John Wesley, an Anglican priest, described his own turning point at a meeting in Aldersgate Street in 1738, where he felt his heart 'strangely warmed' and trusted Christ for his salvation. With his brother Charles and with George Whitefield, he set out to carry that assurance to the whole nation.
When pulpits closed to them, the Methodists preached in the open air — to miners, laborers, and the poor whom the established church too often missed. They organized converts into 'societies' and small 'classes' for mutual accountability and growth. Charles Wesley's hymns gave the movement its singing voice.
Wesley intended renewal within the Church of England, not a new denomination — but after his death, Methodism became a separate and worldwide family of churches. The Methodist revival is described, in the Wesleys' own framing, on the Methodist tradition pages.