The John Wesley Institute (JWI) exists to produce and promote substantive and faithful formation in the broad Wesleyan tradition. Looking to the Great Tradition of the Church and the distinct witness of John and Charles Wesley, the JWI is designed to equip both individuals and faith communities – Methodist, Anglican, Holiness, and Pentecostal – with the riches of their heritage.
Originally a collaborative effort with the Institute on Religion and Democracy, Wesley Biblical Seminary, and other renewal groups within Methodism, the JWI has now expanded its partnerships and works with partners, scholars, and churches across the broad Wesleyan tradition.
The JWI spearheaded the production of The Next Methodism: Theological, Social, and Missional Foundations for Global Methodism (Seedbed, 2022), bringing together 35 faithful Wesleyan scholars to write about their hope for the Next Methodism.
In January of 2022, the JWI hosted over 50 scholars for the Next Methodism Summit in Alexandria, VA, producing The Faith Once Delivered: A Wesleyan Witness. A summit on Wesleyan Social Witness was held in Washington, DC in June 2022 and an international conference, “Anglicanism in the Public Square,” was held in Washington, DC in October 2022.
The JWI launched its Teaching Fellows Program in the Summer of 2022, a resource for churches looking to engage faithful scholars in their local churches, thus bringing faithful seminary and college faculty to teach and form disciples throughout the country.
And the work continues! In October of 2023 the JWI will host “Anglicanism vs. Polarization” in Washington, DC, and in Jan. 2024 the Next Methodist Summit II: Holiness will be held in Alexandria, VA. We are very excited to launch a new conference in April of 2024 designed for the laity called Mere Methodism, also held in historic Alexandria.
The JWI connects faithful Wesleyan scholarship to the Wesleyan faithful.