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"Free"quently Asked Questions | ||||
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a FREE Methodist? (For more detailed informaiton in these key areas click on a button) 
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In a nutshell, the Free Methodist church differs from the United Methodist church in that it continues to provide a more uniform expression consistent with historic Methodism. Both the United Methodist Church (commonly referred to as
Methodist) and the Free Methodist Church share a common heritage, hearkening
back to the Wesleyan revival in England during the middle 1700s. The Free Methodist church government is a "hybrid"
system blending valuable features of hierarchical and congregational systems. How big is the Free Methodist church?
(based on statistics ending 12/31/2004) Interestingly, in the past 30 years the Free Methodist church around the world has increased by 500%. That growth has largely been seen in Africa, especially in war torn countries, such as the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. For example, Rwandan church grew by 250% even during the years of widespread violence and tribal genocide. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest FM conference worldwide with 139,755 members — nearly two times the number of U.S. Free Methodists! The FMC in India has recently seen astonomical growth — nearly 1200% in the past five years. The church in Brazil has also experienced significant growth in the last five years — 215%. The burgeoning FMC overseas is certainly related to the dedicated missionary emphasis of the North American church during the past century. The FMC is in 72 countries worldwide and the grand total world membership is 736,582. When and why did the Free Methodist
church begin?
The Free Methodist church began August 23, 1860 in Pekin, New York, in response to a growing desire for a church denomination that would stay true to the principles of the Wesleyan revival, particularly regarding, the work of the Holy Spirit, the way of holiness and the necessity of ministry to the poor. The founder, Benjamin Titus Roberts, was an outspoken critic of many current practices of the Methodist Episcopal church, including pew rental and other discriminatory practices that favored rich over the poor, the failure of the Methodist church to stand against slavery, and the increasing "formalism" in worship, including the hiring of professional musicians. In addition he joined a number of other exponents of the necessity of a "second work" of grace beyond salvation during which a believer was thoroughly sanctified, made holy, and set apart to serve God with a whole heart, mind and strength. This "radical optimism" concerning just how thoroughly transformed and how victorious over sin a person could be made by the power of God gave Roberts, though reluctant to start a new denomination, the motivation to do whatever was necessary to revive the message of entire sanctification. This message referred to as"scriptural holiness." When Roberts no longer had a way to influence the Methodist Episcopal church with this message, he gave his energies to the founding of the Free Methodist church with its central mission of spreading scriptural holiness across the land and ministering the gospel to the poor. What do we mean when we say
the Free Methodist Church is a part of the Holiness movement?
In the 19th century in America, the call to holiness as a distinct aspect of the experience of salvation spread through a wide variety of denominations — the Free Methodist Church among them. This emphasis had been made earlier by John Wesley, leader of the Methodist movement in Great Britain during the 18th century (from 1738 until his death in 1791). Wesley preached that God not only wants His children to take seriously His call to be "justified by faith" (Romans 5:1-2) — thus to be acquitted of their sins and given a whole new start — but He also wants them to take seriously His call to be holy in heart and life (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8). Christians are to be cleansed and empowered by the Holy Spirit so they can live a life of undivided love for God and neighbor. This emphasis became so broad in the 19th century that it was referred to as the Holiness movement. We hold that, with the moral defilement of modern life, the need for a renewal of the call to holiness is now even more urgent. What is distinctive about the Free Methodist
Church? What is an annual conference? An annual conference is a grouping of churches in a geographical region for purposes of administration, mutual support and growth. The number of churches may vary from a few to as many as 70 or 80. An annual conference elects its own superintendent, assuring regional leadership, oversight and accountability. Ideally, the annual conference is responsible for finding, training, ordaining, assigning and disciplining its ministers. It is called an "annual conference" because it meets once a year to conduct its business, hear reports, receive inspiration and clarify vision. All ordained ministers hold permanent membership in an annual conference, and local churches send elected lay delegates to this annual meeting. Thus, approximately equal numbers of clergy and laity carry out the business of an annual conference. This puts into practice a basic principle of Free Methodism that, whenever possible, ministers and laypeople work side by side. Annual conferences may be considered the building blocks of the Free Methodist Church.
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