Thomas Coke (1747-1814)
Probably one of the most
important figures in the spread of worldwide Methodism in the generation
following the death of John Wesley. Born in Brecon, Wales, he graduated from
Jesus College, Oxford, in 1768, and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1772.
While serving as a curate at South Petherton in Somerset, he gradually adopted
Methodistic enthusiasm, open air meetings, and cottage services. These led to
his dismissal, after which he formally joined the Methodists in 1777 and moved
to London to become Wesley's assistant during the latter's declining years.
Following an appeal from American Methodists for ordained clergy to administer the sacraments, Wesley sent an organizational team headed by Coke as superintendent to the United States in 1784. Coke found Francis Asbury, the only English Methodist missionary to remain in America during the Revolution, he was well in control of the American Methodist, and he largely accepted Asbury's natural authority. During the next two decades Coke made eight return visits.
Coke's contribution to
Methodism was less that of innovator than that of a zealous promoter and
organizer. As a widely traveled preacher he skillfully and effectively
presented Wesley's ideas, appealing to the hearts rather than the heads of his
listeners. While he did not claim significance as a writer, he did produce a
Bible commentary, a journal of his first five trips to America, and a history
of the West Indies. His greatest contribution was that of promoter of Methodist
missions from England and America to Ireland, Africa, the West Indies, and
elsewhere during the formative period of Methodist missionary expansion.
See also METHODISM.