Today in Methodist History

Francis Asbury statue in Washington, DC

On March 31, 1816, circuit-riding preacher Francis Asbury died (b. 1745). Asbury joined the English Methodist Movement at age 14 and, in 1771, was sent to the American Colonies by John Wesley, becoming one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. When Asbury arrived in America, there were 5,000 Methodists; by the time of his death, there were over 200,000. It is estimated that he preached 16,000 sermons and traveled 300,000 miles, mostly on horseback.