The United Methodist Church traces its roots back to the Wesley brothers, John Wesley (1703-1791) and Charles Wesley (1707 - 1788). Both were priests in the Church of England, but felt the church was not ministering to many of its people. They came as Missionaries to America, working with the colony of Georgia (1736-1738), but returned to England feeling their missionary effort was a failure. Shortly after their return they both had "heart warming" experiences in May of 1738 and started preaching with a new fire and zeal for evangelism.

They started small group meetings called class meetings, where members were asked to give an account of the spiritual growth. This included reading the Bible, praying, giving alms for the poor, and helping with social problems. Methodism spread to America through lay leaders of the class meetings. Frances Asbury, a lay leader, gave it organization and, at a Christmas Conference in 1773, the Methodist Church became a reality in America. It was the first church to pledge loyalty to the newly formed United States of America and its leaders were the first official visitors to the newly elected President Washington.

The Methodist Church has always believed in the ministry of the laity and its westward movement was on the back of horses and with their circuit riders, many still in their teens. It divided over the issue of slavery and the place of laity in decision-making. Growing alongside the Methodist Church were the Evangelical and United Brethren churches, sometimes called German Methodists because they followed the Methodist doctrine. These churches were united in 1968 and became the United Methodist Church.

The United Methodist Church still believes in the importance of Bible study, prayers, supporting missions at home and around the world, and working for social justice in our world. We still believe that laity are an important part of the ministry of the church and need to be involved in both its ministry and its mission.