View source for Free Methodist Church

{{Short description|Christian denomination}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
|image = FMC-Logo-Tagline-Color-wikipedia.jpg
|imagewidth = 150px
|caption = Emblem of the Free Methodist Church USA
|main_classification = [[Protestant]]
|orientation = [[Holiness movement|Holiness]]
|polity = [[Episcopal polity#American Methodist churches|Modified episcopacy]]
|founder = [[Benjamin Titus Roberts]]
|founded_date = 1860
|founded_place = Pekin, New York
|separated_from = [[Methodist Episcopal Church]]
|separations = 1881 - Vanguard Mission<ref name="BundyHammond2022"/><br />1882 - Pentecost Bands<ref name="BundyHammond2022">{{cite book |last1=Bundy |first1=David |last2=Hammond |first2=Geordan |last3=Han |first3=David Sang-Ehil |title=Holiness and Pentecostal Movements: Intertwined Pasts, Presents, and Futures |date=4 March 2022 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-0-271-09415-1 |quote=Defections from the Methodist Episcopal Church were many; those from the Free Methodist Church included the Vanguard Mission (1881) and Pentecost Bands (1882). |language=en}}</ref><br />1932 - [[Reformed Free Methodist Church]]<ref name="Jones1974">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Charles Edwin |title=A guide to the study of the holiness movement |date=1974 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810807037 |language=en |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetostudyoft00char }}</ref><br />1955 - [[United Holiness Church]] (now the [[Bible Methodist Connection of Churches]])<ref name="Melton2009"/><br />1963 - [[Evangelical Wesleyan Church]]<ref name="Melton2009"/><br />1973 - [[Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches]]<ref name="Cooney2001">{{cite book |last1=Cooney |first1=Dudley Levistone |title=The Methodists in Ireland: A Short History |date=2001 |publisher=Columba Press |isbn=978-1-85607-335-6 |page=120 |language=en }}</ref> 
|parent =
|merger = 
|associations = [[Global Wesleyan Alliance]];<br>[[Christian Holiness Partnership]];<br>[[Christian Churches Together]];<br>[[Wesleyan Holiness Consortium]];<br>[[World Methodist Council]];<br>[[National Association of Evangelicals]]
|area = Worldwide: divided into 13 General Conferences
|congregations = 856 in the United States (average congregation size: 77)
|members = 1,200,797 (68,356 in the United States)
|website = [http://fmcusa.org/ fmcusa.org]
|website2 =
|footnotes =
}}
[[File:Free_Methodist_Church_cross_and_flame_logo.png|thumb|right|The [[cross and flame]] logo of the Free Methodist Church, created in 1985 by Les Rice under direction of the FMC Board of Bishops.]]
The '''Free Methodist Church''' ('''FMC''') is a [[Methodist]] [[Christian denomination]] within the [[holiness movement]], based in the [[United States]]. It is [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] in nature and is [[Wesleyan theology|Wesleyan–Arminian]] in theology.<ref name="07BOD">{{cite book |url=https://fmcusa.org/resources/2019bod |title=2019 Book of Discipline |publisher=Free Methodist Church |year=2019 |pages=9 |archive-url= |archive-date= }}</ref>

The Free Methodist Church has members in over 100 countries, with 62,516 members in the United States and 1,547,820 members worldwide.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://fmcusa.org/| title = Free Methodist Church Official Website}}</ref> The ''Light & Life Magazine'' is their official publication.<ref>{{cite web |title=Light + Life Magazine |url=https://lightandlife.fm/}}</ref> The Free Methodist Church World Ministries Center is in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]].

