The amazing Evangelical Revival that swept over Britain and the American Colonies in the eighteenth century stemmed largely from the preaching of John Wesley and George Whitefield. The preaching and especially the hymns of Charles Wesley also played a significant part.
This movement, which affected primarily the working classes and was strongly opposed by many of the educated and influential churchmen, was born, ironically, in the university. In the year 1726 the young Charles Wesley became a student at Christ Church College, Oxford. The product of a godly home and a most illustrious mother, Charles began to invite friends to meet together for the purpose of spiritual betterment. Later his brother, John, became a fellow at Lincoln College and the group, including also George Whitefield and up to twenty others, began to meet in John’s rooms.
They attempted to practise discipline and regularity in their Christian exercises, thus acquiring the epithet ‘Methodists’ from the other students. The ‘Holy Club’, as the group came to be called, followed the example of the Moravian Brethren and earlier religious societies of the Anglican Church in applying their Christianity in practical service. They visited prisoners, helped the poor and maintained a school for neglected children. Years later, after all three of the young men had experienced God’s power in preaching, the Holy Club became the model for the various societies formed following the Great Awakening. It was the inspiration for the movement’s social concerns that so greatly affected England.