"The World Is My Parish" - John Wesley's Story Quiz | Religion

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, was born in a place with a name that was later to become synonymous with the Methodist Church worldwide. Where was it?

Answer: Epworth

Wesley was born at Epworth Rectory on June 17th, 1703. His father was the Church of England rector there.

John Wesley was educated at Charterhouse school, London, and Christ Church, Oxford.

To this day, the homes of many Methodist clergy are named "Epworth".

The village of Epworth is located in the English county of Lincolnshire.

2. Of which denomination was John Wesley an ordained priest?

Answer: Church of England

Wesley was one of 19 children. His father, Samuel, was a Church of England priest. Both of Wesley's grandfathers were Puritan preachers.

Wesley attended Oxford University and was ordained into the Anglican ministry.

Note on CoE nomenclature: not all ordained members of the church are vicars, but all ordained members are priests. A priest who is attached to a particular parish is given the title of vicar.

3. Although brought up in the Established Church, John Wesley's future life was to take a new course in 1735 when he met members of another denomination. Which was that?

Answer: Moravian Church

On a ship crossing the Atlantic, John Wesley feared for his life in a storm.

Wesley saw that a group of German Moravians seemed unafraid, and this caused him to question his own depth of faith.

4. After graduating from Oxford University, the young John Wesley was invited to take a charge in the New World. Where was that?

Answer: Savannah, Georgia

His time in Georgia was not successful. His hopes of marriage did not come to fruition and his new flock was not happy about the depths of devotion Wesley expected of them - a strain of worship he had been part of at Oxford.

It also shook his faith. He said of this time: "I went to America to convert the Indians, but who shall convert me?" *

* Included in "Journal of John Wesley", January 24, 1738.

5. In which English city did John Wesley first experience the type of dramatic preaching for which he was to become renowned?

Answer: Bristol

At Oxford University, Wesley was a fellow student with George Whitefield; together they were in what was known as "the Holy Club". Wesley's brother, Charles - who became a noted hymn writer - was also part of this group.

Wesley joined Whitefield to preach in Bristol. He was initially wary of Whitefield's dramatic style, but soon became proficient in it himself.

Bristol, at that time, played a central role in the slave trade between Africa and the Americas. Later in life, Wesley opposed the slave trade.

6. From the start, John Wesley insisted that adherents to his new Methodism should abandon the Church of England.

Answer: False

Wesley was opposed to Methodism breaking away from the Anglican Church.

He insisted that followers should still attend services in the Church of England and was reluctant to part from the Anglican Church, saying: "I live and die a member of the Church of England". +

He also wrote: "Though we can't all think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?" *

By 1808, 17 years after the death of John Wesley, the two churches had effectively split, although there have been initiatives over the years since to reunite them.

+ Attributed to Wesley by methodist.org.uk

* Attributed to the writings of John Wesley by Pastor Robert Leroe, First Parish Congregational Church, Wakefield, Massachusetts, in a sermon placed online on May 17th, 2015.

7. Where did John Wesley preach in what was the first building to be used as a Methodist chapel?

Answer: Moorfields, London

From 1739, John Wesley used a former cannon foundry at Moorfields for worship. He first preached there on November 11th, 1739.

By early in the 21st Century, the Methodist Church had become the fourth largest Christian Church in Britain, with more than 4,271 churches and a total membership of about 188,000 people.*

The global membership grew to over 60 million people.

*Source: methodist.org.uk

8. During his life of preaching, John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist movement, was faithfully supported by his wife.

Answer: False

Writing in "Sermon Central" in 2015, Robert Leroe said: "While a successful minister, his home life was less-than-desirable. Wesley's marriage was a disaster. It isn't overstating things to say he and his wife despised each other."

Wesley's wife, Mary, was said to be jealous of her husband's popularity. Wesley, it seemed, put little effort into his marriage. "He was married to his work," Leroe wrote.

Note: Leroe was pastor of First Parish Congregational Church Wakefield, Massachusetts, at the time his comments were published.

Wesley married Mary Vazeille in 1751. The marriage was tempestuous and she left him in 1771.

9. John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist movement, became something of an itinerant preacher, taking the word of God to new congregations throughout Britain and Ireland. How many sermons is it estimated he preached in his lifetime?

Answer: 40,000

It is estimated that Wesley travelled 4,000 miles each year.

"The world is my parish", Wesley said of his ubiquitousness. *

It is matter of record that we know the strength of the Methodist movement at the time of Wesley's death. This included 294 preachers and 71,668 members in Britain and Ireland and a further 198 preachers and 43,265 members in America. [Source: "Christianity Today"].

* Widely attributed to Wesley as "The world is my parish"; may be derived from: "I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation," in Wesley's own journal on June 11, 1739.

10. After travelling some 250,000 miles during his preaching life, John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, died in 1791 at the age of 87. Where can you visit his place of death and his final resting place?

Answer: Islington, London

In 1788, John Wesley built a new chapel close to the City of London, some 50 yards from the first-ever Methodist Chapel building.

John Wesley preached his last sermon on February 23rd, 1791 and died on March 2nd, 1791, aged 87, at a house built close to the chapel.

Many of his belongings are on display in the house.

He was interred in the grounds of the chapel.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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"The World Is My Parish" - John Wesley's Story Quiz

"Do all the good you can, By all the means you can..." is from one of the best known aphorisms of John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism. These questions are about his life and works.

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