==History==
[[File:GC23 Business Meetings.jpg|alt=Group of people in a business meeting. GC23 logo on digital background blue screen.|thumb|Free Methodist Church USA General Conference 2023]]
The Free Methodist Church was organized at [[Pekin, New York]], in 1860.<ref>George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 916</ref> The founders had been members of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] but were excluded from its membership for earnestly advocating what they saw as the doctrines and usages of authentic Wesleyan Methodism. Under the leadership of the Rev. [[B. T. Roberts|Benjamin Titus (B. T.) Roberts]], a graduate of [[Wesleyan University]], the movement spread rapidly. Societies were organized, churches built, and the work established.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of American religions|last=Melton, J. Gordon|year=1996|isbn=0810377144|edition= Fifth|location=Detroit|oclc=35250496}}</ref>

Before the founding of the church, Roberts began publication of a monthly journal, ''The Earnest Christian''. In 1868, ''The Free Methodist'' (now ''Light & Life'') was begun. A publishing house was established in 1886 to produce books, periodicals, and Sunday school curriculum and literature.<ref name="ReferenceB">''Light & Life'' Magazine, July 1995.</ref>

The name "Methodist" was retained for the newly organized church because the founders believed that they were continuing the authentic practice of the doctrines and standards of Methodism; to them, their expulsion from the Methodist Episcopal Church happened because of their adherence to the same. The word "Free" was suggested and adopted because the new church (1) was anti-slavery; (2) wanted pews to be free to all regardless of status, rather than sold or rented (as was common); (3) promoted freedom of worship in the Holy Spirit, as opposed to stifling formality;<ref>''A Brief Story of Our Church'', C. L. Howland, Winona Lake, IN.</ref> (4) upheld the principle of "freedom" from secret and oath-bound societies (in particular the [[Freemasonry|Masonic Lodge]]), so as to have full loyalty to Christ; (5) stood for "freedom" from the abuse of ecclesiastical authority (due to the bishop's action in allowing expulsion of 120 clergy and lay); and (6) desired its members to experience [[Christian perfection#Wesleyan teaching|entire sanctification]] via the Holy Spirit through [[Consecration in Christianity#Entire consecration|consecration]] and faith.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snyder |first=Howard A. |date=2022 |title=B. T. Roberts and the Founding of Roberts Wesleyan University |url=https://fmcusa.org/wp-content/uploads/B.-T.-Roberts-and-the-Founding-of-Roberts-Wesleyan-University.pdf |website=Free Methodist Church USA}}</ref>

At the 1910 session of the General Conference of the Methodist Church at Rochester, New York, a full acknowledgement was made of the wrong done to the late Roberts fifty years before, and the credentials taken from him were restored in a public meeting on his behalf to his son, Rev. Benson Roberts.<ref>Editorial, ''Free Methodist'', May 1941.</ref>

[[Conservative holiness movement|Holiness Conservatives]] within the Free Methodist Church left to form the [[Reformed Free Methodist Church]] in 1932, the [[United Holiness Church]] in 1966 (which joined the [[Bible Methodist Connection of Churches]] in 1994) and the [[Evangelical Wesleyan Church]] in 1963.<ref name="Jones1974"/><ref name="Melton2009">{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/glenn-griffith-movement#E|title=Glenn Griffith Movement|year=2009|publisher=Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions|language=en|access-date=11 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="Kostlevy2010">{{cite book|last=Kostlevy|first=William|title=The A to Z of the Holiness Movement|year=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|language=en|isbn=9780810875913|page=19}}</ref>

Free Methodist headquarters were located in [[Winona Lake, Indiana]] until 1990, when the denomination moved to Indianapolis, Indiana.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.freemethodistchurch.org/users/marston/| title = Marston Historical Center| access-date = December 14, 2007| archive-date = November 15, 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071115035700/http://www.freemethodistchurch.org/users/marston/| url-status = dead}}</ref>

The Free Methodist Church released a 21st Century articulation of its Historic Freedoms to include the following:

# Freedom of all races to worship together in unity.
# Freedom for the poor to be treated with dignity in the church and with justice in the world.
# Freedom for women and men to be treated respectfully and use their gifts equally in the church, in the home, and in the world.
# Freedom for laity to be fairly represented in the governing bodies of the church.
# Freedom from spiritual, political, social or conceptual alliances that compromise or subvert the exclusive allegiance we profess to Jesus Christ.
# Freedom to engage in worship that is moved and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
# Freedom from sin's power through full surrender to God.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2023 |orig-date=10/4/2023 |title=Leading in the Free Methodist Church |url=https://fmcusa.org/wp-content/uploads/Leading-in-the-Free-Methodist-Church.pdf |website=Free Methodist Church USA}}</ref>

