Who We Are

Our Statement of Faith

As a church grounded in the historic faith of the Wesleyan tradition, we joyfully affirm the following essential doctrines, drawn from the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church (1784) and the Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1946), united in spirit and substance to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.[i]

The Triune God

We believe in one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, infinite in power, wisdom, and goodness; the Creator and Preserver of all things. In the unity of this Godhead, there are three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.[ii]

Jesus Christ: Fully God and Fully Man

We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who is truly God and truly man. For us and for our salvation, He lived a sinless life, was crucified, died, and buried. On the third day, He rose again, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and will return to judge the living and the dead.[iii]

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers all who believe in Jesus Christ. The Spirit lives in every believer and is active in the Church and the world.[iv]

The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God and contain all things necessary to salvation. They are the final authority for faith and practice, and through them, God still speaks today.[v]

The Fall of Humanity and the Need for Salvation

We believe that all people are born with a sinful nature and are in need of redemption. Through the fall of Adam and Eve, humanity became estranged from God, inclined toward evil, and without divine grace cannot turn to God or perform righteous acts.[vi]

Justification and New Birth

We believe we are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Justification is the gracious and judicial act of God by which He grants full pardon of all guilt and acceptance as righteous to all who believe. At the same time, we are born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and begin a new life as children of God.[vii]

Sanctification and Christian Perfection

We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which we are cleansed from sin and enabled to love God and neighbor with a whole heart. Christian perfection is the process and goal of becoming entirely sanctified in love, not by our strength, but by God’s transforming grace.[viii]

The Church

We believe the Church is the body of Christ, the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It exists to worship God, proclaim the Gospel, administer the sacraments, nurture believers, and serve the world in love. The Church is called to unity, holiness, and mission.[ix]

The Sacraments

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are sacraments ordained by Christ.

Baptism is the outward sign of the new birth and initiation into the Church. It may be administered to persons of any age.
The Lord’s Supper is a means of grace through which Christ is spiritually present, and believers are nourished in their faith.[x]

Free Will and Grace

We believe that although we are fallen, by the prevenient grace of God we are given the freedom to respond to His call. God’s grace goes before, enables faith, justifies, and sanctifies. Grace is resistible but sufficient for salvation.[xi]

Good Works

We believe that good works are the fruit of faith and the evidence of a living relationship with God. While they cannot earn salvation, they are pleasing to God and flow naturally from a heart transformed by grace.[xii]

The Judgment and the Life to Come

We believe that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. The righteous will enter into eternal life with God, while the unrepentant will be separated from Him forever. We believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.[xiii]

The Christian Life and Responsibility

We believe every believer is called to a life of holiness, prayer, worship, witness, and service. The Church is called to address personal, social, and global issues with compassion and justice, living as a faithful witness to the Kingdom of God.[xiv]

Our faith is rooted in the past, relevant to the present, and oriented toward the future hope we have in Christ.
We are a people called to love God wholeheartedly, to love one another deeply, and to live as a radiant bride prepared for the return of our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

[i] The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church and The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren are the official doctrinal statements of the United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church was formed with the merger of these two bodies in 1968. If you would like to read the complete text of these historic statements of belief, please go to https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion and https://www.umc.org/en/content/confession-of-faith. This summery is an attempt to convey what we believe as a church in a more easily to read and understand way. This is in no way a replacement for our official doctrinal statements.

[ii] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article I – Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. EUB Confession of Faith: Article I – God. Scripture: Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:4

[iii] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article II – Of the Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man. EUB Confession of Faith: Article II – Jesus Christ. Scripture: John 1:1–14; Philippians 2:5–11; Acts 1:9–11; Hebrews 4:15

[iv] Methodist Articles of Religion: Implied in Article I (Trinity) and in Article XX – Of the One Oblation of Christ. EUB Confession of Faith: Article III – The Holy Spirit. Scripture: John 14:16–17; John 16:7–15; Romans 8:9–11; Acts 1:8

[v] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article V – Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation. EUB Confession of Faith: Article IV – The Holy Bible. Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 119:105

[vi] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article VII – Of Original or Birth Sin. EUB Confession of Faith: Article VI – The Church and Sin. Scripture: Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12–21; Ephesians 2:1–3

[vii] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article IX – Of the Justification of Man; Article XVII – Of Baptism. EUB Confession of Faith: Article VII – Justification and Regeneration. Scripture: Romans 5:1; John 3:3–8; Titus 3:5–7; Ephesians 2:8–9

[viii] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article XI – Of the Justification of Man; Article XII – Of Sin After Justification. EUB Confession of Faith: Article VIII – Sanctification and Christian Perfection. Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 12:14; 1 John 1:7; Matthew 5:48

[ix] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article XIII – Of the Church. EUB Confession of Faith: Article V – The Church. Scripture: Ephesians 1:22–23; Acts 2:42–47; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27

[x] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article XVI – Of the Sacraments; Articles XVII & XVIII – Of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. EUB Confession of Faith: Article IX – The Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Scripture: Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26

[xi] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article VIII – Of Free Will; Article X – Of Good Works. EUB Confession of Faith: Article X – Free Will and Grace. Scripture: Titus 2:11; John 6:44; Romans 6:15–23; Ephesians 2:4–10

[xii] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article X – Of Good Works. EUB Confession of Faith: Article XI – Good Works. Scripture: James 2:14–26; Matthew 5:16; Titus 3:8

[xiii] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article III – Of the Resurrection of Christ; Article XIV – Of Purgatory (denies it). EUB Confession of Faith: Article XII – Judgment and Future State. Scripture: Matthew 25:31–46; Revelation 20:11–15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

[xiv] Methodist Articles of Religion: Article XXIII – Of the Duty of Christians to the Civil Authority. EUB Confession of Faith: Article XIII – Public Worship; Article XIV – The Christian and Property; Article XV – Civil Government. Scripture: Micah 6:8; Romans 12:1–2; Matthew 28:18–20; James 1:27