FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
310 N. MAIN STREET | MOCKSVILLE, NC 27028 | OFFICE 336.751.2503 | PRESCHOOL 336.753.1900
OFFICE HOURS: Monday & Wednesday 9 AM - 5 PM | Tuesday & Thursday 9 AM - 12:00 PM | Fridays CLOSED
The mission of First United Methodist Church is to
believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit
and to respond to the needs of others with the love of God the Father.
WHAT WE BELIEVE...
As Christians, we believe in the historic faith of the Church. In this respect, we hold much in common with other Christian denominations:
- We hold in common with all Christians a faith in the mystery of salvation in and through Jesus Christ.
- We share the Christian belief that God's redemptive love is realized in human life by the activity of the Holy Spirit, both in personal experience and in the community of believers.
- We understand ourselves to be part of Christ's universal church where by adoration, proclamation, and service we become conformed to Christ.
- With other Christians we recognize that the reign of God is both a present and future reality.
- We share with many Christian communions a recognition of the authority of Scripture in matters of faith.
- We affirm the general ministry of all baptized Christians who share responsibility for building up the church and reaching out in ministry and service to the world.
- With other Christians, we declare the essential oneness of the church in Christ Jesus.
- We share with other Protestant denominations the confession that our justification as sinners is by grace through faith, and the sober realization that the church needs continual reformation and renewal.
More can be learned about what the Christian faith believes through the historic creeds of the Church below:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Traditional use of this creed includes these words: "He descended into hell."
**universal
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
*universal
As United Methodists, our Wesleyan theological heritage points to an emphasis on practical divinity. That is, the implementation of genuine Christianity in the lives of believers. We believe, with John Wesley, that the living core of the Christian faith is revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason. There is also an emphasis on grace – God’s unmerited favor towards us.
The United Methodist Book of Discipline, which is statement of how United Methodists agree to live their lives together, provides information and explanation on our basic Christian beliefs. Following is a summary of our emphases, again taken from The United Methodist Book of Discipline.
Prevenient Grace literally means "the grace that comes before." Prevenient grace calls us into a relationship with God before we are even aware of God. It prepares us for the dawning awareness that God loves us so much that God seeks us out first. As United Methodists, we believe that God’s love surrounds all humanity and precedes all our conscious impulses. We call this action of God "Prevenient" or sometimes "Preceding" Grace - as it is only through God's grace that we come to faith to begin with.
We believe God reaches out to the repentant believer in Justifying Grace with accepting and pardoning love. Justification is what happens when Christians abandon all those vain attempts to justify themselves before God, to be seen as “just” in God’s eyes through religious and moral practices. When God’s “justifying grace” is experienced and accepted, it’s a time of pardon and forgiveness, of new peace, joy and love.
We believe that the wonder of God’s acceptance and pardon does not end God’s saving work, which continues to nurture our growth in grace. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Sanctifying Grace enables us to grow into the image of Christ and leads to inward and outward holiness - that is, we are enabled to increase in the knowledge and love of God and in love for our neighbor.
We see God’s grace and human activity working together in the relationship of faith and good works. God’s grace calls forth human response and discipline. Faith is the only response essential for salvation, but salvation evidences itself in good works.
As part of the good works mentioned above, we insist that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. Love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and renewal in the life of the world.
We emphasize the nurturing and serving function of Christian fellowship in the Church. The personal experience of faith is nourished by the worshiping community. The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local churches and extension ministries of the Church provide the most significant arenas through which disciple-making occurs. This mission is our grace-filled response to the Reign of God in the world announced by Jesus. God's grace is active everywhere, at all times, carrying out this purpose as revealed in the Bible. It is expressed in God's covenant with Abraham and Sarah, in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, and in the ministry of the prophets. It is fully embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is experienced in the ongoing creation of a new people by the Holy Spirit.
As United Methodists, we believe in and practice two sacraments - Holy Communion and Holy Baptism. We uphold these two practices as Sacraments because they were explicitly ordained by Jesus during his time on earth for the Church to practice.
We believe that through Holy Baptism, we are initiated into Christ's holy Church and incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation. All this is God's gift to us without price, and Holy Baptism serves as an outward sign of inward repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus - a mark of Christian discipleship.
As United Methodists, we believe children are beloved by God and also included in Christ's Church, and so we do not prohibit children or infants from being baptized - with hopes that they will grow in faith and return at Confirmation to profess their faith for themselves, confirming their Baptism. We also do not administer Baptism to any person who has already been baptized - for while our promises to God may be less than always reliable, God's promise to us in the sacrament is steadfast.
We believe that Holy Communion (also called the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist) is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who rightly, worthily and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the blessed cup partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner until he returns.
We also believe there are other means which God has given us to seek out God's grace for ourselves. We call these other personal and communal practices "Means of Grace". There is no set list of Means of Grace, but it can include any number of works of mercy or piety - such as reading, meditating and studying the scriptures, prayer, fasting, regularly attending worship, healthy living, sharing our faith with others, doing good works, visiting the sick, visiting those in prison, feeding the hungry, and giving generously to the needs of others, seeking justice, ending oppression and discrimination, and addressing the needs of the poor.
You can learn more about what the United Methodist Church believes through the the Church's official doctrinal standards - the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church and the Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (the two denominations which came together to form the Untied Methodist Church) - as well as through the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church.
The mission of First United Methodist Church is to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and to respond to the needs of others with the love of God the Father. We remind ourselves of this mission each week during Sunday worship services
This mission statement is repeated each Sunday in Worship. We stress the three verbs of believe, receive, and respond as ways for living the membership vows to serve Christ as Lord through The United Methodist Church generally and First United Methodist Church specifically. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit with these action verbs for drawing closer to Christ and becoming disciples for the transformation of the world. We are learning and living the mission as we go from the church building in the community to serve as neighbors with an active love.
We invite ALL people to join us at First United Methodist Church Mocksville and share with us in living the mission of Believe, Receive, and Respond. There is a place for you, and we look forward to serving alongside you as we practice discipleship together.
We believe that the Gospel is ultimately about humanity being restored to God’s community. Only through practicing community will individuals grow fully in the grace and knowledge to be found in Jesus. We know and experience the love and bond of community in and through the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, it is through community that a fragmented world can best witness the power of the Gospel and the nature of God’s work. As a culture of confession, transformation, friendship, forgiveness, justice, power, and love springs up in the lives of normal people, those who don’t know Christ will be compelled to ask: "what is happening?"
Missional Groups are an essential part of our church, as they provide a place where deeper fellowship and better support for one another can take place. Considering that the early church worshipped in large settings - in the synagogues - as well as in homes, we unite similarly to be in deeper fellowship with God and one another. God has reconciled us to Godself and to each other. This "each other" is called God’s Church.