==Statistics==
The church has about 62,516 members in the United States as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-17 |title=Free Methodist Church USA - Let There Be Light |url=https://fmcusa.org/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=fmcusa.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Worldwide its membership is over 1,500,000.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Yearbook 2022 (E-Book) • LIGHT + LIFE Bookstore |url=https://freemethodistbooks.com/product/yearbook-2022-e-book |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=freemethodistbooks.com |language=en-US}}</ref> with large segments of membership in East Central Africa ([[Rwanda]], [[Burundi]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]]) and other countries.<ref name=":0" />

==Beliefs and practices== 
In doctrine, Free Methodists’ beliefs are the standard beliefs of Wesleyan-[[Arminianism|Arminian]] Protestantism, with distinctive emphasis on the teaching of [[entire sanctification]] as held by [[John Wesley]], to whom the Free Methodist Church traces its origins.<ref name="FMC-John Wesley">{{cite web|url = http://www.freemethodistchurch.org/Sections/About%20Us/Basic%20Info/FAQs/What%27s%20A%20Free%20Methodist.htm|title = Who are Free Methodists?|publisher = Free Methodist Church|access-date = 2009-05-28|archive-date = March 17, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090317084610/http://www.freemethodistchurch.org/Sections/About%20Us/Basic%20Info/FAQs/What%27s%20A%20Free%20Methodist.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref>

The Free Methodist Church, along with the [[United Methodist Church]], shares a common heritage linked to the Methodist revival in England during the 18th century. The Free Methodist Church itself arose within the context of the [[holiness movement]] within 19th century Methodism.<ref name="ReferenceC">Free Methodist Church of North America</ref>

The first general superintendent, B. T. Roberts, was in favor of ordaining women, but never saw it take place in his lifetime. Out of his own conviction he wrote ''Ordaining Women: Biblical and Historical Insights''. The impact of his writings eventually prevailed in the church. The Free Methodist Church affirmed the ordination of women in 1911.<ref>The Female Pastor: Is There Room for She in Shepherd</ref> As of June 2008, women represented 11% of ordained clergy (216 of 2,011) and 26% of candidates for the ministry.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

Free Methodists recognize and license unordained persons for particular ministries. They mandate lay representation in numbers equal to clergy in the councils of the church.<ref name="ReferenceA">''2007 Book of Discipline'', Free Methodist Church of North America</ref>

As a reaction to paid musicians in the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]], early Free Methodists enjoyed [[A cappella#Christian|a capella]] congregational hymns during worship. However, the General Conference of 1943 voted to allow each Conference to vote on whether or not their churches could have instrumental music.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1996&dat=19430619&id=baAiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bK8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2624,7104324|title = Free Methodists to Have Church Music. The Daily Times Beaver and Rochester (NY), June 19, 1943, p. 2.|access-date = 2011-12-30}}</ref> As a result, pianos and organs became common across most conferences. Currently, many churches have worship teams composed of vocalists, drums, keyboards, guitars, and other instruments.

==Organization==
The Free Methodist Church's highest governing body is the World Conference,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.freemethodistworld.org/| title = World Conference| access-date = January 31, 2006| archive-date = June 13, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060613010930/http://www.freemethodistworld.org/| url-status = dead}}</ref> which is composed of representatives, both lay and clergy, from all countries with a Free Methodist General Conference. As the church in each country develops, its status progresses from Mission District to Annual Conference to General Conference. There are currently 20 General Conferences in the world, which are linked together through the articles of religion and common constitution of the first two chapters of the Book of Discipline, the World Conference, and the Council of Bishops.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-11 |title=Membership - Free Methodist World Conference |url=https://fmworldconference.org/about/membership/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=fmworldconference.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
The USA branch of the Free Methodist Church is currently led by three bishops: Bishop Keith Cowart, Bishop Kaye Kolde, and Bishop Kenny Martin. Bishop Cowart was first elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. Bishops Kolde and Martin were first elected in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-23 |title=FMCUSA Board of Bishops - Free Methodist Church USA |url=https://fmcusa.org/leaders/bishops |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=fmcusa.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

