What We Believe

As United Methodist Christians, we are part of the universal church of Jesus Christ.  We share much in common with other denominations and expressions of the Christian faith, such as:

  • The Trinity of God: One God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • The authority of the Bible as the supreme source for guiding our faith and practice.
  • Salvation is God’s free gift and only by trusting in Jesus Christ can we be saved from sin.
  • We were created to live with God eternally.

So, what is unique and defining about the United Methodist Church?

We begin with grace …

God reaches out to us before we can understand, recognize, or earn God’s favor.  God is at work in our lives from before our birth, moving us to a deeper relationship throughout our lives.  Baptism is the sign of the promise of God’s grace before we can do anything to try to earn it, so we practice baptism of persons of any age, including infants and children.  Our Communion table is open to all, a sign of God’s inviting grace to all who need mercy and forgiveness.  We begin with God’s gift to us!

We respond to God’s gift with a life of discipleship …

We believe that in response to God’s gift of grace we are invited to give our lives back to God, who will transform us more and more into the likeness of Christ.  You will find a diversity of theological views in our church, but on the essentials we are in unity.  We are bound together by our desire to show the world Christ through our lives as Christians and through living in community.

We are a worshiping people …

Nothing that we do together is more important than corporate worship.  We worship in joyful and meaningful ways.  With God as our audience, we bring our best praise each week to show our gratitude and to be transformed by God’s promised presence.  We offer two weekly Sunday morning services (8:30 and 10:50 a.m.) as well as special services throughout the year (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, etc.)

We are a growing people …

We invite people to grow in their understanding and deepen their faith in community.  We never stop learning and growing, and we are never afraid to ask the hard questions.  We look to Scripture as the foundation of our Christian faith, and desire to open ourselves up to God’s Word revealed through Scripture.  We know that the best way to grow in our faith is to be a part of a small group (Sunday School class, Bible study, etc.) so we urge everyone to find a small group to belong to.

We are a serving people …

We know that if God changes us on the inside, it will show on the outside. We are a people whose founder, John Wesley, claimed that “the world is our parish.”  We do not isolate ourselves from the world, but are fully engaged in “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” (the mission of the UMC).  We know that our faith is both personal and social, intended to show the world the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.  So we reach out in many ways in mission, service, evangelism, and care.  We expect all of our members to use their gifts and talents to be engaged in serving others and offer a number of opportunities to serve.

We are a loving people …

Despite, or maybe because of our diversity, our love of each other gives the world a glimpse into God’s kingdom.  We would love to have you come be a part of our community of faith as we journey together into God’s future for us. 

Worship – Grow – Serve