The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a

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

denomination of Christianity that is based in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was formed in 1828 by former members of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, being Wesleyan in doctrine and worship, but adopting congregational governance. A majority of the Methodist Protestants merged with the

in 1939, and for that reason, the historic Methodist Protestant Church is regarded as one of the predecessors of the present-day United Methodist Church. The Mississippi MPC delegation to the 1939 Uniting Conference withdrew from the proceedings, due to worries about developing liberal elements within the UMC; most of the congregations in the Mississippi conference reorganized and continued as the Methodist Protestant Church in name, doctrine and practice. In 2024, the MPC headquarters are in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. As of 2008, the MPC consists of 42 churches in the United States, located in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and a mission conference in the country of

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

History

A Methodist reform movement begins

The particular issue which would eventually give rise to the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church was one of Church governance rather than

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

. Dissatisfaction among some Methodists with regard to the increasingly exclusive power of the clergy, particularly bishops, and the exclusion of laymen from the councils of the Church, including the Annual (regional) and General (national) Conferences.

Establishment

In response to actual and threatened expulsions, a convention was held in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, November 12, 1828, an initial organization was formed with the provisional name of "The Associated Methodist Churches," temporary Articles of Association adopted, and its first General Conference scheduled for 1830. The intervening time was used to form local churches and organized into annual (regional) conferences. Fourteen Annual Conferences were represented by one hundred and fourteen delegates at the first General Conference, called to order on November 2, 1830. The delegates adopted the permanent name "Methodist Protestant Church" to denote its connection to the reform movement, adopted a Constitution and Discipline reflecting the representative form the reformers had sought within the Methodist Episcopal Church. Unlike the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Protestant Church rejected the use of bishops. In the MEC, the bishops had the power to appoint pastors to local churches. The Methodist Protestant Church appointed pastors by a president of the conference. The conference then affirmed the appointment.

Reunification and organized dissent

After the formation of the Methodist Protestant Church, the

had become further fractured by the corresponding division of the nation during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. At the conclusion of that military conflict, the corresponding division between Northern and Southern Methodist Episcopal Churches remained. While discussion toward reunification went forward slowly, many of the democratic reforms of church governance were adopted which had led to a separate Methodist Protestant Church. Consequently, the reunification process was broadened to include all three major "streams" of American Methodism, and resulted in a Uniting Convention being convened in 1939 with representatives of the General and Annual Conferences of the three separate bodies as delegates. Some of the original differences between Methodist Protestant Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church remained unresolved. Additionally, many Methodist Protestants objected to liberalization on the part of the Methodist Episcopal Church with respect to the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ and Wesley's teachings on the work of the Holy Spirit. This opinion was the minority view in most Methodist Protestant Annual Conferences, the Mississippi Conference being the sole exception. The Uniting Convention proceeded to effect the merger, which formed The Methodist Church, which in 1968 merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church. Those who objected to the merger continued as the Methodist Protestant Church.

Notable people

Daniel Bagley Daniel Bagley (September 7, 1818April 26, 1905) was a pioneer preacher, educational booster, and industrialist in Seattle, Washington. Arriving in Seattle in 1860, he was instrumental in the founding of the Territorial University of Washington. ...

(1818–1905), preacher, educational booster, industrialist * Ancel Henry Bassett (1809–1886), minister, author, editor, historian * John Calvin Broomfield (1872–1950), pastor and bishop * Aubrey Franklin Hess (1874–1935), theologian and educator * Hubert D. Humphreys (1923–2009)) engaged in research on the history of the Methodist Protestant Church * Eugenia St. John Mann (1847-1932), ordained minister in the Kansas Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church; first woman in the U.S. to sit as a delegate in the General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church * Mary A. Miller (1837 – 1925), editor and publisher of Methodist Protestant Church missionary periodicals * James O'Kelly (1735–1826), clergyman * Thomas H. Stockton (1808–1868), Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives * Lula Wardlow (1876–1970), businesswoman, minister, first woman ever elected mayor of a Louisiana community

References

Works cited

General references

*"A Concise History of the Methodist Protestant Church" by Ancel H. Bassett, published by Wm. McCracken, Jr., Pittsburgh, 1887. *

External links

Denominational website
*
Journal of the Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church
' *
Journal of the Annual Session of the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church
' *
Minutes of the Session of the Michigan Annual Conference, Methodist Protestant Church
'
Divinity Archive, ''History of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Protestant Church'' by Mrs E. C. Chandler (1920) (online copy)
{{Authority control History of Methodism in the United States Religious organizations established in 1828

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Methodist denominations established in the 19th century United Methodist Church predecessor churches 1828 establishments in the United States Christian denominations founded in the United States