Our History
The United Methodist Church is a Protestant movement and traces its roots back to John Wesley, an Anglican priest in the Church of England in the 1700s. John and his brother, Charles, intended to revitalize the Church of England by forming societies of “Methodists”– so-called because the members followed a daily routine of religious observance and social work. Methodism first spread to Ireland and then to America, where it officially became its denomination in 1784. Today United Methodist membership stands at nearly 10 million worldwide (more than 1 million are outside the United States).
Part of the mark of being a United Methodist is that we hold a wide range of theological beliefs. John Wesley said, “As to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.” But, in general, we agree on the significant aspects of theology. For example, we believe in a Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in God’s love and forgiveness of all people. We believe in the mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ. And we believe in celebrating the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.
For United Methodists, social consciousness has always gone hand in hand with faith. We believe, with John Wesley, “that the world is our parish.” Hence, we support mission and justice work locally, regionally, and around the world. We cherish an ecumenical tradition and seek to work together with other Christian denominations and other religions. We believe in the dignity of each person and the practice of total democracy in our Church’s life.
John Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason. Therefore, United Methodists today follow four main guidelines that help us understand our faith.
Scripture, Tradition, Experience, & Reason:
Scripture – United Methodists share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. Through Scripture, the living Christ meets us in the experience of redeeming grace. We are convinced that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God in our midst whom we trust in life and death.
Traditional – The Church’s story reflects the most basic sense of tradition, the continuing activity of God’s Spirit transforming human life. Tradition is the history of that continuing environment of grace in and by which all Christians live, God’s self-giving love in Jesus Christ. As such, tradition transcends the story of particular traditions.
Experience – Some facets of human experience tax our theological understanding. Many of God’s people live in terror, hunger, loneliness, and degradation. Everyday experiences of birth and death, growth and life in the created world, and an awareness of broader social relations also belong to serious theological reflection. A new understanding of such experiences can inform our appropriation of scriptural truths and sharpen our appreciation of the good news of the kingdom of God.
Reason – Although we recognize that God’s revelation and our experiences of God’s grace continually surpass the scope of human language and reasoning, we also believe that any disciplined theological work calls for the careful use of reason. By reason, we read and interpret Scripture. By reason, we determine whether our Christian witness is clear. By reason, we ask questions of faith and seek to understand God’s action and will.
Our Mission
The Mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.
The Process for Carrying Out Our Mission – We make disciples as we:
proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome, and gather persons into the body of Christ;
– lead persons to commit their lives to God through Baptism by water and the Spirit and profession of faith in Jesus Christ;
– nurture persons in Christian living through worship, the sacraments, spiritual disciplines, and other means of grace, such as Wesley’s Christian conferencing;
– send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being and becoming a compassionate, caring presence, and working to develop social structures that are consistent with the gospel; and
– continue the mission of seeking, welcoming, and gathering persons into the community of the body of Christ.
Our Beliefs
We confess belief in the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with Christians of other communions. This confession embraces the biblical witness to God’s activity in creation, encompasses God’s gracious self-involvement in the dramas of history, and anticipates the consummation of God’s reign. The created order is designed for the well-being of all creatures and as the place of human dwelling in covenant with God. As sinful creatures, however, we have broken that covenant, become estranged from God, wounded ourselves and one another, and wreaked havoc throughout the natural order. We need redemption.
A Triune God – There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in the unity of this Godhead, there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
God the Father – We believe in the one true, holy, and living God, Eternal Spirit, Creator, Sovereign, and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and love and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of men, to the glory of his name. We believe God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.
God the Son – We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and indeed man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering Servant, he lived, suffered, and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him, all men will be judged.
God the Holy Spirit – We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He leads men through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains, and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth.
The Cross – Sin separated all persons from God. Jesus’ death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice, making possible our forgiveness and reconciliation with God. To repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ are the only requirements for receiving that salvation made possible by Jesus’ death.
