The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia is a

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

with its origins in Wesleyan Methodism. It is the organisational name for contemporary The Wesleyan Church in Australia. (The historic Wesleyan Methodist denomination in Australia up to 1 January 1902 merged into the Methodist Church of Australasia.)

Background and formation

The beginnings of the current Wesleyan Methodist Church in Australia may be traced to 1945, when the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Ridgway offered himself as a

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

based "field representative" for a possible Australian branch of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of America, after meeting an American serviceman who was a member of that denomination. Kingsley Ridgway's legacy continued to be felt in the church, with his son, the Rev. Dr. James Ridgway, providing denominational and institutional leadership over many years, and grandson the Rev. Kent Ridgway serving as Southern District Superintendent. Contrary to a popular assumption, it is not a "continuing Methodist Church," formed as a result of the merger in 1977 of Congregationalist,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

congregations to form the Uniting Church in Australia. It was never a part of the merger negotiations with those bodies that formed the Uniting Church, though some members and ministers, unhappy with the Basis of Union, switched allegiance to this organisation.

Recent times

The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia saw increased growth in the 1980s, particularly in

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, much of this as a result of the church planting strategies of the Rev. Don Hardgrave , who also wrote the only denominational history of the church. As well as aiming at new convert growth, Wesleyan Methodists have welcomed into their membership those seeking an alternative to more liberal

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

denominations, as well as

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

looking for a church more grounded in historic Christianity. The 45th National Conference held in January 2004 reported 77 local churches, 96 ordained ministers, 2017 members and an average main Sunday service attendance of 3702 persons. From the late 1990s, the Australian church has fostered and encouraged the emergence of Wesleyan Methodist churches in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

, and Bougainville,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. At the 2008 South Pacific Convention and National Conference held at Philip Island, Victoria, a new National Superintendent was appointed, Rev. Lindsay Cameron. Lindsay brought to the position a desire to see the denomination strengthened through the upholding and proclamation of the uniqueness of Wesleyan doctrinal teaching. The 2012 National Conference elected the Rev. Rex Rigby to the position of National Superintendent. He is the denomination's first indigenous leader. There are 54 congregations currently listed on the denominational website.

Theology

The church is theologically conservative and

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...

in theology. Congregations range from being traditional in their worship style to more charismatic. It appreciates both its revivalist and holiness heritage as well as its roots in John Wesley's

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

. Along with Nazarenes and the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

, it has a strong commitment to the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...

, a position that in part arises out of its interpretive approach to the Bible and in part out of its revivalist heritage. Historically, the church may be seen both as a new religious movement, emerging out of the

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...

context of greater engagement between Australians and Americans and at the same time as a continuation of the long-standing Holiness and Revivalist strain within Australian

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

. The associated Kingsley College, Melbourne provides a ministry training program that offers four awards from Certificate IV to Graduate Certificate. Kingsley College delivers training under the auspices of Unity College Australia RTO 6330. Kingsley College has been the ministry training arm of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia since 1949. That training of lay people and ministerial candidates continues through Kingsley Community training centres located around Australia.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.wesleyan.org.au Methodist denominations Methodism in Australia Christian denominations in Australia Holiness denominations