What do Methodists believe?

Briefly summarizing any faith is difficult, but I’ll try my best.  Grace.  United Methodists are all about Grace.  (I guess that was easy)  More than anything else- United Methodists believe in God’s amazing and unquestioning love over humanity.  All of our beliefs, doctrines, practices and theology begins with a firm grounding in the belief that God wants each and every one of us to be happy, healthy and holy.  There isn’t anything that you have to do, or say, to make God love you.  We believe that God loves you, and has always had a plan for your life, from a time before you were even born!  We believe that in order to live out that perfect plan for your life, AND to receive the ETERNAL LIFE that God has planned for you, you need to CHOOSE to receive Jesus as your Lord and follow His rules for your life. It’s just that simple.

To expand on this further (for those who want go deeper), our denomination’s founder, Rev. John Wesley, revitalized the whole Christian culture in the mid-1700’s in England with the early Methodist movement.  Wesley preached to an economically devastated people about the intense transformation that can come to our world when the Grace of God is received.  He preached about 2 different kinds of Holiness.  1) Personal Holiness is the inward growth of realizing the Spirit of God within us, movement toward personal salvation and the transformation of our lives, as the Spirit of God slowly changes us from the inside – out!  2) Social Holiness is the outward expression of our Personal Holiness, as we follow Jesus’ direction to transform the world, living out the same faith that brought us to salvation.  In short, Methodists believe in God’s power to work through us to change the world!  Want to read more?

Click HERE to read more about the official UMC Doctrines on the Sacraments, the Trinity, Baptism and more!