Sin – Because of rebellion against God going back to Adam, all persons are inclined toward sin and selfishness. Sin means missing the mark of God’s righteousness; it means to be in rebellion against God, to disobey his laws. A person, by the strength of willpower alone, cannot forsake sin and please God. Only through an intervention of God’s grace can a person overcome sin and become part of the Kingdom of God.
Salvation – When a person repents of sin and trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, that person is forgiven of sin and receives the gift of eternal salvation (right relationship with God). The Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person, teaching and equipping them to be a disciple of Christ and confirming that the person is indeed a child of God.
Prevenient Grace – We acknowledge God’s prevenient grace, the divine love surrounding humanity, and precedes any of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God’s will, and our “first slight transient conviction” of having sinned against God. God’s grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.
Justification and Assurance – We believe God reaches out to the repentant believer in justifying grace with accepting and pardoning love. Wesleyan theology stresses that a decisive change in the human heart can and does occur under the prompting of grace and the Holy Spirit’s guidance. In justification, we are, through faith, forgiven our sin and restored to God’s favor. This righting of relationships by God through Christ calls forth our faith and trust as we experience regeneration, by which we are made new creatures in Christ.
This process of justification and new birth is often referred to as conversion. Such a change may be sudden and dramatic or gradual and cumulative. It marks a new beginning, yet it is part of an ongoing process. Christian experience as personal transformation always expresses itself as faith working by love. Our Wesleyan theology also embraces the scriptural promise that we can expect to receive assurance of our present salvation as the Spirit “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
Sanctification and Perfection – We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words, and acts and are enabled to live following God’s will and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Faith and Good Works – We believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow regeneration, but they do not have the virtue of removing our sins or averting divine judgment. We believe good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from true and living faith, for through and by them.
Service to the World – We insist that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. By joining heart and hand, we assert that personal religion, evangelical witness, and Christian social action are reciprocal and mutually reinforcing. Scriptural holiness entails more than personal piety; love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice, and renewal in the world’s life.
Nurturing and Serving of the Church – We emphasize the nurturing and serving function of Christian fellowship in the Church. The worshiping community nourishes the personal experience of faith. For Wesley, there is no religion but social religion, no holiness but social holiness. The communal forms of confidence in the Wesleyan tradition not only promote personal growth; they also equip and mobilize us for mission and service to the world.
The outreach of the church springs from the working of the Spirit. As United Methodists, we respond to that by working through a connectional polity based upon mutual responsiveness and accountability. Connectional ties bind us together in faith and service in our global witness, enabling faith to become active in love and intensifying our desire for peace and justice in the world.
Baptism – Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized, but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. Therefore, the Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.
Communion – The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death; insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ. So likewise, the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ. So the body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith.
Social Justice – The United Methodist Church has a long history of concern for social justice. Its members have often taken forthright positions on controversial issues involving Christian principles. For example, early Methodists expressed their opposition to the slave trade, smuggling, and prisoners’ cruel treatment.
The Social Principles are a prayerful and thoughtful effort on the part of the General Conference to speak to the human issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation as historically demonstrated in United Methodist traditions. They are intended to be instructive and persuasive in the best of the prophetic Spirit. The Social Principles are a call to all members of The United Methodist Church to a prayerful, studied dialogue of faith and practice.
Our Social Creed
We believe in God, Creator of the world, and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.
We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.
We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.
We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to the improvement of the quality of life; and the rights and dignity of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.
We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, the rule of justice and law among nations, and individual freedom for all people worldwide.
We believe in God’s Word’s present and final triumph in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.
The Natural World – All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are helpful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect.
