Thomas Coke, the right-hand man of the Reverend John Wesley, was chiefly responsible for the overseas mission to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that set sail from Portsmouth harbor on 30 December 1813.

James Lynch, Thomas Hall Squance, William Ault, George Erskine and Benjamin Clough arrived in Galle on 29 June 1814.

[7] Squance, Clough, and Lynch made it to the Galle Harbour, and the boat carrying Ault and Erskine with their personal effects drifted towards Weligama and they landed there early next day.

[8] The missionaries travelled to different parts of Ceylon, with Squance and Lynch to Jaffna, Ault to Batticaloa, Erskine to Matara, and Clough remaining in Galle.

Catering to the emerging need to support the children of working parents, the Methodist Church founded day care centers and nurseries in Welimada, Moratumulla, Angulana, Panadura, and Maradana.

Young girls travelling into cities for higher education and employment lacked safe accommodation, and so, with the support of local churches, women's hostels were set up in Colombo, Maradana, Moor Road, Badulla, and Katunayake.

Elders' homes, for the support of the aged, were established in Badulla, Wellawatte, Moratumulla, and Putter, and cared for by the Methodist Women’s Fellowship.

Upon its signing, the President of the British Conference said “I declare the Methodist Church of Ceylon to be now inaugurated for the purpose of witnessing to the good news of Jesus Christ and spreading of Scriptural Holiness throughout the land and to the ends of the earth.” He then inducted Rev.

The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka celebrated its bicentenary on 29 June 2014 with a National Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour.