Primitive Methodist Church
| Primitive Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Holiness |
| Theology | Methodism |
| Associations | World Federation of Primitive Methodists Christian Holiness Partnership National Association of Evangelicals |
| Region | United States (primarily) |
| Origin | 1807 |
| Separated from | Wesleyan Methodist Church |
| Congregations | 83 |
| Members | 8,487 |
| Official website | primitivemethodistchurch.org |
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834), whose visits inspired a return to fervent, open-air preaching.
In the United States, the Primitive Methodist Church had eighty-three parishes and 8,487 members in 1996. In Great Britain and Australia, the Primitive Methodist Church merged with other denominations, to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 1932 and the Methodist Church of Australasia in 1901. (The latter subsequently merged into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977.)