WHO IS GIBSONVILE UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH?

Gibsonville United Methodist Church is

A People Called Family and a Place Called Home
A People
  • Who support/encourage others wherever they are in their Spiritual Journey
  • Who aren’t perfect but strive to grow in their faith
  • Who come from different places with different backgrounds
  • Who love children and care for elders
  • Who have a heart for the community and missions
  • Who value unity in diversity
  • Who seek to understand God’s Will in their lives
  • Who Believe in the Power of Prayer
  • Who expect to encounter God daily
  • Who love God and Love all that God has created
A Place
  • That is Just the right size – small enough so you can make friends and to make a difference but large enough to offer a full array of op portunities to serve God and our community
  • Where all people are welcome
  • Where everyone can know your name
  • Where you can Grow in your relationship with God
  • Where you can worship in the style that suits your preference with friends and family
  • Where you can serve our community and Spread the Word of God
  • Where you can Experience God’s presence through Scripture, Prayer, Music, and Fellowship

We are United Methodist

The people of The United Methodist Church are part of the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Our worldwide connection includes approximately 12.5 million members.

The United Methodist Church was formed when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968. But we trace our heritage back to the movement begun in 1729 in England by John and Charles Wesley.

(For more information about United Methodist History, go to: http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/history)

The United Methodist Church is:

  • Global: Today we speak many languages and live in many countries—with different cultures, ethnic traditions, national histories and understandings of Christian faith and practice.
  • Connectional: Every United Methodist congregation is interconnected throughout the denomination and throughout the world through a unique structure that bears a striking resemblance to the United States’ representational government, with leadership parallels to the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
  • Inclusive: All persons are welcome to attend our churches, receive Holy Communion, be baptized and admitted into membership.
  • Grounded in Scripture: United Methodist trust free inquiry in matters of Christian doctrine. Our faith is guided by Scripture, tradition, experience and reason. Of paramount importance, however, is Scripture as the witness of God’s creating, redeeming and sustaining relationship with God’s people.
  • Wesleyan: The United Methodist Church has a Wesleyan heritage, and as such, places an emphasis on mind and heart (knowledge and vital piety) and putting faith and love into practice (life).
  • Concerned about social justice: For more than 200 years, The United Methodist Church and its predecessor bodies have expressed concern for God’s children everywhere — the poor, the orphaned, the aging, the sick, the oppressed and the imprisoned.
  • Mission-oriented: Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. In uncomplicated terms, this means we strive to nurture followers of Christ who then reach out and teach others about the love of Jesus.
  • Ecumenical: United Methodists consider dialogue and missional cooperation between United Methodists and other Christians as a valid witness to the unity of the body of Christ.

(For more information, go to:  http://www.umc.org/who-we-are)

What we believe

United Methodists share a common Christian heritage with all Christians throughout the centuries. According to our foundational statement of beliefs in The Book of Discipline, we share the following basic affirmations in common with all Christian communities:

We Believe in God When we say the Apostles' Creed, we join with millions of Christians through the ages in understanding God as a Trinity—three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We Believe in Jesus We believe in the mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ. God became human in Jesus of Nazareth; and his life, death and resurrection demonstrates God's redeeming love.

We Believe in The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is God's present activity in our midst. When we sense God's leading, God's challenge, or God's support or comfort, it's the Holy Spirit at work.

We Believe in the Holy catholic Church We believe that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world today, catholic meaning universal church. The church is “the communion of saints,” a community made up of all past, present, and future disciples of Christ. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

We Believe in Forgiveness of Sins God in Christ made it possible for human beings to receive reconciliation, pardon, and restoration. Through the work of God in Christ our sins are forgiven, and our relationship with God is restored. This is a free gift that we must accept to receive eternal life.

We Believe The Bible We believe that the Bible is God’s Word and is the primary authority for our faith and practice.

We Believe in God's Reign The kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and future hope. The church is both a witness to what God's kingdom will be like and a participant

So what is distinctive about United Methodist?

Emphases From our Wesleyan Heritage      

(To learn more about our history, go to:  http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/history)

(to learn more about Gibsonville UM Church history, click here)

John Wesley and the early Methodists were particularly concerned about inviting people to experience God’s grace and to grow in their knowledge and love of God through disciplined Christian living.  They placed primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action. John Wesley shared with many other Christians a belief in salvation by grace; he combined them in a powerful way to create distinctive emphases for living the full Christian life.

Grace

Grace is central to our understanding of Christian faith and life.  Grace can be defined as the love and mercy given to us by God because God wants us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.

Our United Methodist heritage is rooted in a deep and profound understanding of God’s grace. This incredible grace flows from God’s great love for us.   John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, described God’s grace as threefold:

  • prevenient grace
  • justifying grace
  • sanctifying grace

Prevenient Grace...   is the grace of God which operates in our lives before we make a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ.  Prevenient literally means “goes before”.  We believe that God always makes the first move.  That is to say, you and I cannot accept Christ by ourselves.  God has to work in our hearts first.  (See John 6:37)

Justifying Grace…  Is the grace we receive once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and put of faith/trust in Him.  This is the turning point, the “aha” moment when we realize our need for a Savior and accept God’s forgiveness in Christ in a personal way.

Sanctifying Grace…  Is the work God does in our hearts through the Holy Spirit after we receive Christ.  This is the grace that moves us into spiritual maturity and causes us to become more and more like Christ himself.

All Grace…No matter where we are in our spiritual lives, we got there by grace, and we can only move forward by grace.  Our cooperation with this God’s grace is essential.  Because of our belief in the grace of God, we try not to be judgmental of others.  After all, “’tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home!”

Free Wil

We believe that, by God’s grace, human beings have the ability to say “yes” or “no” to God’s love.  God has determined the means for salvation, but we have the freedom to respond.  (John 3:16; II Corinthians 8:7-10; Mark 6:9-12)

Faith and Good Works

United Methodists insist that faith and good works belong together.  What we believe must be confirmed by what we do.  Personal salvation must be expressed in ministry and mission in the world. We believe that “faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead.” (James 2:17)

Sacraments

A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual reality, initiated by God for us.  Like other Protestants, we celebrate two sacraments:

Baptism

This is an once-in-a-lifetime sacrament of initiation into the church.  When we baptize infants, we are recognizing God’s prevenient grace that goes before the child is able to respond, the parents commitment to bring the child up in the Christian faith, and the church community’s commitment to nurture the child’s faith.  We do not believe that infant baptism alone is sufficient for salvation; the child must one day accept the gift of salvation for himself/herself and then be confirmed as a professing member of the church.

We recognize the baptisms of other Christian denominations as valid and do not “re-baptize” because we believe that God is the primary actor and we are the responders.  Baptism may be by “sprinkling”, pouring, or immersion.

Holy Communion (The Lord’s Supper)

Communion in the United Methodist Church is an open table:  one does not have to be a member of this church to participate; our Lord Jesus Christ is the host.  The bread of Holy Communion represents the broken body of Jesus Christ, given for us.  The cup represents the blood of Jesus Christ, poured out to give us new life.  We believe that Christ is present in a special way when we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Social Consciousness

While we do not teach a works-based salvation, we do believe that faith should express itself in good works.  Methodists have always felt that concern for the poor, needy, and hurting of society is part of what it means to be a Christian.

(For more information, go to:  http://www.umc.org/)