We share the unifying and orthodox beliefs expressed in Apostles Creed.
https://www.umc.org/en/content/apostles-creed-traditional-ecumenical
We hold to the Articles of Religion and Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.
https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion
God
There is but one God, living and eternal, who is creator and preserver of all there is. God is love. God is unlimited in power, wisdom, and goodness and is always present everywhere. God is one but is experienced by us as three persons in relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians call this relationship of three-in-one “the Trinity.”
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, the Word made flesh, a human being in whom God chose to live on earth for a short time among God’s people. The eternal Christ is equal in every way to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus was nailed to a cross and died, but God raised him from the dead on the third day to show the world God’s power over sin and death. The risen Christ is with God as ruler of the universe and is with us continually through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us for guidance, comfort, and strength. The Holy Spirit lives in each person as God’s gift. By grace we become aware of the Spirit’s presence in our lives, and we begin our journey of faith. The Holy Spirit empowers us for the task of ministry to the world as our ministry is discerned by us on our faith journey.
The Bible
We believe the collective and canonized Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Living Word of God given to us as a guide to salvation and a life of Holiness.
We believe that different understandings and interpretations of the Bible and the tenants of the faith are welcome and accepted, and that disagreements should never result in division. Scripture is our primary source of knowledge of the good news of Jesus Christ on which we base our faith and by which we practice our daily lives. While Scripture is primary, we are also guided by the tradition of the church, by reason (ours and others’), and by experience (ours and others’).
Grace
Grace is God’s free gift of love to all persons. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love; it is by faith that we are able to accept God’s gift. This acceptance is called “justification by faith.” We, then, are by grace what Christ was by nature, children of God. God’s grace is present to us in three ways: Prevenient grace – God’s grace that goes before us, that was and has always been there, even before we knew that there was such a thing as grace. Justifying grace – God’s grace that is with us when we come to accept Christ as Savior — God’s saving grace, saving us from the power of sin and evil in our lives and enabling us to experience wholeness (the person God had in mind when God first thought of us). Sanctifying grace – God’s grace that is our companion all along our faith journey. God’s love never leaves us as we seek to perfect our lives in love for God, ourselves, others, and the world.
Resurrection of the Body
Human beings were created to have eternal life. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day; he appeared in his actual body to many, and he ascended in his body to be with God in heaven. Therefore, we expect to be raised from the dead on the last day to live forever with God in the bodies God has prepared for us. This is a great mystery.
Sacraments
We celebrate two sacraments given to the church by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion (also known as the Eucharist) and Baptism. A sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace” in which God is present and at work in the persons taking the sacrament. It is not the ritual at work; it is God at work.
Holy Communion
Jesus, at the last supper he had with his disciples, gave us a way to “remember him until his coming again.” In the Lord’s Supper, which is open to all persons, we eat bread and drink wine as symbols of Christ’s body broken for us (you and me) and Christ’s blood poured out for us (you and me) and for the world.
Baptism
Baptism is the sacramental symbol of a person becoming a member of the Body of Christ. We baptize by liturgically placing water on the head but we also baptize by pouring or immersion as a person desires. Infants and children who are baptized are asked to confirm their baptisms when they reach the age of being able to understand and profess for themselves their faith in Christ. We accept baptism from other church rituals and do not advocate being re-baptized.
The Church
The Church is the body of believers and seekers, wherever they may be, gathered together for worship, fellowship, discipleship, in order to scatter into the world to minister to the needs of people and declare to the world the good news of Jesus Christ by words and actions. The people of the church make up the members of “the Body of Christ.” We ask that everyone take vows of church membership.
Freedom
God in His infinite wisdom created human beings in God’s image. Therefore, human beings are endowed with a will, which they may exercise for good or evil. As creatures with free will, we may do God’s will or act against God’s will, yet God never stops loving us.
Relationship Not Religion
Regardless of your ethnicity, race, denominational affiliation or religious background, we believe the more important thing is to grow in your personal relationship with God.
