What We Believe

United Methodists share a common heritage with all Christians. According to our foundational statement of beliefs in The Book of Discipline, we share the following basic affirmations in common with all Christian communities:

God, the Father

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. He is all powerful, all knowing, ever present, unchanging, completely worthy of our trust, and above all, Holy. It is in Him that we live, move and exist. God is good. He is our Father. He is loving, compassionate and faithful to His people and His promises.

Jesus, the Son

Jesus Christ is completely human but, at the same time, completely God. He is the only plan for bringing people who are far from God back into a right relationship with God. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days, demonstrating His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven where He is the only Mediator between God and people. He will return again to earth and will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He convicts people of their sin, God’s righteousness and the coming judgment. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides us with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right.

The Bible

We say that God speaks to us through the Bible, that it's God's Word. This authority derives from three sources:

·         We hold that the writers of the Bible were inspired, that they were filled with God's Spirit as they wrote the truth to the best of their knowledge.

·         We hold that God was at work in the process of canonization, during which only the most faithful and useful books were adopted as Scripture.

·         We hold that the Holy Spirit works today in our thoughtful study of the Scriptures, especially as we study them together, seeking to relate the old words to life's present realities.

The Bible's authority is, therefore, nothing magical. For example, we do not open the text at random to discover God's will. The authority of Scripture derives from the movement of God's Spirit in times past and in our reading of it today.

Sacraments

With many other Protestants, we recognize the two sacraments in which Christ himself participated: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Baptism

We believe water baptism is a sacrament to be observed by the Church today, a means by which we experience God’s grace tangibly, though not a requisite to salvation. Faith offers baptism in any of three modes of water baptism which have been practiced throughout church history: immersion, pouring, and sprinkling. Because God chooses us once and for all, this is an act that does not need to be repeated. Those that are baptized as children must make the choice to confirm their belief in Christ as they get old enough to understand what that means.

Holy Communion

Communion is an opportunity for us to renew our relationship with Jesus Christ. On His last night before His death, Jesus ate a special meal with His disciples. He charged his church with repeating this meal to remember His sacrifice and celebrate our new life through His death and resurrection. God offers this relationship to everyone, so all who desire to receive are welcome to participate. 

For more information about United Methodist beliefs please visit www.UMC.org