Wesley Guild
The Wesley Guild (also known as WG or Methodist Guild) is a worldwide Christian organisation aimed to retain young people within the Wesleyan Church. It was founded on 30 July 1896 in Liverpool, England and its aim is to help young people to band together using the model known as four Cs (4Cs of Christ) that stands for the: Comradeship of young Methodists, Consecration of body, soul and spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ, Culture of mind to ensure thoughtful and intelligent life, and Christian Service for the building up of the Church and the Kingdom of God. These 4Cs are also reflected on Royal Blue and Gold Wesley Guild logo (cross-like logo) with the motto being “One Heart, One Way”
Its head office used to be in England until 1942 when the Methodist conference incorporated the Wesley Guild to the Youth department that included other entities for young people.
Beginnings
The Wesley Guild was founded by Rev Charles Henry Kelly and Rev W. Blackburn FitzGerald. Charles advised the Church the importance of retaining young people who lost each year by the Methodism after leaving Sunday school while Blackburh formed a group to work with young people for devotional purposes, evangelism, prayer and overseas missions. On the 30th of July 1896 the Wesleyan Conference gave a go ahead for the Wesley Guild to operate in the United Kingdom, in 1899 it expanded to West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone), it later was introduced in Canada, British Guyana and Southern Africa( Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa and Botswana) in 1918 (later formally introduced on 6 April 1966) with the exception of Mozambique that had another model of youth organisation established in 1957.
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