Abstract
The first Methodist preachers proclaimed the Gospel to all men, white and black, bond and free. Many slaves welcomed the message and came as they could to hear it. The Methodist Gospel and pattern of religious experience was simple, personal and readily comprehended by blacks as well as whites. Richard Allen, himself a Methodist convert and preacher, said that the Methodist form of faith was the best for his people.1 A further reason for the popularity of Methodism among the slaves was the fact that the early preachers actively sought the slaves, made them welcome at the preaching services and took them into the "societies."