What We Believe

We believe that God reaches out to us in different ways. God is the creator of the universe and giver of all that is good. God is the savior—known boldly and intimately in Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection—who shows us how to live and love. God is the Spirit who enables us to make a difference in our world and in the lives of others.

We believe that the Bible is the primary source of Christian doctrine. We believe that its message of grace matters most when we live it out in a way that our lives are changed.

We believe that spiritual practices like prayer, reading the Bible, participating in small groups, fasting, and tithing are vital to our faith.

We believe that sin, both what we have done and what we have failed to do—the Bible calls it “missing the mark”—describes the reality that things are not as they should be: we are self-obsessed, broken, fearful, and oppressive. It’s what Jesus came to save us from.

We believe that grace is the unearned love, honesty, and compassion that God freely gives and shows us in Jesus. It’s how Jesus saves us, heals us, sets us free, and increases our capacity for love.

We believe that we need each other. Whether single, married, divorced or widowed, it’s better to follow God with friends than it is by ourselves.

We believe that the goal of church is not to make people more religious but to help people fall more in love with God and therefore become more fully human.

We believe that we are called to reach out to our neighbors both locally and globally and serve them in ways that make a difference.

We are a United Methodist congregation, and we welcome people from all religious (and non-religious) backgrounds. You don’t have to be United Methodist to come here, and you don’t have to become United Methodist to belong here.