Our Christian Roots
Methodists share a common heritage with all Christians. According to our foundational statement of beliefs in The Book of Discipline, we share the following basic affirmations in common with all Christian communities:
- God, who is one, is revealed in three distinct persons.
- We believe in the mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ. God became human in Jesus of Nazareth; and his life, death and resurrection demonstrates God's redeeming love.
- The Holy Spirit is God's present activity in our midst. When we sense God's leading, God's challenge, or God's support or comfort, it's the Holy Spirit at work.
- Genesis 1:27 asserts that Human beings have been made in the image of the Creator. Like God we have the capacity to love and care, to communicate, and to create.
- The church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world today.
- We believe that the Bible is God’s Word and is the primary authority for our faith and practice.
- The kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and future hope.
Our Wesleyan Heritage
Methodists trace our heritage back to a pair of brothers who started the Methodist movement in 1700s England. John and Charles Wesley, helped lead a movement to "spread Scriptural holiness over the land."
Faith and Good Works
Methodists insist that faith and good works belong together. What we believe must be confirmed by what we do. Personal salvation must be expressed in ministry and mission in the world.
Learn MoreMission and Service
Because of what God has done for us, we offer our lives back to God through a life of service. As disciples, we become active participants in God’s activity in the world through mission and service.
Learn MoreNurture and Mission
One cannot be a solitary Christian. For Wesley, there was no religion but social religion, no holiness but social holiness. In other words, faith always includes a social dimension.
Learn MoreDistinctive Emphases
Wesley and the early Methodists were particularly concerned about inviting people to experience God’s grace and to grow in their knowledge and love of God through disciplined Christian living.
Learn MoreGrace
Grace is central to our understanding of Christian faith and life. Grace can be defined as the love and mercy given to us by God because God wants us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.
Learn MoreConversion
This process of salvation involves a change in us - a conversion. Conversion is a turning around, leaving one orientation for another, it’s a new beginning. It may be sudden and dramatic, or gradual and cumulative.
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