What Methodists Believe

I thought it might be good for us to remind ourselves of the basic affirmations of our faith as United Methodists.

Core Methodists Beliefs

• We confess belief in the triune God – the Father creator of all that is, the Son our redeemer, and the Holy Spirit who sustains us.
• We believe that Jesus Christ is the fullest revelation of God.
• As sinful creatures, we have become estranged from God, wounded ourselves and one another, and wreaked havoc throughout the natural order. We stand in need of redemption.
• We hold in common with all Christians a faith in the mystery of salvation in and through Jesus Christ.
• Through faith in Jesus Christ we are forgiven, reconciled to God, and transformed as people who are part of God’s chosen people.
• We share the Christian belief that God’s redemptive love is realized in human life by the activity of the Holy Spirit, both in personal experience and in the community of believers. This community is the church, which the Spirit has brought into existence for the healing of the nations.
• We understand ourselves to be part of Christ’s universal church when by adoration, proclamation, and service we become conformed to Christ. We are welcomed and incorporated into this community of faith by baptism, receiving the promise of the Spirit that re-creates and transforms us. Through the regular celebration of Holy Communion, we participate in the risen presence of Jesus Christ and are thereby nourished for faithful discipleship.
• With other Christians we recognize that the reign of God is both a present and future reality.
• The church is called to be that place where the first signs of the reign of God are identified and acknowledged in the world.
• We look to the end time in which God’s work will be fulfilled.
• We recognize the authority of Scripture in matters of faith, the confession that our justification as sinners is by grace through faith, and recognize the church is in need of continual reformation and renewal.
• We affirm the general ministry of all baptized Christians who share responsibility for building up the church and reaching out in mission and service to the world.

As we think about our church and our place in God’s creation I pray we will keep these affirmations at the forefront of our thinking.

Pastor Hoyt