What We Believe

United Methodists trust Jesus Christ for salvation, believe in the Holy Trinity, and look to the Bible for guidance in faith and life. What makes us distinctly United Methodist is our Wesleyan heritage — a vision of faith that is both deeply personal and actively engaged in the world.

Methodism began as an evangelical renewal movement within the Church of England. John and Charles Wesley, its founders, sought to spread “scriptural holiness” — a life shaped entirely by love of God and love of neighbor. For Wesley, holiness was not a list of rules but love itself, lived out in every corner of life. Wesleyan doctrine and practice intends to reveal and spread God’s love through the lives of people. That same vision guides us today.

The United Methodist Church is an ecumenical denomination. We affirm the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed — historic declarations of Christian faith that provide shape and boundaries for worship and teaching. They are used in worship in response to the proclamation of the Word, as a way for congregations to affirm the teachings of the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

Grace is given by God and is present in all creation. Grace awakens our longing for deliverance from sin and death, and moves us toward repentance and faith. John Wesley described the dynamic of grace in three forms:

  • Prevenient Grace
    God is at work in your life before you are even aware of it. Before we ever turn toward God, God is already reaching toward us — through people, relationships, and the quiet stirrings of the heart. Prevenient grace is God’s love working for us before we are aware of God’s love and acceptance.
  • Justifying Grace
    When we respond to God in repentance and faith, God meets us with forgiveness and new life. We don’t have to justify ourselves to God — God gives us an accepting and pardoning love with assurance of forgiveness through the prompting of this grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We become new creatures in Christ. Conversion may be sudden or gradual, but it is always part of an ongoing process.
  • Sanctifying Grace
    Salvation is not just a moment — it is a lifelong process. John Wesley taught that sanctification begins at the very moment of justification. Through sanctification, we are born again, born from above, born of the Spirit. Sanctification is God working with us by the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about a real change of heart.

Wesley advocated practicing what he called the means of grace — disciplines that open us to God’s transforming work and lead us into a deeper relationship with Christ. He divided these into two categories:

  • Works of Piety — practices that deepen our love for God:
  • Public worship
  • Ministry of the Word
  • Holy Communion
  • Prayer
  • Searching the Scriptures
  • Fasting and abstinence
  • Christian conferencing
  • Works of Mercy — practices that express our love for neighbor:
  • Feeding the hungry
  • Clothing those in need
  • Helping the sick
  • Helping prisoners
  • Welcoming strangers
  • Bearing witness to Jesus Christ

One can visualize these as forming the vertical and horizontal beams of a cross. Works of piety are directed toward God (vertically); works of mercy are directed toward our neighbors (horizontally). Both are rooted in love and are our means of grace.
Faith and good works both play a part in our Christian story. God’s grace and human activity work together. Faith shows itself in the call we feel to God’s work in the world and to the good we do for others. We respond to God’s love and grace by sharing love and grace with others.

Service and nurturing the mission of the church remain pivotal parts of our experience with God. Love of God always links with love of neighbor, a passion for justice, and renewal in the life of the world. The church’s nurturing fellowship promotes personal growth, but also equips and mobilizes us for mission and service to the world.

The Book of Discipline is the official book of law and order of the United Methodist Church, approved by the General Conference. Within its pages you will find the Constitution, statements of belief, official positions on social issues, and rules for the organization of the church. It contains sections on church history, teachings, beliefs, and social principles, and remains the most definitive resource about who we are as a denomination.

John Wesley struck a careful balance in matters of doctrine and belief, adopting a theological method consisting of four sources — often referred to today as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral:

• Scripture — the primary authority, in which the living core of Christian faith is revealed
• Tradition — the wisdom of the historic Christian church, which illuminates Scripture
• Experience — the living reality of God in our own lives, which gives faith vitality
• Reason — the God-given capacity to think carefully about faith, which confirms what we believe

Wesley also gave early Methodists three simple rules for living the Christian life, still found in our Book of Discipline today:

  1. Do no harm, and avoid evil of every kind.
  2. Do good of every possible sort and as far as possible to all.
  3. Attend upon all the ordinances of God.

United Methodists historically live out their love for God in the world by participating in the struggle for compassion and justice for all people. Early Methodists expressed their opposition to the slave trade, to smuggling, and to the cruel treatment of prisoners. That same spirit of engaged, compassionate faith continues to shape who we are today.

The Social Principles are a prayerful and thoughtful effort of the General Conference to speak to issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation. They are intended to guide the church’s witness, teaching, and engagement with the world as an expression of Christian discipleship.

  • Community of All Creation: United Methodists affirm that all creation belongs to God and that we are responsible for how we care for and steward the natural world.
  • The Economic Community: United Methodists understand all that we are and all that we possess as gifts from God, and seek economic systems that honor human dignity and justice.
  • The Social Community: United Methodists affirm that human beings are created for relationship with God and with one another.
  • The Political Community: United Methodists support structures in church and society that protect basic freedoms, uphold human rights, and care for God’s creation.

No one should be excluded from church membership or leadership responsibilities because of gender or race. United Methodists believe Christ ordained two Sacraments as signs and pledges of God’s love for humanity: Baptism and Holy Communion.

Baptism is the initiation rite for being incorporated into the body of Christ, the church. Through baptism — whether of infant, child, or adult — a person becomes a member of the universal Church, the United Methodist denomination, and the local congregation.

  • What Baptism Means: The baptizing of a person is a sign of God’s saving grace — grace that God bestows upon us before we have done anything. In infant baptism, parents or sponsors pledge to bring children up in the Christian faith, teach them the Holy Scriptures, and keep them under the ministry and guidance of the church.
  • Confirmation: When children reach the age of confirmation (around 5th grade), they affirm the vows made on their behalf at their baptism. They acknowledge the claim Christ has upon their life, professing their faith and their intent to live as Christian disciples. In baptizing infants, we remember the baptism of Jesus — in which he was affirmed as God’s own Son. Likewise, we affirm that all people are children of God.
  • Other Traditions: The United Methodist Church does not re-baptize people who come from another Christian tradition. We honor and respect a person’s earlier baptism.

Holy Communion is the other Sacrament of the United Methodist Church. United Methodists practice open Communion — all people are welcome to participate in the meal regardless of their denomination or congregation. Christ himself hosts the meal and invites all who love him, or who desire to, to participate.

During Holy Communion, the elements of bread and wine or grape juice are administered. Just as we understand Communion to be a sign of God’s grace, we understand the bread and cup to be symbols of the body and blood of Christ. Communion may be served weekly, monthly, or quarterly.