The History of the
Evangelical Methodist Church

"O Lord, if this movement be of Thy will, bless it and prosper it; but Lord,
if not of Thy will, then let it die here and now"

A bold and sincere prayer given by the man who served as our first General Superintendent, Dr. J.H. Hamblen. Indeed, the brave saints who had the courage to stand up to the United Methodist Church and the approaching ‘all religions lead to heaven’ teachings had several options: Should they have stayed with the United Methodists, working to purify their teachings from the inside-out? Should they have left, to join other denominations as each individual chose? Or should they have reorganized as renewed Methodists, eager to bring back the Holiness Movement to the public’s mind? A brief history of Methodism is submitted here, for your convenience and encouragement.

Early "Methodism"
The ideas of pure Bible Christianity have been around at different times and in different degrees in all branches of Christianity. But there comes a time when, if a particular denomination sinks too far into man-made opinions and traditions while abandoning the Word of God, that true believers must stand up against the powers that be. In 1729, John Wesley and his brother Charles began reading the Bible for themselves—A rare practice for non-clerical young me at the time to engage in. They saw that they could not be saved without holiness, followed after it, and encouraged others to do so. In 1737, they realized that one must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit before they are justified. Their mission became clear.

The Wesleys, along with evangelist George Whitfield, led a group of students at Oxford University to come together for both intellectual and spiritual improvement. Their ‘systematic’ way of living encouraged their fellow students to call them Methodists.

On the evening of May 24th, 1738, John had underwent a spiritual awakening. Of the experience he recalled, "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Wesley went on to form what were known as Societies, from people who would come to him to ask sincere questions about redemption and forgiveness. These Societies were voluntary associations of people who wanted to improve their individual lives as well as their local churches. They typically met on Thursday evenings. During these meetings, they would share advice for living, confess sins, and conclude in earnest prayer. All Society members were still in the Church of England and were faithful to the denomination. These volunteer Societies, without the aid of the government, helped to spark a great revival which swept through the British Kingdom-- Awakening the lost to a sense of God and duty.

Methodism in America
After the rise of the United Societies in Europe, Phillip Embury (a preacher from Ireland) began to preach Wesleyan-style sermons in New York City. Many soon followed, including Francis Asbury, whom many Methodist churches today are named after. Wesley ordained Dr. Thomas Coke as a Superintendent (equivalent to a Bishop, re-titled to avoid conflict with existing churches) with the authority to ordain Asbury as a Superintendent as well. Under their supervision, Methodism grew to 80 traveling preachers and roughly 15,000 members, divided into 6 circuits. The first circuit, the Carolina Circuit, between 1777 and 1778 gained 1,800 souls.

After these United States gained recognized independence from England in 1783, Church of England members were, according to Wesley, "Totally disentangled both from the state and from English hierarchy." He continued, "They are now at full liberty to follow the Scriptures and the primitive (1st Century) church, and we judge it best that they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has so strangely set them free." Methodist societies began to meet as their own church bodies. Many splits and alliances have occurred over the years (See chart). While Methodism has become one of the most divided branches of Reformed Christianity, it is still one of the largest denominations in existence today.

Methodism in Texas
We as Texans should not forget the profound effect the Methodist Movement has had on us. If it weren’t for Methodism, Texas may today still be part of Mexico. A young settler named Sam Houston, a devout Methodist, came to the Tejas territory to seek his fortune on the frontier. He was undistracted by Mexican atrocities and treaty violations. It wasn’t until the Mexican Empire demanded all settlers convert to Catholicism, that Houston became vocal about Texas independence. According to Mexican record, Houston joined the Catholic Church. But he rarely attended Mass-- Mr. Houston met in secret with other Methodists in the area! General Sam Houston, as you probably should recall, went on to organize the fight for Texas to become its own Nation.

The Ecumenical Assault
One of our own members, Mrs. Carol Ferris, noticed some frightening trends coming from deep within Methodism. A poster distributed by the Ecumenical Movement (a movement to join Reformed, Orthodox, and Catholic denominations together, which the Methodists had innocently joined) was to be posted near the front of every sanctuary. On it were drawn a series of roads, all leading to a common point with a cloud and rays of sunshine protruding. A representative of each religion was on each road, walking toward the cloud in the distance. The headline read, "All Roads Lead to Heaven". Satan’s insurrection had begun. Later, a church meeting at Southern Methodist University revealed the Dean of Seminary’s belief that "hell is only for a short while"—In strict violation of the words of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 25:46) Mrs. Ferris responded, "This may sound unbiblical, but I can stand anything for just ‘a little while’. What’s to stop me from doing whatever I please?" She risked loosing many friends by challenging his false humanist doctrine. But she wasn’t alone in her challenge. Others began to resist this trend of man-made belief entering Methodism.

The Evangelical Methodist Church
With a firm realization that the gulf that separates Conservative thought (the ideas of universal right and wrong) and Liberal thought (truth being relative, according to the person) is an ever-widening chasm which can never be healed, the Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) came into being. Its purpose was to preserve the distinctive doctrine of early Methodism, founded upon the Bible and the teachings of John Wesley. On May 9th, 1946, in Memphis, Tennessee, a small group of Christians met for prayer and consultation, trying to cope with the incoming apostasy of the Methodist Church. After long hours of waiting before God in prayer, they felt lead to organize the Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC, for short-- It is quite a mouthful!). Dr. John Henry Hamblen, of Abilene, Texas, was elected chairman of the group meeting. Later, he was to serve as the first General Superintendent of the EMC.

Alliances
Dr. Ezequiel B. Vargas, superintendent of the Mexican Evangelistic Mission came to the first Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. He was a man known for his horse-back sermons, riding from church to church spreading the word of God. A very Wesleyan concept. According to Dr. Hamblen’s autobiography, "One morning a car stopped in front of my home…One of the men was Dr. E.B. Vargas, of Mexico. He placed his arms around me, with tears streaming down his face." He told Hamblen that his evangelistic group wanted to join the new Methodist movement. We have the Life and Truth Bible Training Institute in Mexico, to serve Torreon, and the rest of what is known as the ‘Mexican District’. We cooperate with world missions through World Gospel Mission and OMS International, and have 50 missionaries serving with them. The EMC is also aligned with The Holiness Partnership, Celebrate Jesus 2000, and other movements that seek to unify the Body without sacrificing our God-authored Bible doctrine.

Conclusion
From an outsider’s perspective, the history of Methodism is a complicated and messy one. But has that not been the story of all those who have struggled for God’s truth? What about Moses, trying to remind Israel to keep faith? Think about Job’s trials and sicknesses. Remind others of the troubles Jesus had along the way, to ultimately die on a cross for you and me. The evil one does not want us to succeed. He will do anything he can to destroy the legacy of John Wesley’s call to Holiness. Even if the EMC should go astray from the Bible, may we as the remnant of the Methodist movement stand strong upon the Word, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phillipians 3:14-15)

Information taken from:

"Discipline of the Evangelical Methodist Church, 1966-1970" EMC Headquarters, Wichita, Kansas

Hamblen, Dr. J.H. "A Look Into Life" Available from the EMC Headquarters, Indianapolis, Indiana

"History of the Alamo Website" http://www.thehistorynet.com/wildwest

Ferris, Carol Personal Interview

Some liberty was taken with the original wording of the Disipline’s historical statement in order to simplify the vocabluary and explain religious terms, with all respect to the author.