Primitive Methodist Church

The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist

Primitive Methodist Church
Christian denomination within the holiness movement.
It began in England in the early 19th century, with the Classification Protestant
influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777– Orientation Holiness[1]
1834).
Theology Methodism
In the United States, the Primitive Methodist Church Associations World Federation of
had eighty-three parishes and 8,487 members in Primitive Methodists
1996.[2] In Great Britain and Australia, the Primitive Christian Holiness
Methodist Church merged with other denominations, to Partnership[1]
form the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 1932
National Association of
and the Methodist Church of Australasia in 1901. The
Evangelicals
latter subsequently merged into the Uniting Church in
Australia in 1977.[3] Origin 1807
Separated from Wesleyan Methodist Church
History Congregations 83[2]
Members 8,487[2]

United Kingdom Official website primitivemethodistchurch.org

(http://www.primitivemethodi
The leaders who originated Primitive Methodism were stchurch.org/)
attempting to restore a spirit of revivalism as they felt pmglobaldiscipleship.org (htt
was found in the ministry of John Wesley, with no p://www.pmglobaldiscipleshi
intent of forming a new church. The leaders were Hugh p.org/)
Bourne (1772–1852) and William Clowes (1780–
1851), preachers in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Bourne had
joined a Methodist society at Burslem, but business taking him at
the close of 1800 to the colliery district of Harriseahead and
Kidsgrove, he was so impressed by the prevailing ignorance that he
began a religious revival of the district, and Clowes joined him in
1805.[4]

The two preachers heard from Lorenzo Dow of the results of

American camp meetings, and held a fourteen-hour camp meeting
on May 31, 1807, at Mow Cop on the Staffordshire and Cheshire
border, which resulted in many converts.[4] But the Wesleyan
Church refused to admit these converts to the church, and
reprimanded Bourne and Clowes. Refusing to cease holding open-
air meetings, they were dismissed from the church. For a while they
took separate paths, but after waiting two years for readmittance to
the church, they founded the Primitive Methodists in the year of
1810. Clowes's personality drew a number of strong men after him,
and a society meeting held in a kitchen and then in a warehouse
A former Primitive Methodist chapel
became the nucleus of a circuit, a chapel being built at Tunstall in
(Willoughton, Lincolnshire)
July 1811,[4] and there in February 1812 they took the name The
Society of the Primitive Methodists. The name is meant to indicate
they were conducting themselves in the way of Wesley and the "original" Methodists, particularly in
reference to open-air meetings and allowing female ministry. The last of the women roving preachers died
in 1890.[5]

Primitive Methodist workers played an important role in the formative phase of the Trade Union movement
in England. They were always the most working class of the main Methodist bodies in Great Britain. They
also used women at an early date as ministers ("itinerants") and preachers, a notable development in
women's emancipation.

The Primitive Methodist Church formed one of the three streams of Methodism then extant in England. In
1932 it merged with the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the United Methodists to form the Methodist
Church of Great Britain. The story of Primitive Methodism is kept alive at Englesea Brook, the museum of
Primitive Methodism.

United States

The first missionaries to America arrived in Brooklyn, New York, in 1829. The societies founded in the
United States were under the control of the British Primitive Methodist Conference until 1840, when the
"American Primitive Methodist Church" was established on September 16. A combining of various
organizational structures occurred in May 1975, and the current (2004) official name—The Primitive
Methodist Church in the United States of America—was chosen.

The denomination holds an annual conference. A president, elected every four years, is the chief leader of
the denomination and their headquarters are located in his home. In 2000 the American body had 79
congregations with 4502 members.

Australia

Primitive Methodist congregations were also established in Australia. In 1902 the Primitive Methodist
Church, Wesleyan Methodist Church, Bible Christians and the United Methodist Free Churches formed the
Methodist Church of Australasia. In 1977 the Methodist Church of Australasia joined with the
Congregational Union of Australia and Presbyterian Church of Australia to form the Uniting Church in
Australia.

