Wesleyan Heritage Conference
Explore Asbury's Wesleyan heritage during an annual conference sharing the relevance of the Wesleyan tradition in today's society.
Anyone who spends time on the campus of Asbury University will hear the name of John Wesley mentioned frequently. John Wesley (1703-1791) was a world Christian with a heart to carry the gospel to the poor, needy, and lost of his city, his country, and around the world. He was the founder of the movement that would later be known as Methodism, from which dozens of Wesleyan denominations and institutions of higher learning have sprung.
One such institution is Asbury University. Founded in 1890 by Methodist holiness preacher John Wesley Hughes, Asbury University, then known as Kentucky Holiness School, was from the beginning a co-ed Christian institution of higher education that combined a commitment to academic excellence with a focus on establishing all students in the experience and doctrine found in Scripture. It is to such people as John Wesley Hughes, Francis Asbury, and John and Charles Wesley that Asbury University owes its very existence. It is therefore fitting for us to take some time to focus on this important aspect of our theological and educational heritage.
The Wesleyan Heritage Conference is designed to address the significance and relevance of Wesleyan thought within the society and culture in which American Christians find themselves living. The goal of the conference is to engage the minds and hearts of the Asbury University community in reflecting on the richness of our Wesleyan-holiness spiritual heritage through life-impacting presentations and discussions of how this heritage is applicable for life in the 21st century.
Biennial conference topics include:
October 7-9, 2024 – “Holiness of Heart and Life”
September 26-28, 2022 – “People of One Book”
October 10-12, 2016 – “Who Am I? Wesleyan Perspectives on the Redeemed Self”
September 24-26, 2014 – “‘Love Divine, All Loves Excelling’: Charles Wesley for the 21st Century”
October 1-3, 2012 – “‘The World Is My Parish’: Wesleyan Concern for the World’s Most Vulnerable”
October 4-6, 2010 – “Women of the Wesleyan Tradition”
October 6-8, 2008 – “Law and Grace in the Wesleyan Tradition”
October 9-13, 2006 – “Renovating Grace”
September 27-29, 2004 – “The World Is My Parish: Applied Wesleyan Theology in a Global Culture”
February 17-21, 2003 – “Wesleyan Heritage Week”
October 1-3, 2001 – “The Significance of Wesleyan Thought for the 21st Century”