What Methodists Believe

Stained glass showing John and Charles Wesley, founders of Methodism

Our beliefs are based on scripture, our traditions, experience and reason. Scripture has revealed to us the living God in the doctrine of the Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in God the creator, the sustainer and ruler of the world. We believe that Jesus is the full revelation of God, who was both human and divine. It is that revelation which reveals him as Lord. Through his life, death and resurrection Jesus took away our sins and gave us eternal life. We believe that the Holy Spirit of the scriptures is present in our daily lives and is the guidance and strength we receive from God in our spiritual journey.

We recognize the two sacraments ordained by Christ, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These sacraments are outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace.

• Baptism marks us as brothers and sisters of Christ, and calls us into a new relationship. The form of baptism, whether sprinkling, pouring, or immersion, is not as important as is the symbolism of the sacrament.

• The Lord's Supper, instituted by Christ, is Christ's table and open to all believers who come in faith. We partake of this sacrament in memory of his death and the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that as we eat the broken bread and drink from the cup we are united with Christ through the Holy Spirit.

We have inherited a rich and varied tradition that has evolved into a diverse unity rather than a rigid uniformity. We confront the social, spiritual, and moral issues of the day by thoughtful debate with open minds. We believe that all truth comes from God and recognize empirical knowledge and scientific discoveries as part of God's world. We use reason and logic that God has given us in all matters of faith . Our own life experiences bring us to a greater understanding of God's truths as revealed in scripture.

We believe that the faith that we profess should be confirmed by the work we do in God's kingdom here on earth. Faith and works are therefore inseparable. We believe that grace is an unmerited, undeserved gift of God's love that is necessary for us to experience the life that God has for us. Saying “yes” to this grace leads us into both a new life and a new identity. We believe in the power of prayer, that God listens to our prayers and that he answers in accordance with his will. We believe in an inclusive church and welcome all people who are seeking the fellowship we have with one another and with God. While we worship in our church, the walls of our church do not define our church. We know the Kingdom of God extends throughout the world and our ministries include not only worship but also evangelism, stewardship, education and missions.

Statue of John Wesley, founder of Methodism, near St. Paul's Cathedral in London

While we use liturgies in our worship that include traditional creeds, we believe that our living God cannot be contained or reduced to a creed. The historic creeds contain the truths that are testimonies of our heritage and we believe these truths can be restated in new forms of worship in our modern world.

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