Sometimes we see names on streets or buildings, but we have no idea who that person may have been. In a book written by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, the duo looks at people in "Christian History".

One featured was Francis Asbury, a name we sometimes see on Methodist churches or other buildings. Today's Karen's Korner is taken from that short writing. 

Asbury  was born to a poor family, near Birmingham, England in 1745. His parents were among the early converts of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. They had found God while grieving the death of their infant daughter, Francis' only sibling.

Asbury's mother surrounded him with prayer, Bible reading, and hymns when he was a boy. Asbury was a good boy, but was ridiculed by many of his schoolmates because of their principles and his family's strict  lifestyle. At an early age, he put his life and trust in the Savior. He was so excited about his salvation that he became a local traveling preacher at age seventeen. By the age of twenty, he was ministering full-time in various Methodist preaching circuits throughout England.

On August 7, 1771, at age 21, he answered John Wesley's call for Methodist preachers to go to America. Asbury's answer, "Here am I, send me." His motto was, "Go into every kitchen and shop; address all, aged and young, on the salvation of their souls". He became a 'circuit rider' for which the young church was well-known.

Asbury traveled constantly for 45 yeas, covering about 300,000 miles, mostly on horseback. He crossed the Appalachians more than 60 times. When he came to America, there were about 300 Methodists and 4 ministers in America. At that time of his death, in 1816, Methodism has spread to every state with more than 214,000 people in America calling themselves Methodists. Asbury himself had ordained more than 4,000 Methodist ministers and preached more than 16,000 sermons.

"Francis Asbury gave his entire life to his ministry, forgoing a home and a family in order to spread the gospel on horseback. To what ministry have you been called? What sacrifice is God calling you to make?"

"I will gladly spend myself and all I have for your spiritual good."

2 Corinthians 12:15

***