Our Beliefs

Common Christian Heritage


1. We believe that God created us to live in covenant with God.  As sinful creatures, we have broken this covenant and have become estranged from God.  But, because God truly loves us, God acted through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bring us salvation and the hope of eternal life.


2. God's love comes alive in us by the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit works both in our personal experience and within the life of the church.


3. We are part of Christ's universal church.  We enter the church through baptism.  In Holy Communion, we celebrate the presence of Christ and find strength to live as disciples.


4. We believe that the reign of God is both a present and future reality.  This prospect gives us hope in our present actions.


5. We believe that the Scriptures contain everything necessary for salvation.  We believe in justification by grace through faith in Christ and in general ministry of all Christians.


6. We believe that the church is one in Jesus Christ.  We express our unity in hymns and liturgy and the historic creeds, and in the belief in one holy, catholic and apostolic church.

Our Methodist Heritage


As United Methodists, however, we do have distinctive emphases on:


Prevenient Grace: God's love surrounds us, even before we are aware of it.  It leads us to want to please God, to discover God's will and to an awareness of our sin.


Justification & Assurance: God reaches out to the repentant believer with accepting and pardoning love.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are justified - forgiven and restored to God's favor.  This experience of conversion can be sudden and dramatic, or gradual.  Wesleyan theology emphasizes that we can know we are saved.


Sanctification & Perfection: God's sanctifying grace helps us to grow more loving toward God and our neighbors, drawing us toward God's gift of Christian perfection - being perfect in love.


Faith & Good Works: Faith in God's redeeming work in Jesus Christ is the only response to God's love we need.  However, we express our salvation in good works - sharing God's love with others.


Mission & Service: Salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world.  Personal religion, evangelical witness and social action go hand-in-hand and build on each other.


Nature & Mission of the Church: The church nurtures our personal faith and equips us for mission and service in the world.


General Rules


As United Methodists, we always strive to live by our General Rules:

1. Do no harm; avoid evil of every kind.


2. Do all the good you can, as far as possible, to all persons.


3. Attend the ordinances of God:

• Public worship

•The ministry of the Word

•The Lord's Supper

•Family and private prayer

•Searching the Scriptures

•Fasting or abstinence


 More information on our beliefs.





We share a common heritage with Christians of every age and nation:


1. We believe that God created us to live in covenant with God.  As sinful creatures, we have broken this covenant and have become estranged from God.  But, because God truly loves us, God acted through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bring us salvation and the hope of eternal life.


2. God's love comes alive in us by the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit works both in our personal experience and within the life of the church.


3. We are part of Christ's universal church.  We enter the church through baptism.  In Holy Communion, we celebrate the presence of Christ and find strength to live as disciples.


4. We believe that the reign of God is both a present and future reality.  This prospect gives us hope in our present actions.


5. We believe that the Scriptures contain everything necessary for salvation.  We believe in justification by grace through faith in Christ and in general ministry of all Christians.


6. We believe that the church is one in Jesus Christ.  We express our unity in hymns and liturgy and the historic creeds, and in the belief in one holy, catholic and apostolic church.


The Cross and Flame is a registered trademark and the use is supervised by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church. Permission to use the Cross and Flame must be obtained from the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church: Legal Department, GCFA, Post Office Box 340029, Nashville, TN 37203-0029, Phone: 615-369-2334, Fax: 615-369-2330