For a series of articles explaining the Apostolic roots of Methodism in the United States, see the series of articles below from “thefoundrypress.org”
The Formation of
The Global Methodist Church
“In the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the United Methodist Church was badly divided. As a consequence, the Global Methodist Church was launched by necessity on May 1, 2022, not only to preserve doctrinal integrity, especially in terms of the authority of Scripture, but also to provide a faithful and lively witness to the apostolic faith. Such a grounding ensured that the four historic marks of the Church, affirmed at the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 381 AD, namely, that the church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, would mark the Global Methodist Church in an exemplary way.” (from the Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church)
Methodist churches follow what are called the Three General Rules. The General Rules provide a helpful summation of the kind of intentional discipleship which marked early Methodism, summed up in three simple rubrics:
Do no harm
Do good to all
Stay connected to the sacramental and devotional life of the church.
OUR MISSION is to form disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love others for the transformation of the world.
First Methodist Church Hobbs was founded in 1919 with seven worshippers meeting in a local schoolhouse. In January of 2024 we officially joined the newly formed Global Methodist Church. We are reforming an ancient, theologically orthodox church rooted in the apostolic tradition with the hopes of building a better future.
Long before that, the original Methodist Church was birthed at a time in 18th century England when the established church had lost its way. A group of leaders had a desire to see a pure expression of the church like that reflected in the book of Acts and in the first 300 years of the early church, and so began to meet and pray. Out of one of those prayer meetings a major revival was birthed that led to the movement that eventually became the Methodist Church.
The movement came to be known for their emphasis on preaching the need to be “born again” and growing in that experience through bible study, prayer, meeting with other believers, participating in the life of the church, and doing good works.
We believe that through the faithful practice of these disciplines, God can make us who we were originally intended to be and to do everything we are called by God to do.
In the very first Methodist Conference of 1744 it officially recorded the purpose of the people and preachers called Methodists:
“Not to form any new sect; but to reform the nation, particularly the Church; and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.”