The Nurturing Community – The community provides the potential for nurturing human beings into the fullness of their humanity. We believe we have a responsibility to innovate, sponsor, and evaluate new forms of community that will encourage the development of the fullest potential in individuals. Primary for us is the gospel understanding that all persons are essential—because they are human beings created by God and loved through and by Jesus Christ and not because they have merited significance. We, therefore, support social climates in which human communities are maintained and strengthened for the sake of all persons and their growth. We also encourage all individuals to be sensitive to others by using appropriate language when referring to all persons. Language of a derogatory nature (about race, nationality, ethnic background, gender, sexuality, and physical difference) does not reflect value for one another and contradicts the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Family – We believe the family to be the essential human community through which persons are nurtured and sustained in mutual love, responsibility, respect, and fidelity. We affirm the importance of both fathers and mothers for all children. We also understand the family as encompassing a more comprehensive range of options than the two-generational unit of parents and children (the nuclear family), including the extended family, families with adopted children, single parents, stepfamilies, and couples without children. We affirm shared responsibility for parenting by men and women and encourage social, economic, and religious efforts to maintain and strengthen relationships within families so that every member may be assisted toward complete personhood.
Marriage – We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman. We believe that God’s blessing rests upon such marriage, whether or not there are children of the union. We reject social norms that assume different standards for women than for men in marriage. We support laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Divorce – God’s plan is for lifelong, faithful marriage. The Church must be at the forefront of premarital and postmarital counseling to create and preserve strong marriages. However, when a married couple is estranged beyond reconciliation, divorce is a regrettable alternative amid brokenness even after thoughtful consideration and counsel. We grieve over the devastating emotional, spiritual, and economic consequences of divorce for all involved and are concerned about high divorce rates.
It is recommended that mediation methods minimize the adversarial nature and fault-finding that are often part of our current judicial processes. Although divorce publicly declares that a marriage no longer exists, other covenantal relationships resulting from the marriage remain, such as the nurture and support of children and extended family ties. We urge respectful negotiations in deciding the custody of minor children and support the consideration of either or both parents for this responsibility in that custody not be reduced to financial support, control, or manipulation and retaliation. The welfare of each child is the most crucial consideration. Divorce does not preclude a new marriage. We encourage an intentional commitment of the Church and society to minister compassionately to those in the process of divorce and members of divorced and remarried families in a community of faith where all share God’s grace.
Single Persons – We affirm the integrity of single persons, and we reject all social practices that discriminate or social attitudes that are prejudicial against persons because they are single.
Human Sexuality – We recognize that sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons. We believe persons may be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the Church, and society. We call all persons to the disciplined, responsible fulfillment of themselves, others, and society to stewardship this gift. We also recognize our limited understanding of this complex gift and encourage the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. We call the Church to take the leadership role in bringing together these disciplines to address this most complex issue. Further, within the context of our understanding of this gift of God, we recognize that God challenges us to find responsible, committed, and loving forms of expression.
Although all persons are sexual beings, whether or not they are married, sexual relations are only clearly affirmed in the marriage bond. Sex may become exploitative within as well as outside marriage. We reject all sexual expressions that damage or destroy the humanity God has given us as a birthright, and we affirm only that sexual expression that enhances that same humanity. We believe that sexual relations where one or both partners are exploitative, abusive, or promiscuous are beyond the parameters of acceptable Christian behavior and are ultimately destructive to individuals, families, and the social order.
We deplore all forms of the commercialization and exploitation of sex, with their consequent cheapening and degradation of human personality. We call for strict global enforcement of laws prohibiting children’s sexual exploitation or use by adults and encourage efforts to hold perpetrators legally and financially responsible. We call for adequate protective services, guidance, and counseling opportunities for children thus abused. We insist that all persons, regardless of age, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation, are entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured.
We recognize the continuing need for complete, positive, age-appropriate, and factual sex education opportunities for children, young people, and adults. The Church offers a unique opportunity to give quality guidance and education in this area.
Homosexuality – Homosexual persons, no less than heterosexual persons, are individuals of sacred worth. All persons need the ministry and guidance of the Church in their struggles for human fulfillment and the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. The United Methodist Church does not condone homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all, and we will seek to live together in the Christian community. We implore families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons.
Family Violence and Abuse – We recognize that family violence and abuse in all forms—verbal, psychological, physical, sexual— are detrimental to the human community’s covenant. We encourage the Church to provide a safe environment, counsel, and support for the victim. While we deplore the actions of the abuser, we affirm that person needs God’s redeeming love.
