America’s Bishop: Francis Asbury

Francis Asbury (August 20, 1745 - March 31, 1816) is remembered most for the leadership he provided to early American Methodism. Asbury must not be associated with the theologians of Methodism. Like Jabez Bunting among the British Wesleyan Methodists, Asbury was a great churchman within the American Methodist Episcopal Church. He was one of the first two general superintendents or bishops of American Methodism and was said to be more widely known than General George Washington. Because of great men of God, America became a great nation, and if America is to remain a great nation, it must experience the continued ministry of great men and women of God such as Bishop Francis Asbury.

Early Life (1745-1771)

His outposts marched with the pioneers, his missionaries visited the hovels of the poor, that all might be brought to a knowledge of the truth. Who shall say where his influence, written on the immortal souls of men, shall end? He is entitled to rank as one of the builders of our nation.

— President Calvin Coolidge

Francis Asbury was born on August 20/21, 1745 in Handsworth parish near Birmingham, England, to Joseph and Elizabeth Asbury. The only other child born into the family was a daughter who died in infancy.

Though Asbury received little formal education, he was able to read the Bible by the age of seven (1752).

He became an apprentice in a blacksmith shop that bore the name Old Forge. It was owned by a man by the name of Foxall who was a Methodist. Here Asbury became a close friend of the owner's son, Henry, who later became a wealthy iron merchant in America and built the Foundry Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., the name of which was reminiscent of the forge in England.[1] Soon after he began his apprenticeship, Asbury was converted. He noted in his Journal that he first met and heard John Fletcher preach at Wednesbury when only thirteen or fourteen. Since Asbury was born in 1745, this first meeting would have occurred in 1758 or 1759. He entered the ministry as a local pastor and served five circuits within the Methodist conference.

Ministry in America (1771-1816)

John Wesley

On August 17, 1771, John Wesley presented a special plea to his ministers at the Bristol conference for ministers to Methodists in America. Asbury responded and almost immediately set sail with Richard Wright for America, landing in Philadelphia on October 27.

At the Christmas Conference of 1784, Asbury was elected "general superintendent." In 1788, Asbury changed his title to "bishop," something which Wesley strongly disapproved.

Asbury passed away in the log cabin home of George Arnold near Spottsylvania, Virginia. In dedicating a bronze statue of Asbury in the nation's capital, President Coolidge declared: "His outposts marched with the pioneers, his missionaries visited the hovels of the poor, that all might be brought to a knowledge of the truth. Who shall say where his influence, written on the immortal souls of men, shall end? He is entitled to rank as one of the builders of our nation."

Contribution to Methodism

Francis Asbury Monument

At Thomas Crenshaw's in Hanover County, Virginia, Francis Asbury founded the first Sunday school in America, just as Methodist Hannah Ball had started a Sunday school in England fourteen years before Robert Raikes started what some historians have called, the first in the world. The Christmas Conference of 1784 that established the Methodist Episcopal Church as an independent denomination instructed Methodist preachers, all unlearned men, to preach annually on education, and to those who insisted that they had no gift for this, the reply was, "Gift or no gift, you are to do it." In North Carolina in 1780, Asbury raised the first money ever given for Methodist education in America, and in Virginia he promoted the Ebenezer Academy, which was established in 1784, three years before Cokesbury[2] College opened its doors. At the dedication of Bishop Asbury's monument in Washington, D.C., President Calvin Coolidge, said, "How many institutions of learning, some of them rejoicing in the name of Wesleyan all trace their existence to the service and sacrifice of this lone circuit rider [Bishop Francis Asbury]." Following the example of John Wesley in England, Asbury founded the Arminian Magazine in 1789 in North Carolina; it did not survive long, but reappeared in 1818, and with some lapses and under different names it continues to survive to the present. Through Asbury and the Methodists, America became Arminian in its theology. Throughout the nineteenth century, Methodism in America became the largest Protestant denomination.

Related Articles

Benjamin Franklin Was Not a Secularist

American History | Christian Beliefs | Christian History | January Articles

Leaving the deism of his youth and the immorality it produced, Benjamin Franklin came to realize that the Calvinism of his youth was closer to reality than he had previously imagined.[1] Though never fully returning to this theological tradition in which he was raised, he realized that human government must reflect God's government of the world, and for this reason, secularists, atheists, agnostics, and the irreligious falsely attempt to lay claim to Franklin as one of their patron saints. This brief primary writing of Benjamin Franklin—thoRead more...

Remembering the Apostle John

Apostles | Christian Living | December Articles

The life and ministry of the Apostle John, son of Zebedee, is observed annually on December 27 by Christians in the West. St. John was distinguished as a prophet, an apostle, and an evangelist. He is known as the beloved disciple or "the disciple whom Jesus loved," and was the younger brother of James the Great. The two brothers, and sons of Zebedee, were known as the "sons of thunder." John was previously a disciple of John the Baptist, and after becoming a disciple of Jesus was not only one of the Twelve Apostles, but one of the three membersRead more...

God's Plan of Salvation

Christian Beliefs | Christian Living | Experience, Practice & Life | Salvation & Grace

In a pluralistic American society, it has become politically incorrect to suggest that any one religion can make any claim to absolute truth. Historic Christianity has made such a claim to absolute truth. Just as a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill bears resemblance to the genuine twenty-dollar bill, so all other world religions and cults bear some resemblance to the genuine faith of the entire human race Christianity! Faithful Christians have not neglected to insist upon the absolute truth that Jesus Christ is the only means by which any individuRead more...

Sunday School Preserves American Republic

American History | Christian Beliefs | Christian History

Following the American Revolution, spiritual and moral life in the new nation plummeted. Pastors or lay leaders of local churches often led the Minute Men and were on the frontline of the American Revolution. Given the fact that American Christian leaders were compelled by their biblical convictions to oppose King George III in the Revolution, the Church in America experienced a vacuum in leadership following the war. Because so many Christian leaders had been killed in the Revolution, local churches were often left to leaders who had little orRead more...

Making Room in the Inn

Christian Beliefs | Christian Calendar (Holidays) | Christian Ethics | Christian Living | December | December Articles | Devotional Literature

A number of years ago, Gap brand stores – Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic—decided not to advertise their end-of-year sales with the term “Christmas.” Instead they chose the more generic term “holiday” so as not to offend those of non-Christian faiths, or atheists in general. But Gap is not alone in this decision. Last Christmas other companies also took a similar course of action, dismissing “Christmas” in favor of an innocuous expression which would not offend non-Christians. To the great harm of our nation, many commercial interests continRead more...

[1] Asbury dedicated this church in 1810.

[2] "Cokesbury" is a combination of the last names of Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury, the first two American Methodist general superintendents or bishops.

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *

* Francis Asbury *