About Us
“For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”
– Acts 13:47-48
The Wesley Methodist Church Amsterdam (WMC- Amsterdam) established in 1997 is (by this year 2020) in its 23 years of spiritual and social service ministries in the Netherlands. In consonance with its vision for church expansion the Amsterdam church has since its establishment grown and expanded considerably. It has so far assisted in planting and supporting seven other congregations in The Netherlands and Belgium since its establishment.
The Amsterdam Wesley Methodist Church which has its remote roots in British Methodism of the Wesleyan Revival Movement of the 18th Century is affiliated to The Methodist Church Ghana as its Overseas Mission Church.
The WMC Amsterdam is presently located in two separate premises in Amsterdam East and Amsterdam Southeast districts where about ninety-five percent (95 %) of the church’s membership are resident. The church which began with about twenty-six (26) members in 1997 has since grown to over five hundred (500) members which includes four hundred (400) adults and young adults together with hundred (100) children and junior youth (from 2-17 years); and the membership keeps on growing. The church is self-supporting financially by means of membership contributions.
WHY THE WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH AMSTERDAM
The WMC Amsterdam shares a common vision with world-wide Methodist Organizations which have over the years embraced a ‘holistic’ approach to ministry which means that besides their commitment to the promotion of healthy spirituality, they are engaged in social service missions and social reform. This vision emphasizes social development and community service, charity and support for the vulnerable, the marginalized and the afflicted through works of mercy.
In consonance with this common vision of ‘holistic’ ministry to the larger community, the WMC- Amsterdam focuses particularly on social development and community service to the migrant community of the Amsterdam Zuid-Oost and Amsterdam Oost by investing in the spiritual, social, emotional, physical and mental stability of the families of immigrants and their kids.
The immigrant situation of many migrants creates for them a deeper sense of insecurity and the want of warmth, care, friendship and affection. Many of them are exposed to harsh conditions and experiences, including feelings of isolation and depression as they engage in a constant struggle to find job, shelter, and other necessities of life. For most of them there is the continuous search for wholeness – healing from pain, from the feeling of dejection, disappointments, and emptiness. Besides all these, there is the sense of need for spiritual guidance and for the Supernatural power to overcome oppressive forces, spirits of affliction, addictive habits and other moral weaknesses, apparent failures, disappointments and numerous difficulties. It is noteworthy that the ministries of the WMC-Amsterdam are aimed at providing a community within which the afore-mentioned unique contextual and existential needs of the migrant community are addressed. The congregation is fashioned to constitute a dynamic environment in which people find a sense of belonging and acceptance, Christian love and care, friendship, empowerment and fulfilment.