John Wesley's support of women in leadership

The heartbeat of the whole [Wesleyan] movement was personal religious experience and its power to transform both the individual and society. Wesley was ready to adopt and adapt any idea that might further this cause. His chief purpose was to help the Church proclaim the gospel more effectively. The spirit of the movement and the vision of the founder contributed both to the acceptance and encouragement of female leadership. Wesley pioneered and sustained the revival. Women, as well as men, were allowed to express themselves freely.

She Offered Them Christ: The Legacy of Women Preachers in Early Methodism, Paul Chilcote. (Abingdon, 1993, 24)