We Believe...
Christian Faith in the United Methodist Tradition
We believe that God is understood in three distinct forms. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are commonly used to refer to the threefold nature of God. Sometimes we use other terms, such as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
We believe in one God, who created and is creating the world and all that is in it. We believe that God is loving. We can experience God’s love and grace. We believe that God is sovereign, that is, God is the ruler of the universe.
We believe that Jesus was human and divine. Jesus lived as a man and died when he was crucified. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God raised Jesus from the dead and that the risen Christ lives today. We believe that Jesus is our Savior. In Jesus Christ we receive abundant life and forgiveness of sins. We believe that Jesus is our Lord and that we are called to pattern our lives after his.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God with us. We believe that the Holy Spirit comforts us when we are in need and convicts us when we stray from God. We believe that the Holy Spirit awakens us to God’s will for our live and empowers us to live in the vision God has for us.
We believe that God created human beings in God’s image. We believe that humans can choose to accept or reject a relationship with God. We believe that all humans need to be in relationship with God to be fully human.
We believe that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Jesus’ life and ministry in the world today. We believe that the mission of the church is to help people to follow Jesus (make disciples) for the transformation of the world. We believe that the church is “the communion of saints” a community made up of the past, present, and future disciples of Jesus. We believe that the church is called to worship God and to support those who participate in its life as they 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 and practice. We believe that the Christians need to know and study the Scriptures, Old Testament, and the New Testament (Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Scriptures).
