{{methodism A Wesley Foundation is a United Methodist campus ministry sponsored in full or in part (depending on the congregation) by the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

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

on or near, and in service to, a state-run, non-church affiliated college or university (Church-related schools have

Chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a ho ...

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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, but can also be found in a number of other countries around the world. They are governed by the basic unit of the

, 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

Official website
Educational foundations based in the United Kingdom Methodism United Methodist Church History of Methodism in the United States Student religious organizations in the United States International student religious organizations Fellowships Student societies in the United States