Who We Are
The Wesley Foundation is the United Methodist campus ministry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
We’re a community where students build lasting friendships, grow in faith, ask honest questions, serve others, and discover their calling. Some students arrive deeply rooted in church life. Others come with doubts, difficult experiences, or no church background at all. Wherever you’re starting from, there’s a place for you here.
Christ-Centered
Jesus Christ is at the center of everything we do. We seek to know Christ more deeply and follow him more faithfully through worship, Scripture, prayer, service, and community.
Open & Affirming
Every person bears the image of God and is worthy of dignity, belonging, and love.
We welcome people of every race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, and life experience. Wesley is committed to being a place where students can bring their whole selves and encounter the love and grace of Christ.
Community-Driven
We intentionally build a ministry where students are known by name, cared for through every season of college, and encouraged to become active participants in the life of our community. We value depth of relationship over size and believe lasting transformation happens through authentic community.
Service-Minded
Faith comes alive through love in action.
We seek opportunities to serve our campus, our city, and the wider world through hands-on mission, partnerships, advocacy, and everyday acts of compassion.
Growth-Oriented
Faith is a journey, not a destination or a checkbox.
We encourage curiosity, thoughtful questions, spiritual practices, and lifelong discipleship. We believe students grow strongest when they have the freedom to wrestle with faith in a community that offers both grace and challenge.
Student-Led
Wesley is FOR students. It might as well be BY students too.
From worship and music to Bible studies, service projects, retreats, hospitality, and leadership, students are trusted with meaningful responsibility and encouraged to discover their gifts.
Our United Methodist Connection
Wesley is a ministry of the United Methodist Church.
That means we’re rooted in the Wesleyan tradition: a tradition that values God’s grace, thoughtful faith, personal and social holiness, and loving our neighbors through acts of compassion and justice. We believe faith grows through Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.
Being United Methodist also means we’re deeply connected. Wesley is supported by churches across East Tennessee, giving students opportunities to worship, serve, and build relationships throughout the region. Our ministry is strengthened by pastors, congregations, alumni, and partners who invest in the next generation of Christian leaders.
To learn more about United Methodist beliefs, visit What We Believe.
To learn about the denomination’s Social Principles and how we seek to live out our faith in the world, visit Church and Society.