Wesley Foundation

A Wesley Foundation is a United Methodist campus ministry sponsored in full or in part (depending on the congregation) by the United Methodist Church on a non-church owned and operated campus. Wesley Foundations claim ancestry in the founding "Holy Club" of the Methodist movement, a group of students at Oxford University guided by Wesley in "methodical" (hence "Methodist") study, prayer, and self-discipline. Today a Wesley Foundation is the presence of the United Methodist Church on or near, and in service to, a state-run, non-church affiliated college or university (Church-related schools have Chaplains that may guide similar groups).

The first Wesley Foundation was established October 13, 1913 at the University of Illinois. Bishop James C. Baker's work in organizing this first Wesley Foundation chose the name Wesley Foundation to emphasize two spheres of outreach. Wesley refers to John Wesley the founder of the Methodist Church and first campus minister at Oxford University. While Foundation was selected to mean an "open movement," an ecumenical movement available to all college students.

Wesley Foundations are primarily found in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, but can also be found in a number of other countries around the world. They are governed by the basic unit of the United Methodist Church, the annual conference; ordained ministers are appointed by their annual conference or lay ministers are hired to serve Wesley Foundations as campus minister. Ordained ministers serve in similar manner to their usual appointment to a church or charge.

External links

• University of Maryland College Park Wesley Foundation
• Angelo State University Wesley Foundation
• Appalachian Wesley Foundation at Appalachian State University
• Campus to City Wesley Foundation
• The Wesley Fellowship at Duke University
• University of Michigan Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry
• Wesley Foundation at Jacksonville State University
• Louisiana Tech University Wesley Foundation
• University of Kentucky Wesley Foundation
• Emory Wesley Fellowship at Emory University
• Wesley Foundation at Louisiana State University
• Georgia Tech Wesley Foundation
• University of Georgia Wesley Foundation
• Arizona State University Wesley Foundation
• University of Arizona Wesley Foundation
• Florida State University Wesley Foundation
• University of Florida Wesley Foundation
• University Christian Ministry at Northwestern University
• Wesley Foundation at Stephen F. Austin University
• Wesley Foundation at Texas A&M University
• Wesley Foundation at Old Dominion University
• Wesley Foundation at Arkansas Tech University
• Wesley Foundation at the University of Central Arkansas
• Wesley Foundation at Wake Forest University
• The Wesley Foundation at Michigan State University
• Wesley Campus Ministry at UNC-Chapel Hill
• The Wesley Foundation at Western Carolina University
• The Wesley Foundation at Penn State University
• The Wesley Foundation serving San Diego State University
• The Wesley Foundation at Valdosta State University
• Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware
• Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry at the University of Colorado - CU
• The Wesley Foundation at Virginia Tech
• Wesley Foundation in Cincinnati
• General Board of Higher Education
• United Methodist Campus Ministers Association
• United Methodist Student Movement (UMSM)
• Student Forum of the UMSm
• USA Wesley Foundation
• Wesley Foundation Serving University of California, Los Angeles
• Wesley Foundation at New Mexico State University
• Wesley of Wilmington (WoW)
• East Tennessee State University Wesley Foundation
• Oklahoma State University Wesley Foundation
• University of Tulsa Wesley Foundation
• Wesley Foundation at University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Wesley Foundation at Memphis
• The Wesley Foundation at the University of South Florida