The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement

Methodism started out as a missional alternative to establishment Christianity, but is now like the establishment Christianity it once critiqued.

In this book, Dr. Hunter asks whether enough New Testament Christianity exists in any institutional form of Christianity, including The United Methodist Church, to change the world.

If United Methodism is to survive, it must recover bold directions in ministry, in addition to Wesley’s theological vision. If only it was so simple as to stand on Wesley’s shoulders to see our way forward. This means that laity and clergy must be biblically informed, spiritually energized, and systematically organized.

If United Methodism is to thrive, it needs to focus on mission, recalling that early Methodism was an extravagant expression of missional Christianity. Net membership decline is not from losing more people but from reaching fewer people than it used to.

The need for the gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than ever. United Methodists must create structures and serve God and neighbor in order to spread, as Wesley admonished, scriptural holiness throughout the land.

George G. Hunter III is Distinguished Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of several books, including Radical Outreach and The Celtic Way of Evangelism, both published by Abingdon Press.

George G. Hunter III is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Asbury Theological Seminary’s School of World Mission and Evangelism, where he served as Dean for 18 years and Distinguished Professor for 10 years. He served as the founding dean of Asbury's E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism. A sought-after speaker and workshop leader, he is one of the country's foremost experts on evangelism and church growth. He has written over a dozen books, including How To Reach Secular People, Church for the Unchurched, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, Leading & Managing a Growing Church, Radical Outreach: The Recovery of Apostolic Ministry and Evangelism, Christian, Evangelical and . . . Democrat?, The Apostolic Congregation: Church Growth Reconceived for a New Generation, and The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement—all published by Abingdon Press.