What does the Methodist Church Believe?
Trinity
We describe God in three persons. 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. God We believe in one God, who created the world and all that is in it. We believe that God is sovereign; that is, God is the ruler of the universe. We believe that God is loving. We can experience God’s love and grace. Jesus We believe that Jesus was human. He lived as a man and died when he was crucified. We believe that Jesus is divine. He is the Son of God. We believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that the risen Christ lives today. We believe that Jesus is our Savior. In 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. The Holy Spirit 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 and empowers us to live obediently. Human Beings 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 in order to be fully human. The Church We believe that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world today. We believe that the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We believe that the church is “the communion of saints,” a community made up of all past, present, and future disciples of Christ. We believe that the church is called to worship God and to support those who participate in its life as they grow in faith. The Bible 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 Christians need to know and study the Old Testament and the New Testament The Reign of God We believe that the kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and future hope. We believe that wherever God's will is done, the kingdom or reign of God is present. It was present in Jesus' ministry, and it is also present in our world whenever persons and communities experience reconciliation, restoration, and healing. We believe that although the fulfillment of God's kingdom--the complete restoration of creation--is still to come. We believe that the church is called to be both witness to the vision of what God's kingdom will be like and a participant in helping to bring it to completion. We believe that the reign of God is both personal and social. Personally, we display the kingdom of God as our hearts and minds are transformed and we become more Christ-like. Socially, God's vision for the kingdom includes the restoration and transformation of all of creation. Sacraments With many other Protestants, we recognize the two sacraments in which Christ himself participated: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism Through baptism we are joined with the church and with Christians everywhere. Baptism is a symbol of new life and a sign of God's love and forgiveness of our sins. Persons of any age can be baptized. We baptize by sprinkling, immersion or pouring. A person receives the sacrament of baptism only once in his or her life. The Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper is a holy meal of bread and wine that symbolizes the body and blood of Christ. The Lord's Supper recalls the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and celebrates the unity of all the members of God's family. By sharing this meal, we give thanks for Christ's sacrifice and are nourished and empowered to go into the world in mission and ministry. We practice "open Communion," welcoming all who love Christ, repent of their sin, and seek to live in peace with one another. |
Mission Statement of NWUMC
As Christ commanded His church to “Go and make disciples” has not changed over the last 2000 years, our mission is a simple one… Obey. As NWUMC moves forward and steps into this task, we do so with a clear process: KNOW, SERVE, MAKE, and most importantly… do it all TOGETHER as the body of Christ.
KNOW: John 17:3 states “And this is eternal life, that they may know YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”. Our mission starts with helping people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9), and accepting through Grace His gift of salvation. Knowing does not stop there. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”, and In Jeremiah 9:23-24, the prophet encourages us to “have the understand to know me, that I am the Lord…”. We are not just to know about Jesus, but have a trust and understanding in His Lordship in our lives. When we know, understand, and trust, the last part is found in I John 2:3-6 which tells us “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked”. Obedience is the product of knowing salvation through Christ, and understanding and trusting the Lordship of Christ in our lives. SERVE: The Scriptures are full of commands to serve. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 we are commanded: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?”, and in Joshua 22:5: “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”. Again in Matthew 22:37-40, all the commands of the Old Testament are summed up in what is called the great commandment: And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Through Scripture, we see not only that we are to be about serving Christ, but we are to be doing so wholeheartedly. Living, loving, proclaiming, working… and so much more. Paul leaves us with this encouragement for serving Christ in Romans 12:11: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord”. May we serve wholeheartedly and with great zeal! MAKE DISCIPLES: Jesus began to make disciples with a simple statement “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19). He took everyday people and modeled, taught, and struggled to develop them… to reproduce himself in them. He shared his life with them. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20, as it was to those first “fishers of men”, is every disciplemakers mandate: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We are to share Christ in our lives with others. Some days we may feel like unworthy fishermen, or unwanted tax collectors, but we are HIS. John 8:31 and 13:35 remind us that “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,” and “all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Our love for one another and work to share that love and salvation with those around us is what we are called to do. In Acts 8:30-31 we see this in action: “So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Philip shared what he knew, his life in Christ, and then invited the Eunuch to go deeper, past learning to Understanding! TOGETHER: We can know Jesus, individually serve Jesus, and even work hard on our own to make disciples… but that is not what the CHURCH is designed to do… we are designed to work TOGETHER! I Peter 4:8 encourages is to “keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins”. In Acts 2:43-47we read that “all the believers were together and had everything in common”. There was great unity in their togetherness. In Psalm 133:1 we read “How god and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” InColossians 2:2 and 3:14 we read “that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,” and “over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”. The work of the Great Commission to make disciples cannot be done individually, nor was it designed to! We are reminded inEcclesiastes 4:9-10: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” |
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