Our Roots

John Wesley was born in Epworth, England on June 17, 1703, the son, and 15th child, of Samuel Wesley who was a minister in the Church of  England. His early education was at home and at age 13 was admitted to Charterhouse School where, for a while he lived  the studious, methodical, religious life in which he had been trained. He fell away from the faith during his latter years at Charterhouse School.  

In 1720, he was admitted to Oxford, and while a student there, began reading and studying the works of Thomas a Kempis and Jeremy Taylor. He came to the understanding that the root of faith was holiness of heart and not legalistic practices and was converted in 1725.

Wesley was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1728. 1729, the year he returned to Oxford marks the beginning of Methodism. The well known "holy club" as Oxford was formed by his younger brother, Charles and other students, who were derisively called "Methodists" because of their methodical habits. Following that, Wesley served as his father's curate for two years. He was called to serve in the Colony of Georgia and served there for two years, returning to England in 1738. While in Georgia, he began the first Sunday School. On the whole, Wesley felt that his mission to convert the Indians and to deepen the religious life of the colonists was a failure, and he returned to England depressed and beaten. 

In England, Wesley encountered the Moravians, who sang hymns, and possessed deep inner strength. He read the works of Luther. His knowledge of personal salvation by faith, justification, and  assurance of salvation deepened and he began lay preaching.  He worked with an evangelist, George Whitefield, a minister in the Church of England who also preached in open air meeting to all who would listen. The Church of England was not pleased.

From 1739 onward, Wesley and the Methodists were persecuted by clergymen and magistrates. They were attacked in sermons and in print and at  times attacked by mobs. Methodist preaching was banned by the Anglican church in 1740. 

Methodists first sent missionaries to America in 1769. In 1771 Wesley challenged Francis Asbury to go to America. He became superintendent of all Methodist missionary work in America 1784 and was one of the few missionaries from England to remain in the Americas during the Revolutionary War. He is reputed to have crossed the Allegheny mountains 60 times, often through trackless underbrush. The number of Methodists increased from 5,000 in 1776 to more than 214,000 at the time of his death in 1816. 

As the growth of the country moved westward, Methodists did as well and Methodist churches appeared in many places in Michigan, starting in SE Michigan.  The first Methodist Church was established in Ludington in 1865 and the Harrison Street church building was built in 1893.  The Bethany United Methodist Church was established in 1894, and there was a merger of Ludington Methodists to form the United Methodist Church of Ludington  in 1970.

   The congregation of UMCL grew and flourished throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and the need to expand our facility became apparent. While the Harrison Street building was – and is – historical and beloved, major repairs were needed and parking was inadequate. The leadership of the church prayerfully considered whether to remodel the existing facility or to build a new church in a larger location. After years of discussion, planning, fundraising, and construction, the large and beautiful structure on Bryant Road was finished. The move to our new location was completed in October 2008, and we now have an entirely handicapped-accessible building and ample parking for many church and community activities. As for the old building on Harrison Street downtown, it was purchased by the Ludington Area Council for the Arts and sees regular use by many facets of the community.

   As always, we are thankful to God for His guidance throughout this major move, and we continue to use our facility with grateful acknowledgment to those who made it possible.

Phyllis Heimall, Church Historian  8-6-2010