==World Missions==

[[File:Escuela de la Iglesia metodista libre, AA Quesada (Costa Rica) 2009.jpg|thumb|[[Primary school]] in Costa Rica built by a local mission of the Free Methodist Church]]

Free Methodist World Missions oversees ministries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Today, 95% of Free Methodists are located outside the United States, and that number is growing daily.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FM Global Ministries - Free Methodist Church USA|url=https://fmcusa.org/go-global/fmg|access-date=2021-12-13|website=fmcusa.org|date=9 July 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[https://www.childcareministries.org/ International Child Care Ministries (ICCM)], a child sponsorship initiative serves more than 21,000 children in 29 countries around the world. Through education, meals and medical care, children in need are given an opportunity for a better life. Each sponsored child is connected to a Free Methodist congregation or ministry at a local level.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ICCM {{!}} International Child Care Ministries {{!}} Child Sponsorship – International Child Care Ministries|url=https://www.childcareministries.org/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.childcareministries.org}}</ref>

[https://www.setfreemovement.com/ Set Free Movement] is seeking to mobilize faith communities, financial partners, and all segments of society towards ending human trafficking and creating new futures through community-based action.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://www.setfreemovement.com/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=Set Free Movement|language=en}}</ref>

[https://fmwm.org/visa-teams-opportunities/ Volunteers in Service Abroad (VISA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213193907/https://fmwm.org/visa-teams-opportunities/ |date=2021-12-13 }} connects volunteers from the Free Methodist Church in the US and UK with Free Methodist World Missions for hands-on ministry internationally.<ref>{{Cite web|title=VISA Teams - Opportunities {{!}} Official Free Methodist World Missions|url=https://fmwm.org/visa-teams-opportunities/|access-date=2021-12-13|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213193907/https://fmwm.org/visa-teams-opportunities/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{methodism}}
The church currently has ministry over 88 countries,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-03-23 |title=Free Methodist World Missions - Free Methodist World Missions |url=https://fmwm.org/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=fmwm.org |language=en-US}}</ref> including:

{| class="wikitable"
!Africa!!Asia!!Europe!!Latin America!!Middle East!!North America
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| {{ubl|Angola
* Botswana
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Democratic Republic of Congo
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Ghana
* Guinea Bissau
* Guinea Conakry
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Malawi
* Mozambique
* Nigeria
* Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe
}}
| {{ubl|Australia
* Cambodia
* Fiji
* India
* Japan
* Philippines
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Taiwan
* Thailand}}
| {{ubl|Albania
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* France
* Greece
* Hungary
* Republic of Ireland
* North Macedonia
* Portugal
* Romania
* Spain
* Sweden
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
}}
| {{ubl|Antigua
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Puerto Rico
* Uruguay
* 360 Mission District (Costa Rica)
}}
| {{ubl|Egypt
* Iraq
* Jordan
* Israel
* Palestine
}}
| {{ubl|
* [[Free Methodist Church in Canada|Canada]]
* United States
}}
|}

==Higher education==
B. T. Roberts began what is now Roberts Wesleyan College in 1866. Spring Arbor College followed in 1873 (renamed Spring Arbor University in 2001), Seattle Pacific University in 1891, and Greenville College (renamed Greenville University in 2017) in 1892. Central College began in 1914, a continuation of Orleans Seminary begun in 1884. [[Los Angeles Pacific College (defunct)|Los Angeles Pacific College]] existed from 1903 to 1965.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

The following educational institutions are a part of the Association of Free Methodist Educational Institutions. The schools are not owned by the denomination but meet a set of requirements to maintain this relationship.

