When John Wesley somewhat reluctantly stepped before a group of several thousand British colliers (coal miners) in 1739, he had no idea that this would begin a ministry which would span over fifty years and would significantly revise the Protestantism of the eighteenth century and beyond. His more aggressive friend, George Whitefield, had already won the curiosity, if not the heart, of these coarse, violent workers, but Whitefield had other travels to attend to, and needed someone to fill in for him.
To a logical observer, Wesley might not have appeared a likely candidate to replace the flamboyant Whitefield. Of aristocratic descent, Wesley was generally frail and undramatic, standing only about 5' 4" tall, and had spent most of his life in academic surroundings. He had by this time mastered six languages, including Greek and Hebrew, but no doubt he wondered if he could communicate effectively with his dirty and uneducated audience.
Still, Wesley was aware that the grace of God was not accessible through theology, but only through a humble response to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. And so, in obedience to the call God had burned into his heart, he spoke truth, as simply as he knew how. Tears streaked down the soot-covered faces, and one by one, then by dozens and hundreds, the long-abandoned hearts of common Englishmen turned to their Saviour and found release.
Today John Wesley is known only vaguely by most people as the father of Methodism and other related denominations. Nonetheless, the true value of his life is to be found, by those who would seek it, in the profound depth of his relationship with the God of creation, which produced in Wesley an unwavering commitment to spend out the years of his life in tireless devotion to the gospel message of redemption, hope and love.
