Butterfield Memorial Foundation is voluntarily affiliated with The Free Methodist Church of North America, an evangelical, holiness church following the theological perspectives of John Wesley.

Free Methodism was born on August 23, 1860 in Pekin, N.Y. Influenced by the holiness movement, Pastor B.T. Roberts and others in the Methodist Episcopal Church North formed a new denomination to return to the doctrines and practices of early Methodism, as founded by Wesley.

Several key issues of the day helped give the Free Methodist Church its name:

• An opposition to slavery and slave-owning, believing every individual should be free.
• Opposition to the renting and selling of church pews, a common practice that kept the poor in the back of the church. Rather, the church called for free seats for all.
• Support of freedom in worship, rather than deadening formalism

Free Methodism today continues to follow in the footsteps of its founders, emphasizing faithfulness to the biblical message, personal and social holiness, a deep devotion to Bible study and discipleship, and a conservative outlook that translates into active concern for the poor and lost in the United States and abroad.

For more information on the Free Methodist Church click here.