Francis Asbury was born into a family of followers of John Wesley in 1745 in England. At the age of sixteen, he had already begun to lay preach. In 1771, Asbury volunteered to go to America where he soon became the leader of the Methodists. He was responsible for getting the "settled" clergy to go into the frontier where the people most needed the gospel. By his example, the well-known methodist style of itinerant ministries began. For the Methodists, Asbury, more than any other, embodied the thrust of the revivalist impulse in America. His message was simple: God's free grace, the liberty of humanity to accept or reject God's grace, and an end to willful sinning after conversion. By his death in 1816, Asbury had traveled over 300,000 miles to preach the gospel in America.

The Church today could learn so much from the early Methodists and the work of Francis Asbury. These ministers served by going to the people rather than building buildings and expecting the people to come to them. They also kept their message simple and true rather than embellishing it with long words and theological axioms. I am convinced that this is the best way to reach the lost and minister to those in need - go to the people! This is just a practical out-working of Jesus' words, "As you go into the world, make disciples of all nations . . . ."