We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired word of God and are the primary authority for faith and practice. They were written by ordinary people guided by the Holy Spirit, to reveal God’s love and plan of salvation for all.

We believe in one God who externally exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity is equally God in essence, power, and character. God is love, offering perfect justice, mercy, and truth. God is neither male nor female but embodies and possesses both qualities without limit. God personally desires to be in a relationship with us.

The Father reigns with providential care over his universe and all who confess faith in Jesus Christ become his children. The Father protects, cares for, and disciplines his children. His will is for the salvation of the world through his son Jesus. The Father loves immeasurably and unconditionally. We can’t earn his love. It is a gift showered on good and evil people alike.

The Son is Jesus the Christ, our Savior, who came to earth to restore fallen humanity to a personal relationship with God. Jesus is the human face of God. Everything about Jesus reveals God, his presence, his words, his healing touch, his forgiving glances, and his death and resurrection. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He is both fully human and fully divine. He lived a perfectly sinless life. He willingly and obediently suffered and died on a cross to demonstrate God’s love and to provide salvation to humanity. His sacrifice in our place provides all human beings with the means to be reconnected to God. Jesus was physically resurrected from the dead and ascended to heaven, where he rules as Lord and has absolute authority over our lives. Jesus will return to the earth in the future to establish God’s perfect peace and justice for all time.

The Holy Spirit is a coequal, coeternal member of the Trinity and is God with us. The Holy Spirit attracts us to the Son so that we are able to recognize him as the Messiah, our Savior. The Spirit enables us to proclaim that God is our Father. The Spirit enables our faith, gives us gifts to serve, moves us toward holy living (the fruit of the Spirit), and gives unity to the church. The Holy Spirit progressively transforms us into the image of Christ and is actively working in the world to bring about God’s redemptive plan for all people and all creation.

We believe the church is the extension of Christ’s life and ministry on the earth. It is made up of all those in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In the Bible, it is referred to as the Body and Bride of Christ and the Family and Building of God. The church’s mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God wholeheartedly and love others as themselves. All believers are gifted, empowered, and sent by the Holy Spirit to serve the church’s mission to reach the world.

We believe all human beings are created in the image of God. Thus we are created for purpose, relationship, and holiness. We are created with free will that gives us the power to choose. We also believe all human beings are tainted by a willful disobedience from God called sin. Sin separates us from God and all that we were created to be. But God’s grace is greater than our sin. It is through our willingness to totally yield and submit ourselves to grace we find from Jesus death on the cross that we too are resurrected into brand new lives. We also believe deeply in human equality but recognize an incredible diversity that is a gift from our creator. We see the Christian life as a journey toward perfection (the full love of God, others and self). It comes from total obedience to the Father by living the lifestyle of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The United Methodist Church has a long history of concern for social justice. It’s members have often taken forthright positions on controversial issues involving Christian principles. Thus, the church as a whole has adopted what we call the Social Principles which are a prayerful and thoughtful effort to speak to human issues in the contemporary world from a sound Biblical foundation. PEACE church supports these Social Principles, if you would like a copy of the complete set of Social Principles of the United Methodist Church please contact us and we would be glad to mail you a pamphlet.

Are you having questions about how to know God personally and how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Maybe you are having concerns about your relationship with Christ. As you read the following material, ask God to reveal Himself to you.

Realize God loves you and seeks to have a personal relationship with you. I John 4:10 states “Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.” Understand that a personal relationship through Christ is more than attending a church, being baptized, making a commitment to do better, or memorizing a set of religious material. Having a personal relationship with God is even more than being religious. The word of God says in James 2:19 “You surely believe there is only one God. That’s fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear.”

Agree with God about who you really are. God says, “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God” and “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:10-11 and 23) So often we would rather play the blame game. It’s not my fault. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, or I have made some bad choices in life, or I’ve associated with the wrong crowd. God loves you regardless of your past. Admit to God what He already knows. “I have sinned against you God.”

Acknowledge your inability to save yourself. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” We think all I need to do is try harder, get myself together and straightened up, or do the right things and then I’ll be okay. The Prophet Isaiah states, “…All our righteousness are as filthy rags…” God is not impressed by mankind. There is nothing you can do to earn a personal relationship with God. It is God who seeks a personal relationship with you. Acknowledge that you need God in your life.

Accept God’s remedy for your life. Remember God loves you and has provided all that is necessary for you to be forgiven and have a personal relationship with Him. (John 3:16-18) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus was the one who bore our sins, died in our place, was buried, and whom God raised from the dead. Two followers of Jesus were asked what to do to be saved, they answered “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:30-31) When we accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as payment for our sin, God forgives us of our sins and enters into a personal relationship with us.

Admit your need for Christ to save you now. Do you understand that you are a sinner and that you cannot earn God’s forgiveness? The Bible states “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Notice what you just read in God’s Word. It states that you “will” be saved. Not might be, or could be saved. Christ says in Revelation 3:20 “I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in…” The following is a simple prayer, often called a sinner’s prayer. Don’t just read it; pray it out loud to God. He is listening, and He will hear you.

“Dear God, I know that my sin has separated me from you. Thank You that Jesus Christ died in my place and rose again to be my Savior. I turn from my sin and trust Jesus to forgive me. Come into my life and lead me. Thank you for giving me this relationship with You forever. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen“

Let us know of your decision to follow Christ and come join us as we seek Him together.