On August 7, 1771, John Wesley asked for volunteers to assist the American work. Colonial Methodism was a small, harassed sect. Several men offered to go. From among them, Wesley selected Richard Wright and Francis Asbury. Wright quickly faded from the scene but Asbury became the leader of American Methodism.

What was his secret?
Before his death, Methodism had become America's largest denomination. What was his secret? An entry in his journal may hold the key. In September 1771, eight days out to sea on his voyage to America, Asbury wrote: "Whither am I going? To the New World. What to do? To gain honor? No, if I know my own heart. To get money? No; I am going to live to God and to bring others to do so." Having spelled out his purpose, he never deviated from it.

His Future Foretold?
According to one source, Asbury's pilgrimage to America actually began before he was born. His devout mother saw a vision in which she was told her son would become a spiritual giant. We have not been able to confirm this, but Francis was born in 1745, near Birmingham, England. His mother read the Bible to the boy for an hour each day, singing hymns and praying with him. She made sure he attended church. Despite these influences, he entered his teens unconverted.

That changed in a Methodist meeting. "I was then about fifteen; and young as I was, the Word of God soon made deep impressions on my heart, which brought me to Jesus Christ... and soon showed me the excellency and necessity of holiness." A year later he was preaching. He joined the Methodist ministry before he was twenty.

A Reproachable Tendency to Ramble
At the ripe age of twenty-four, Asbury was promoted to the rank of "assistant." His superior reproved him for a tendency to "ramble" the district and to exceed his authority. Two years later, Asbury volunteered for America where such rambling would prove to be a virtue.

No One but Methodists and Crows
He landed in Philadelphia on October 27, 1771. Life in the towns was pleasant enough but harsh in the boondocks. Asbury noted, "My brethren seem unwilling to leave the cities, but I think I shall show them the way." Show them he did. Almost as soon as he was assigned to New York, he pushed his horse twenty miles out of the city to preach at Westchester. Visiting other villages, he formed a "preaching circuit." Such circuits would form the backbone of American Methodism. Circuit riders would push through such bad weather it became a common saying, "Nobody out but the crows and the Methodists."

Assigned to Maryland, Asbury tripled its circuits and doubled its membership in just one year. Rain or shine, heat or cold, he was in the saddle. While riding, he read, sang hymns, learned languages, fasted and prayed. Freeborn Garrettson, a notable circuit rider himself, said that Asbury prayed the best and prayed the most of any man he knew. He preached to any audience he could find, despite threats, fines and illness.

Sickness plagued Asbury. He half-killed himself with overwork and exposure, unable to lie still long enough to get really well. He preached hundreds of sermons with an ulcerated throat and burning fever. Often he was so weak he had to be lifted onto his horse and tied to the saddle. But his passion to serve God and save souls was unflinching. He exclaimed: "O, what would one not do, what would he not suffer, to be useful to souls, and to the will of his great Master!"

Loose Lips, Tight Lips
When the Revolution broke out, Thomas Rankin, Asbury's supervisor, howled at Americans for their wicked revolt against England. Asbury kept silent. He foresaw that America would win the war and knew that the official Methodist position would hold back potential converts.