"One day the apostles said to the Lord, 

'We need more faith, tell us how to get it'."

Luke 17:5

As United Methodists, we have a common heritage with all Christians because we share the following basic affirmations:

 

We describe God as three persons:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three names all refer to one God whose nature is 3-fold.

We believe in one God, who created the world and all that is in it.

We believe that God is sovereign and the ruler of the universe.

We believe that God is love, and that we can experience His love, grace and mercy.

We believe that Jesus was human.  He walked on Earth as a man and He died when He was crucified.

We believe that Jesus is divine.  He is the one and only Son of God.

We believe that Jesus was raised from the dead by God and that the risen Christ lives today.

We believe that Jesus is our Savior who gives us life abundantly and forgives our sin.

We believe that Jesus is our Lord who gave us the pattern for life.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God with us

We believe that the Holy Spirit comforts us when needed and convicts us when we wander away from God.

We believe that the Holy Spirit empowers us to live in obedience to God's will.

 

We believe that God created humanity in His image.

We believe that every human has the free will to accept or reject God and the relationship He desires with us.

We believe that in order to be fully human each one needs to be in relationship with God.

 

We believe that the church is the Body of Christ.  Each member has an important part to fill as an extension of Jesus' ministry today.

We believe that the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

We believe that the church is called to worship God and to support those who participate in its life as they are equipped and encouraged to grow in their faith.

 

We believe that the Bible is God's Word.

We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith.

We believe that each Christian needs to know the Bible through studying the Old and New Testaments.

 

Along with other Protestant faith traditions, we recognize two sacraments as means of grace in which Jesus Himself participated:  Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

 

We believe that Baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.  It is a symbol of new life and a sign of God's love and forgiveness of our sin.

We believe that Baptism joins us with the church and with Christians everywhere.  We recognize the baptism of other denominations as God's action.

We believe that Baptism can be valid by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.  The amount of water involved does not correlate to God's grace.

We believe that the Sacrament of Baptism is forever and needs to be performed only once in each life because God is the one Who is baptizing.  He will not remove His grace and forgiveness.  

We believe that any age can be baptized, because God is the one who is intiating the covenant.  The United Methodist Church offers a "Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows", which implies that although we are not always faithful to our promises, God remains constant in His part of the covenant.

We believe that the holy meal of bread and juice symbolize the Body and Blood of Christ.

We believe that the Lord's Supper recalls the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and celebrates the unity of all Christians everywhere.

We believe that when we share this meal, we thank God for Jesus' sacrifice and we are empowered to share the Gospel in mission and in ministry.

We believe that all who love Jesus, repent of their sin, and seek to live in peace with one another are welcome to participate in the Lord's Supper.

For more details on our faith and our beliefs, go to: