Short profile:
We are a people who yearn for God and seek healing and spiritual life through Jesus Christ in order to be united in trust and mission.Evangelism and Church Growth - As a people who yearn for God, we recognize that others yearn with us, and we will reach new people with the Gospel of Christ.Area Diversity - As a people who yearn for God, we recognize that racism and all forms of discrimination undermine our ability to further the ministry of Christ.Equipping Leadership - As a people who yearn for God, we will equip our churches, clergy, and laity for unabashed pursuit of effective ministry.Stewardship - As a people who yearn for God, we will be connected and accountable to God and to each other in the ways all our resources support the shared ministries of our congregations, our conference in New England, and Church throughout the world.
Keywords:
pastor, youth ministries, conversational prayer, classes, teacher, prayer chapel, local church service, haiti disaster, nursery ministries, churche, associations, georgia, bible conferences, god, umcorg, nursery, christian education, bible study, child opportunities, learning, faith, elementary schools, preschool, missionary, elementary school, home missionary, earthquake, faith in god, confirmation, memberships, choir, port prince, kindergartens, unique products, family music, bible studies, prayer, john wesley, emotional care, christians, adult ministries, apostles, prayer service, 1st umc, childcare, affiliations, church, news service, preschools, portal, spiritual care, support haiti, childcare workers, sanctuary, school, chapel, find a church, worship, after school care, biblical interpretation, haiti, womens bible study, toddler nurseries, illness, gospel, childrens ministries, programs, marietta, first united methodist, gods word, youth choir, fellowship, first umc, events
Detailed description:
The Wesleyan heritage, reflecting its origins in the catholic and reformed ethos of English Christianity, directs us to a self-conscious use of these three sources in interpreting Scripture and in formulating faith statements based on the biblical witness. These sources are, along with Scripture, indispensable to our theological task. The close relationship of tradition, experience, and reason appears in the Bible itself. Scripture witnesses to a variety of diverse traditions, some of which reflect tensions in interpretation within the early Judeo-Christian heritage. However, these traditions are woven together in the Bible in a manner that expresses the fundamental unity of God’s revelation as received and experienced by people in the diversity of their own lives.The developing communities of faith judged them, therefore, to be an authoritative witness to that revelation. In recognizing the interrelationship and inseparability of the four basic resources for theological understanding, we are following a model that is present in the biblical text itself.