Beliefs
The Primitive Methodist Church recognizes the dominical sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, as
well as other rites, such as Holy Matrimony.[6]

Missions
The Primitive Methodist Church in the United States has missions in Spain, Guatemala and other countries
throughout the world.[1] Its mission work in Africa dates back to 1897 and its mission work in Guatemala
was started in 1921.[7]

Ecumenical relations
The Primitive Methodist Church in the United States, with respect to ecumenism, is a member of the
Christian Holiness Partnership, an organization of churches in the Wesleyan–Arminian tradition, and a
member of the National Association of Evangelicals.[1]

See also
Methodism portal
Evangelical
Christianity portal

Bible Methodist Connection of Churches

Evangelical Methodist Church of America
Fundamental Methodist Conference, Inc.
Free Methodist Church
Southern Methodist Church

References
1. Hillerbrand, Hans J. (2 August 2004). Encyclopedia of Protestantism (https://archive.org/deta
ils/encyclopediaprot00hill_755). Routledge. p. 1898 (https://archive.org/details/encyclopedia
prot00hill_755/page/n2869). ISBN 9781135960285.
2. Balmer, Randall Herbert (2002). Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism (https://books.google.com/
books?id=syUupeVJOz4C&pg=PA468). Westminster John Knox Press. p. 468.
ISBN 9780664224097. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
3. Trickler, C. Jack (2010). A Layman's Guide To: Why Are There So Many Christian
Denominations?. p. 177. ISBN 9781449045784. "In 1932 the British part of the Primitive
Methodist Church merged with the British Wesleyan Church and the British United
Methodists to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain."
4. Grieve 1911, p. 338.
5. "Bultitude, Elizabeth (1809–1890), Primitive Methodist preacher" (https://www.oxforddnb.co
m/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-47022).
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47022 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F47022). Retrieved
2020-08-15. (Subscription or UK public library membership (https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subs
cribe#public) required.)
6. Acornley, John Holmes (1909). A History of the Primitive Methodist Church in the United
States of America from Its Origin and the Landing of the First Missionaries in 1829 to the
Present Time. B. R. Acornley. p. 256. "Resolved: That no person holding a Local Preacher's
Annual License, shall perform the sacraments, either of baptism, Lord's Supper, or marriage,
excepting during the absence of, or by request of, the minister in charge."
7. Kostlevy, William (1 April 2010). The A to Z of the Holiness Movement. Scarecrow Press.
p. 241. ISBN 9781461731801.

Further reading
Petty, John. The History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion : from its origin to the
conference of 1860, the first jubilee year of the connexion : compiled under the direction of
the book committee of the denomination, and approved by the conference (https://archive.or
g/details/cu31924010556227), London, 1864.
 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Grieve, Alexander
James (1911). "Primitive Methodist Church, The". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia
Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 338–339. This contains a
detailed history of the church up to 1909.
Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 11th Edition, Frank S. Mead, Samuel S.
Hill & Craig D. Atwood ISBN 0687165717
Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States 2000, ASARB & Glenmary
Research Center ISBN 0-914422-26-X
Young, D. M., The great River: Primitive Methodism till 1868 (Stoke-on-Trent: Tentmaker
Publications 2016)
Young, D. M., Change and Decay: Primitive Methodism from late Victorian Times till World
War 1 (Stoke-on-Trent: Tentmaker Publications 2017)
Young, D. M., The Primitive Methodist Mission to North Wales (Wesley Historical Society,
Wales, in association with Tentmaker Publications, Stoke-on-Trent 2016)
www.primitivemethodism.com

External links
Denominational website (http://www.primitivemethodistchurch.org)
Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum of Primitive Methodism (http://www.engleseabrook-mu
seum.org.uk/)
History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion (https://web.archive.org/web/20080821133437/
http://www.rewlach.org.uk/books/Kendall/index.htm) by H. B. Kendall
Hugh Bourne (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REbourne.htm)
Website with articles, photos and books on Primitive Methodism past and present (http://ww
w.primitivemethodism.com)

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