Evangelical Association
Impressed, he began daily studies with another member of Otterbein's group, which became the Church of the United Brethren in Christ in a few years.Feeling that God had called him to ministry, he decided in 1796 to become a traveling preacher, following in the Methodist Episcopal Church pattern, preaching in homes, vacant buildings, and street corners.He wrote, "I began my travels in the year 1776 in the month of October in order to obey the call of God in proclaiming his holy way as revealed in the Gospel."He began speaking across eastern Pennsylvania, northern Maryland, and Virginia, and organizing small groups.John Seybert was elected as part of the young denomination's move towards centralized leadership, and 1843 saw the institution of a general conference, composed of delegates chosen by the annual conferences and constituting the highest legislative and judicial authority in the church.[7] By 1892, the association numbered 148,506 members, not including children, with 1,864 ministers and 2,043 churches, in the United States, Canada, and Germany.