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As a college student, Charles Wesley remarked, "Christ Church is certainly the worst place in the world to begin a reformation; a man stands a very fair chance of being laughed out of his religion at his first setting out, in a place where 'tis scandalous to have any at all." Yet this wealthy and well-connected Oxford college was the birthplace of the Wesleys' new "method" of living.

Eighteenth-century Oxford should have been a good venue for religious training. It existed primarily to prepare young men for ministry in the Church of England, and some 70 percent of its graduates eventually took orders.

Few of these men, however, felt "called" to ministry. Most, like the Wesley brothers, came from middle- to lower-class families and had few job prospects outside the church. The Wesleys, raised by a pastor, held ministry in higher regard than did most of their peers, though even they originally hoped to use Oxford connections to attain comfortable posts.

In general neither Oxford students nor faculty expressed much interest in godliness—or, according to numerous critics, in scholarship. Oxford was known throughout Europe as a party school, where students and dons alike devoted most of their energies to drinking, gaming, and idle talk.

In a satirical magazine launched in 1721, the school's self-appointed jester sneered, "I have known a profligate debauchee chosen professor of moral philosophy; and a fellow, who never look'd upon the stars soberly in his life, professor of astronomy … and, not long ago, a famous gamester and stock-jobber was elected professor of divinity; so great, it seems, is the analogy between dusting of cushions, and shaking of elbows; or between squandering away of estates, and saving of souls!"

When John entered Christ Church in 1720, he fit in well. Known for being serious yet sociable, he played tennis, danced, read and attended plays, and maintained close—but not scandalous—relations with several young women. He was even punished once for a minor dress code infraction.

It was not until 1726, when he was elected a fellow of Oxford's Lincoln College, that John focused on self- discipline. "I executed a resolution," he wrote, "which I was before convinced was of the utmost importance, shaking off at once all my trifling acquaintance. I began to see more and more the value of time. I applied myself closer to study. I watched more carefully against actual sins. I advised others to be religious, according to that scheme or religion by which I modeled my own life."

That same year Charles matriculated at Christ Church. He too was at first taken with the Oxford social scene, but, due in part to his brother's influence, he quickly shifted his attention to spirituality. In fact, Charles took the lead in organizing what would become the Holy Club.

Charles began by faithfully attending school-sponsored prayers and services. Regular attendance was supposedly mandatory, but so few students complied that this act alone qualified a man as having the "character of a Sanctify'd Person."

He then, so he wrote later, "persuaded two or three young scholars to accompany me, and to observe the method of study prescribed by the Statutes of the University." He even convinced his neighbor who "was got into vile hands" to break off his destructive friendships and seek God instead.

For his efforts Charles earned the nickname "hick-homily," and his friends were soon called "Bible-Moths," "Sacramentarians," and "Methodists."

Never a formally organized society, the Holy Club consisted of five or six core members plus a shifting periphery of around 20. The members acknowledged John as their leader, but they were not always in direct contact with him. They usually met privately in groups of three or four for prayer, devotional study, and religious conversation.

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