June 7, 1843, a convention was held in Utica, New York, to organize the Wesleyan Methodist Convention of America.

This new church not only opposed slavery, it also championed many social and political reforms. It opposed war and the use of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and supported women's rights and the emerging labor movement. The first General Conference of the new denomination, held in 1844, adopted the first articles on sanctification ever incorporated by any denomination in its doctrinal statement.

The Pilgrim Holiness Church In 1897 in Cincinnati, Ohio, two evangelists, Martin Wells Knapp, a Methodist, and Seth Cook Rees, a Quaker, organized the International Holiness Union and Prayer League. It was their desire to promote a scriptural understanding of holiness from an interdenominational perspective.

George B. Kulp started one of these prayer groups in Battle Creek, Michigan, where the Horrock's department store now stands. This was the beginning of our church in Battle Creek. The founding date for what later became the International Apostolic Holiness Church was 1899. This group later merged with other groups and became known as the Pilgrim Holiness Church.

The Merging of the Streams The Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Wesleyan Methodist Church merged into what is known as The Wesleyan Church. Their merging conference was held in Anderson, Indiana, on June 26, 1968.

History of Battle Creek First Wesleyan Church Our church was founded on April 14, 1899, and the Rev. George B. Kulp was the first pastor. A year later this group affiliated with the Apostolic Holiness Union and in 1922 with the Pilgrim Holiness Church. Since 1968 we have been known as the First Wesleyan Church.