Free Methodist Church - Beliefs and Practices

Beliefs and Practices

In doctrine, Free Methodists’ beliefs are the standard beliefs of evangelical, Arminian Protestantism, with distinctive emphasis on the teaching of entire sanctification as held by John Wesley, to whom the Free Methodist Church traces its origins.

Many question the difference between the United Methodist Church and the Free Methodist Church. Both denominations share a common heritage linked to the Methodist revival in England during the 18th century. There is very little difference in doctrine. There are more differences in practice and polity.

The tolerance of the United Methodist Church for allegorical hermenueutics has caused it to be generally thought of as liberal whereas the Free Methodist Church is usually considered conservative. As concerns worship style, the Free Methodist Church is less ceremonial than the United Methodist Church, is less likely to follow even a modified liturgical format during worship, and its clergy typically do not wear vestments of any sort during worship.

From its beginning the Free Methodist Church struggled with the issue of the ordination of women. The first general superintendent, B.T. Roberts, was in favor of ordaining women, but never saw it take place in his lifetime. Out of his own conviction he wrote Ordaining Women: Biblical and Historical Insights. The impact of his writings eventually prevailed in the church. The Free Methodist Church affirmed the ordination of women in 1911. As of June 2008, out of 2,011 ordained clergy, 216 were women (11%). Twenty-six percent of all ministerial candidates are women.

Free Methodists recognize and license unordained persons for particular ministries. They mandate lay representation in numbers equal to clergy in the councils of the church.

As a reaction to paid musicians in the Methodist Church, early Free Methodists enjoyed a cappella congregational hymns during worship. However, the General Conference of 1943 voted to allow each Conference to vote on whether or not their churches could have instrumental music. As a result, pianos and organs became common across most conferences. Currently, many churches have worship teams composed of vocalists, drums, keyboards, guitars, and other instruments. Although the music is evolving, attitudes toward dancing are still negative.