Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. That’s the message of The United Methodist Church.
The following is taken from the official web site of The United Methodist Church, www.umc.org.1
The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.2 There are four ways we make disciples:
- We reach out to people and welcome them into the church,
- We relate people to God and help them deepen their relationship with God,
- We nurture people in Christian living, and
- We support people in their ministry.
Discipleship focuses on actively following in the footsteps of Jesus. Because of what God has done for us, we offer our lives back to God.
Discipleship is about loving God. It is more than an acknowledgement of God’s existence or a statement of belief regarding God. It is total devotion. It is the deep desire to know God, to be one with God, and to worship God.
Beliefs
We share the following basic affirmations in common with all Christian communities:3
- The Trinity
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit represent the threefold nature of God. - God
We believe in one God, and He created the world and all that is a part of it. God is the ruler of our universe. We believe God is loving, and we can experience His love and grace. - Jesus
United Methodists believe that Jesus was human. He lived as a man and died when he was crucified. He is the Son of God, and God raised Jesus from the dead. The risen Christ lives today. He is our Savior, and through Him we receive abundant life and forgiveness of sins. Jesus is our Lord and we are called to pattern our lives after his. - The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God with us. 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 and empowers us to live obediently.
1 Please visit www.umc.org for more information about The United Methodist Church.
2 The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2004
3 What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Theology
