| Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference) | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Methodism |
| Orientation | Conservative Holiness Movement |
| Polity | Connexionalism |
| President | David Blowers |
| Vice President | Joseph Smith |
| Founder | John Wesley |
| Origin | 1968 |
| Separated from | Wesleyan Methodist Church (1968) |
| Congregations | 108 |
| Secondary schools | 16 |
| Tertiary institutions | 2 |
| Official website | awmc.org |
TheAllegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (AWMC) is aMethodist denomination within theconservative holiness movement.[1] It is primarily based in the United States, withmissions inPeru,Ghana, andHaiti, among other countries.[2] The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection is currently led by Rev. David Blowers (President) and Rev. Joseph Smith (Vice President).[3]
The first official Methodist organization in the United States occurred inBaltimore, Maryland, in 1784, with the formation of theMethodist Episcopal Church at theChristmas Conference withFrancis Asbury andThomas Coke as the leaders.[4][5]
Though John Wesley originally wanted the Methodists to stay within the Church of England, theAmerican Revolution decisively separated the Methodists in theAmerican colonies from the life and sacraments of the Anglican Church. In 1784, after unsuccessful attempts to have the Church of England send a bishop to start a new Church in the colonies, Wesley decisively appointed fellow priest Thomas Coke as superintendent (bishop) to organize a separate Methodist Society. Together with Coke, Wesley sentThe Sunday Service of the Methodists, the first Methodist liturgical text, as well as theArticles of Religion, which were received and adopted by the Baltimore Christmas Conference of 1784, officially establishing the Methodist Episcopal Church. The conference was held at theLovely Lane Methodist Church, considered the Mother Church of American Methodism.[6]
The new Church grew rapidly in the young country as it employedcircuit riders, many of whom werelaymen, to travel the mostly rural nation by horseback to preach theGospel and to establish churches until there was scarcely any village in the United States without a Methodist presence. With 4,000 circuit riders by 1844, the Methodist Episcopal Church rapidly became the largest Protestant denomination in the country.
The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection specifically traces its origin to theWesleyan Methodist Church which was aMethodist denomination in the United States organized on May 13, 1841. The congregations that withdrew from theMethodist Episcopal Church did so because they strongly advocatedabolitionism and disagreed with thechurch polity held by the M.E. Church.[7] The first secessions in 1841 took place in Michigan although the new church group was formalized in Utica, New York. In November 1842,Orange Scott,La Roy Sunderland andJotham Horton seceded from the M. E. Church for reasons given in their publication of theTrue Wesleyan (which was later renamed theWesleyan Methodist), with opposition to slavery being a key issue.[7] The firstGeneral Conference was held in Utica, NY in October, 1844. Later the name was changed to The Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America.[8] The Wesleyan Methodist Church emphasized the preservation and promotion of experimental and practical godliness, stressing the Methodist doctrines of theNew Birth andentire sanctification (holiness).[7] It taught the equality of races and sent missionaries to various parts of the globe.[7]
The Allegheny Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church entered into a schism with the rest of the Wesleyan Methodist Church because it favored aconnexional polity and opposed the merger of the Wesleyan Methodist Church with thePilgrim Holiness Church; it thus became the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection while the majority of the Wesleyan Methodist Church merged with the majority of the Pilgrim Holiness Church to become theWesleyan Church.[9] While it officially operates under the name "Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)" due to an agreement during the merger between the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Pilgrim Holiness Church in 1968, most of the churches continue to be called Wesleyan Methodist.[10]
In 1900 the Allegheny Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church purchased land inStoneboro, Pennsylvania to be used for a camp meeting ground; it is known as Methodist Campground.[11] Located next to this campground is the Stoneboro Wesleyan Methodist School which was built in 1965. The denomination continues to hold its annual conference at its campgrounds in the month of June, and its historic annualcamp meeting in the month of August.[12] The denomination has other smaller campgrounds that also hold camp meetings throughout its geographic territory, such as those inBelsano, Pennsylvania andPrinceton, West Virginia.
It operatesAllegheny Wesleyan College, a four-yearBible college dedicated to preparing Christian ministers, missionaries, and teachers. It is located in Salem, Ohio.[13] Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection also runs Northwest Indian Bible School (NIBS) inAlberton, Montana.[13] In addition, the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection has sixteenChristian schools in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Montana, and New Mexico.[13]
The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection runs 33missions, with 20 more missions being added since 1968.[13] These are located inHaiti,Ghana,Peru, as well as amongNative Americans of the United States andCanada.[14]
The Allegheny Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church publishes a monthly periodical known asThe Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist.[13] It also runs a radio program known asWesleyan Gospel Echoes.[13]
Methodist Campground, covering twelve acres, was built in 1900 by the Allegheny Wesleyan Connection, a group of churches with headquarters in Salem ...
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