Circuit rider (religious)

This page refers to a position within the Methodist Church. For other uses, see Circuit rider.

A circuit rider is a concept from the history of American Methodism.

A circuit (nowadays referred to as a charge) was a geographical area that encompassed two or more local churches. Local pastors met with their bishops annually for appointment to either a new circuit or remain at the same one (often they were moved to another). Once a pastor was assigned a circuit, it was his responsibility to visit each church in his charge at least once a year in addition to possibly erecting new churches.

Because of the distance between churches, these preachers would ride on horseback. They were called circuit riders or saddlebag preachers. They traveled with few possessions, carrying only what could fit in their saddlebags. They traveled through wilderness and villages, they preached every day at any place available (peoples' cabins, courthouses, fields, meeting houses, later even basements and street corners). Unlike preachers of settled denominations, Methodist preachers were always on the move (most circuits were so large that it would take 5 to 6 weeks to cover them). This is what boosted Methodism into the largest Protestant denomination at the time, sparing no effort to bring the church to the common people. In 1784, there were 43 circuits. By 1844, the denomination had grown to the point that there was a need for almost 4000 circuit riders.

Francis Asbury (1745-1816), the founding bishop of American Methodism, established the precedent having traveled 270,000 miles and preached 16,000 sermons as he made his way through the circuits. He brought the concept of the circuit from English Methodism, where it still exists: UK Methodist churches are grouped in circuits, which typically include a dozen or more churches, and ministers are appointed ("stationed") to the circuit, not to the local church. A typical circuit has two or three times as many churches as ministers, the balance of the services being led by lay Methodist local preachers or retired ("supernumerary") ministers. The title circuit rider, however, was an American coinage born of American necessities: although John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, covered enormous distances on horseback during his career, and early British Methodist preachers also rode around their circuits, in general they had far less formidable travelling commitments than their American counterparts.

As well as being constantly on the move between the churches in their charge, Methodist ministers were regularly moved between charges, a principal known as itinerancy. Although most charges in the US now consist of a single church, the tradition of itinerancy is still alive and functioning today in US Methodism, as it is in most Methodist Churches worldwide. Although not moving as frequently as in the past, the average US United Methodist Church pastor will stay at a local church for 2-5 years before being appointed to another charge at the Annual Conference (although technically, every pastor is assigned to a charge every year, it is just usually the same one). In UK Methodism, ministers are normally appointed to a circuit for five years, and although there is some possibility of renewal, it is unusual for a minister to stay for longer than seven years in one circuit. The saying in the church is, "After seven years, if the person's any good, it's time someone else had them; and if they aren't any good, it's time someone else had them!"

During the 1970s, WWBT television, an NBC affiliate in Richmond, VA, broadcast the musings of the "Circuit Rider", an elderly preacher appearing on horseback and presenting a brief rural parable, prior to its sign-off message. The history and origin of the man from Cobb's Creek, Virginia is not well documented.