On this day – May 24th

John Wesley's conversion

On May 24th 1738 a man named John Wesley had a profound experience that changed his life – and arguably transformed the Church as well.

Wesley was an Anglican priest. He was a fervent preacher, but he was lacking in faith and growing in misery.

On the morning of May 24, 1738, he opened his Bible to read the words: 'There are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should be partakers of the divine nature.'

That evening, a still depressed Wesley 'unwillingly' attended a Christian meeting in Aldersgate, London. There he heard a reading from the Reformer Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to Romans. At about 8.45 pm, as he heard Luther's words, something deep and dramatic took place.

In Wesley's words: 'While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an 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 with his brother Charles to pioneer the radical movement of Methodism, spreading evangelical revival across the country and the world. It probably would never have happened were it not for his 'Aldersgate experience'.

Since Methodism wouldn't be what it is without Aldersgate, today is celebrated across the Methodist Church.

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