* [[Central Christian College of Kansas|Central Christian College]], [[McPherson, KS]]
* [[Greenville College|Greenville University]], [[Greenville, IL]]
* [[Roberts Wesleyan University]], [[Chili, New York|North Chili, NY]]
* [[Spring Arbor University]], [[Spring Arbor, MI]]
* [[Seattle Pacific University]], [[Seattle, WA]]

In addition, the Free Methodist Church is one of several denominations supporting [[Azusa Pacific University]] ([[Azusa, CA]]). [[Wessington Springs College]] is a former, now closed institution which was located in [[South Dakota]].  Internationally, there is [[Osaka Christian College]] of the Japanese Free Methodist Church, Hope Africa University,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.hopeafricauniversity.org/| title = Hope Africa University}}</ref> a recently founded school in [[Bujumbura, Burundi]], Haiti Providence University, and the [[Faculdade de Teologia Metodista Livre]], São Paulo, Brazil.

Through the John Wesley Seminary Foundation (JWSF) graduate students who are preparing for full-time ministry in the Free Methodist Church are provided a grant or loan at the following affiliated schools:<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Wesley Seminary Foundation {{!}} Center for Pastoral Formation FMCUSA |url=https://leadership.fmcusa.org/education/grants |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=leadership.fmcusa.org}}</ref>

* [[Asbury Theological Seminary]] – (KY, FL, TN, OK, CO Campuses)
* [[Azusa Pacific University|Azusa Pacific Seminary]], Azusa, CA
* [[Northeastern Seminary]] at Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, NY
* [[Portland Seminary]] at [[George Fox University|George Fox Evangelical Seminary]], [[Portland, OR]]
* [[Seattle Pacific University|Seattle Pacific Seminary]], Seattle, WA<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fmcusa.org/leadership/grants/|title=Grants &#124; Center for Pastoral Formation}}</ref>
* [[Wesley Biblical Seminary]], [[Jackson, MS]]
* Wesley House of Studies at [[Baylor University]]’s Truett Theological Seminary, Waco, TX
* Wesley Seminary at [[Indiana Wesleyan University]], Marion, IN

==Publishing==
Like John Wesley before him, B. T. Roberts recognized the Christian's responsibility for publishing.

Before the founding of the church in 1860, B. T. Roberts began publication of a monthly journal, ''The Earnest Christian''. In 1868 ''The Free Methodist'' (now ''Light & Life'' Magazine) began. A publishing house was established in 1886 to produce books, periodicals and Sunday school curriculum and literature.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

===Beginnings===
Early leaders, T. B. Arnold and B. T. Roberts privately financed and produced several publications.

The official publishing institution was established by the church at the 1886 General Conference. The church purchased the publishing business built by Rev. T. B. Arnold for $8,000. Arnold was named first publisher and B. T. Roberts was elected editor of ''The Free Methodist''. The Free Methodist Publishing House is recognized under its trade name Light and Life Press.

===Growth and development===
The Free Methodist Publishing House operated at three locations in Chicago, Illinois. In February 1935, it moved along with Free Methodist Headquarters to Winona Lake, Indiana.

During its history, the Free Methodist Publishing House built up a plant and accumulated property worth several hundred thousand dollars. It also contributed thousands of dollars out of its profits to other activities of the church.<ref>B. H. Gaddis, publisher, 1933–1954</ref>

Over the years, as the ministry of the Free Methodist Church expanded, various departments of the general church gradually moved into Free Methodist Publishing House accommodations. This was provided at vast cost and without the investment of any capital by the general church.

In 1960, the Free Methodist Publishing House board issued a deed in favor of the general church, whereby the church became the owner of the old property, plus nearly eight acres of land. For this the general church paid nothing, but agreed to make payments of $5,000 per year over a ten-year period to the Free Methodist Publishing House.

