Is it true that John Wesley invented the "alter call?"

[Russ Simmons]

While waiting for a new furnace to be installed in our basement at home last Monday afternoon, Shannon and I were watching a speech on Channel 2 (Minnesota Public TV) with a guy named Jim Wallace speaking to students and faculty at St. John's seminary and he recounted how John Wesley invented the alter call as a way to sign people up for the abolition movement.

A new movie is evidently coming out on that, to celebrate an important anniversary in that regard, and Mr. Wallace was somehow involved with that movie and the research behind it. So maybe he knows something I don't know.

Has anyone here heard of that before?

[Pastor Dave]

Russ,
I had not heard this. OF course that does not mean it did not happen. My gut feeling is that altar calls have been going on almost since the beginning of the CHurch