Francis Asbury was a British-American Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ministry, traveling on horseback and by carriage thousands of miles to those living on the frontier.

A bishop is a senior role in many Methodist denominations. The bishop's role is typically called the "episcopacy", based on the Greek word episkopos (επισκοπος), which literally means overseer. Superintendent is another translation of episkopos but in most Methodist denominations this is a role distinct from bishop. The first Methodist bishops were appointed in America, and many Methodist denominations, such as the Free Methodist Church, recognize the office of bishop. Others, such as the Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, do not have bishops.