=== Audio publications ===
In 1944 the Free Methodist Church began a weekly radio show called The Light and Life Radio Hour which featured hymns, sermons, prayer, and scripture reading. The show ran until 1980 and featured several different hosts over the years including Dr. Leroy Lowell, Myron F. Boyd, and Robert Andrews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historical.fmcusa.org/radio-broadcasts/|title=Light and Life Hour Broadcasts|date=2013-08-14|website=Marston Memorial Historical Center|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-26|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226054302/https://historical.fmcusa.org/radio-broadcasts/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016 Josh Avery began The FMC Radio Show which was a spiritual successor to The Light and Life Radio Hour but embodied a very different focus. In a podcast format, the show is subtitled "your officially unofficial source for all things Free Methodist". Instead of worship and sermon, the show means to act as a uniting factor in the Free Methodist Church by informing listeners about different things that are happening in the denomination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fmcradio.podbean.com/|title=The FMC Radio Show-- Your Officially Unofficial Source for All Things Free Methodist|last=Development|first=PodBean|website=fmcradio.podbean.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref>

Today, the Light+Life podcast features ministries of the Free Methodist Church that tell their stories of ministry fruitfulness.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lightandlifefm | title=Light + Life Podcast • A podcast on Spotify for Podcasters }}</ref>

===Ministry===
''Arnold’s Commentary'' was published from 1894 to 1980. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the church pioneered fully graded church school materials. In 1960 the ''Aldersgate Biblical Series'' was developed as the only inductive curriculum of its time.<ref>''Snapshots'', Donald E. Demaray, 1985, 229–230</ref>

A fully equipped printing area consisting of letterpresses, offset press, cutters, folders, bindery, linotypes etc. contributed toward making the church independent of commercial printers for the production for its printing needs at that time.

Acting on the recommendation of its executive committee, the board voted in 1988 to phase out printing operations.<ref>Light & Life Magazine, January 1989</ref> This decision and the 1989 General Conference decision to move the Press and Headquarters from Winona Lake to Indianapolis in 1990 shifted the focus of the Press. Where formerly, the Press produced and published Sunday school curriculum, this venture is now carried on in cooperation with other holiness denominations.

Beginning in 2008, the Wesleyan Publishing House, publishing arm of the Wesleyan Church, began serving the distribution and customer service needs of Light and Life Press.

===Mission statement===
Light & Life Communications, the official publishing arm of the Free Methodist Church, is a not-for-profit corporation that exists to serve in partnership with its parent body, the Free Methodist Church. Its primary purpose is to publish and distribute materials that enable the church to fulfill its stated mission. Light & Life Communications also offers its services and materials to all who seek to make Christ known.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Light + Life Magazine — Digitally Delivered Discipleship {{!}} FMCUSA|url=https://lightandlife.fm/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=lightandlife.fm|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Publications==
*Light + Life Communications is the publishing division of the Free Methodist Church.
*[https://lightandlife.fm Light + Life Magazine] is the official [[magazine]] of the Free Methodist Church USA, published online. It includes in-depth journalism and interviews exploring Christian faith. Each issue is also translated into Spanish and published concurrently as [https://luzyvida.fm/ Revista Luz y Vida]. Jeff Finley is the magazine's executive editor.
*[https://www.freemethodistbooks.com Light + Life Bookstore] is the official bookstore of Free Methodist Church USA. Free Methodist books and exclusive titles on Christian faith and Wesleyan holiness theology.
*[https://lightandlife.fm/ The Light + Life podcast] hosts conversations that deepen people's faith through the Light+Life of Jesus Christ.
*Free Methodist World Missions [https://fmwm.org/heartbeat Heartbeat] is the monthly magazine of Free Methodist World Missions.
*[https://freemethodistconversations.com/ Free Methodist Conversations] is an online resource for discussing important values and issues.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Free Methodist Church}}
{{Portal|Christianity|Indiana}}
*[http://fmcusa.org/ Official site]
*[http://www.fmwm.org/ Free Methodist World Missions]
*[http://www.childcareministries.org/ International Child Care Ministries]

{{Methodist Episcopal Church}}
{{Evangelical Protestantism in the United States}}
{{Evangelicalism in the United States}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Free Methodist Church| ]]
[[Category:History of Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Kosciusko County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Religion in Indianapolis]]
[[Category:Methodism in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Methodism in Indiana]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1860]]
[[Category:Methodism in the United States]]
[[Category:Methodist denominations]]
[[Category:Holiness denominations]]
[[Category:1860 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Members of the National Association of Evangelicals]]
[[Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States]]