Abortion – The beginning of life and the ending of life are the God-given boundaries of human existence. While individuals have always had some degree of control over when they would die, they now have the incredible power to determine when and even whether new individuals will be born. Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve of abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy. In continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion. In such cases, we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures. We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection. We oppose the use of late-term abortion known as dilation and extraction (partial-birth abortion) and call for the end of this practice except when the mother’s physical life is in danger. No other medical procedure is available or in the case of severe fetal anomalies incompatible with life. We call all Christians a searching and prayerful inquiry into the sorts of conditions that may warrant abortion. We commit our Church to continue providing nurturing ministries to those who terminate a pregnancy, those amid a crisis pregnancy, and those who give birth. We particularly encourage the Church, the government, and social service agencies to support and facilitate the option of adoption. Governmental laws and regulations do not provide all the guidance required by the informed Christian conscience. Therefore, a decision concerning abortion should be made only after thoughtful and prayerful consideration by the parties involved, with medical, pastoral, and other appropriate counsel.
Adoption – Children are a gift from God to be welcomed and received. We recognize that some circumstances of birth make the rearing of a child difficult. We affirm and support the birth parent(s) whose choice to allow the child to be adopted. We recognize the agony, strength, and courage of the birth parent(s) who choose(s) in hope, love, and prayer to offer the child for adoption. In addition, we affirm the receiving parent(s) desiring an adopted child. When circumstances warrant adoption, we support the use of proper legal procedures. Finally, we commend the birth parent(s), the receiving parent(s), and the child to the care of the Church, that grief might be shared, joy might be celebrated, and the child might be nurtured in a community of Christian love.
Faithful Care of the Dying – While we applaud medical science for efforts to prevent disease and illness and for advances in treatment that extend the meaningful life of human beings, we recognize that every mortal life will ultimately end in death. Death is never a sign that God has abandoned us, no matter what the circumstances of the death might be. As Christians, we must always be prepared to surrender the gift of mortal life and claim the gift of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Care for dying persons is part of our stewardship of the divine gift of life when cure is no longer possible. We encourage the use of medical technologies to provide palliative care at the end of life when life-sustaining treatments no longer support life goals and when they have reached their limits. There is no moral or religious obligation to use these when they impose undue burdens or only extend the process of dying. Dying persons and their families are free to discontinue treatments when they cease to benefit the patient.
We recognize the agonizing personal and moral decisions the dying physicians, families, friends, and faith community face. We urge those decisions faced by the dying be made with thoughtful and prayerful consideration by the parties involved, with medical, pastoral, and other appropriate counsel. We further urge that all persons discuss with their families, their physicians, and their pastoral counselors their wishes for care at the end of life and provide advance directives for such care when they cannot make these decisions for themselves. Even when one accepts the inevitability of death, the Church and society must continue to provide faithful care, including pain relief, companionship, support, and spiritual nurture for the dying person in the hard work of preparing for death. We encourage and support the concept of hospice care whenever possible at the end of life. Faithful care does not end at death but continues during bereavement as we care for grieving families.
Suicide – We believe that suicide is not the way a human life should end. Often suicide is the result of untreated depression or untreated pain and suffering. The Church must see that all persons have access to needed pastoral and medical care and therapy in those circumstances that lead to loss of self-worth, suicidal despair, and the desire to seek physician-assisted suicide. We encourage the Church to provide education to address the biblical, theological, social, and ethical issues related to death and dying, including suicide. United Methodist theological seminary courses should also focus on issues of death and dying, including suicide.
A Christian perspective on suicide begins with an affirmation of faith that nothing, including suicide, separates us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). Therefore, we deplore the condemnation of people who complete suicide, and we consider unjust the stigma that so often falls on surviving family and friends.
We encourage pastors and faith communities to address this issue through preaching and teaching. We urge pastors and faith communities to provide pastoral care to those at risk, survivors, and their families, and to those families who have lost loved ones to suicide, always seeking to remove the oppressive stigma around suicide. The Church opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia.