Pathway
What We Believe
A Historic Faith
We believe in all of the historic and central doctrines of the Christian faith: the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the necessity of salvation through Christ's atoning work, the resurrection of Christ, and the resurrection of the dead unto eternal life. We believe that Christ has "prepared a place for us" in heaven and that we will one day dwell with him. We believe that the classic doctrines of the Christian faith are accurately summarized through ancient creeds (i.e. The Apostles Creed and the Nicean Creed) and historic affirmations of the church.
A Tolerant Faith
John Wesley said, "In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity." Though we believe in all the core doctrines of the Christian faith, we also recognize that faithful Christians throughout the centuries have had differences of opinion concerning a number of issues. Therefore we respect the conscience of each believer regarding issues such as the mode of baptism, the events related to the "end times", a Christian's participation in the military, etc.
A Growing Faith
United Methodists believe that Christians are to "go on unto perfection." Simply this means that daily Christians are to be growing in faith, knowledge, holiness and love. Through this process of sanctification we become more and more like the person of Christ.
A Unified Faith
We believe that we are a part of the church universal. We do not believe that we are the only Christians. Therefore we recognize as valid, baptisms performed by other denominations, and we do not require nor practice re-baptism. We also have an open communion. All who have put their faith in Christ as Savior and Lord are welcome to share Holy Communion with us.
A Cooperative Faith
We are glad to work with Christians of other denominations in providing relief and social services to our community. We readily join with them for special times of worship.
A Practical Faith
We believe that the Christian life is to be expressed through acts of kindness, mercy and good works. We desire to minister to those in need, to alleviate suffering, and to promote social justice in every way that we can.
A Mission-Driven Faith
A portion of our annual budget is directed to our Annual Conference for cooperative missionary endeavors. Through this effort we support a variety of ministries such as: a Christian camping program, ministries to college campuses, inner-city ministries for the poor, residential centers for abused and troubled youth, nursing homes, a Christian counseling center, programs for the chemically dependent and a major university.
A Connected Faith
Our connected faith is demonstrated through our episcopal structure and appointive system. A bishop presides over each of our Annual Conferences. Clergy for each local church are appointed by the bishop. This is one of the distinguishing marks of United Methodism.