3.2 Methodism.

Whilst the ministry of Readers failed in the Elizabethan era, the environment of the nineteenth century provided the catalyst for the restoration of the movement. The rise of Methodism in the eighteenth century had involved the appointment of a significant number of Local Preachers and the Church of England was experiencing problems caused by a rising population linked to declining numbers of middle and lower class church-goers and a shortage of clergy.

Whilst the Anglican commentaries reflect on the impact of the growth of Methodism on men's ministry the equivalent texts for Methodism point out that women were appointed by Wesley and were formally incorporated into the Local Preachers organisation by the early nineteenth century.

The nineteenth century was an era of change during which a number of organisations such as the Church Congress appeared. There was a desire for more formal structures and questions began to be asked about alternative forms of ministry such as an extended diaconate and worker-deacons. It was also a time when the assistance of the laity was shunned despite the views of people such as Hare (1841) who advocated a far greater degree of lay participation.