John Wesley (1703-1791) was the Anglican priest, evangelist, and founder of Methodism. Converted at Aldersgate Street in London on May 24, 1738, when his heart was "strangely warmed" while listening to a reading of Luther’s preface to Romans, he began the open-air field-preaching that would mark his ministry. Over fifty years he rode an estimated 250,000 miles on horseback and preached more than 40,000 sermons. He organized converts into societies and class-meetings, sent itinerant lay preachers across England and to America, and remained an ordained Anglican to his death (though Methodism eventually separated). His theology was Arminian — Reformed Christians critique his denial of unconditional election and irresistible grace — but his emphasis on holiness, the witness of the Spirit, and small-group discipleship has shaped global Protestantism. His brother Charles wrote the hymns.