The Woman Behind the Movement
Susannah Wesley gave birth to nineteen children. Nine died in infancy. She educated the surviving ten herself in a draughty rectory in Epworth, Lincolnshire, while her husband Samuel was frequently away, imprisoned for debt, or involved in church politics. By every measure of her era, her circumstances were overwhelming.
Yet two of her sons — John and Charles Wesley — went on to spark one of the largest spiritual movements in British history. The Methodist movement touched millions. And it started in a kitchen where a mother refused to give up on the idea that how you raise children matters.
Her Method
Susannah was systematic in a time when women's education was dismissed. She spent one hour per week individually with each child. She taught them to read by age five using a structured method she designed herself. She wrote detailed letters of theological instruction to her adult children that scholars still study today.
She famously told her son John: "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind — that thing is sin to you."
This wasn't religious rule-keeping. This was a mother teaching her children to think for themselves about the deepest questions of life.
What She Endured
Her house burned down twice. She lost nearly half her children before they reached adulthood. Her marriage was strained — she and Samuel disagreed so sharply about politics that he left the home for a period. She suffered from chronic illness. She was frequently left to manage the household alone with no income.
When the local church failed to provide meaningful services during Samuel's absences, Susannah began holding Sunday evening meetings in her kitchen. Over two hundred people eventually attended. When the local curate complained to the bishop, Susannah defended her gatherings by stating she was simply a mother teaching her children — and if others wished to listen, she could hardly turn them away.
Her Legacy
The Methodist movement, which grew from John and Charles Wesley's work, eventually established hospitals, schools, workers' rights campaigns, and missions across the globe. Historians trace significant social reforms in 18th and 19th century Britain back to Methodist influence.
All of it was shaped by a mother's kitchen-table education. Susannah didn't preach to thousands. She taught ten children with consistency and conviction, and the ripple effect changed the world.
What This Means for You
You may feel like your parenting is invisible — the daily repetitions of meals, bedtimes, conversations, corrections. Susannah Wesley's life is a reminder that the most significant influence often happens in the smallest, most repetitive moments. You don't have to be extraordinary. You have to be consistent. History is watching, even when no one else seems to be.