What We Believe
United Methodists share a common heritage with other Christians. We agree on several beliefs, including the belief in one God who is a loving creator. We affirm that Jesus was human and is divine and that he is the source of forgiveness and redemption. Through faith in Christ, we receive abundant life. The Holy Spirit is God with us and is the third person of the triune God. We also believe that the church is Christ’s body in the world and that we are called to worship God and do God’s work in the world.
Four guidelines which help United Methodists understand their faith are scripture, tradition, experience, and reason. Scripture is the primary source, however United Methodists believe that they must use the tradition of the historical church, personal experience, and intellect to interpret Scripture for their lives. This base of four guidelines is often called the “quadrilateral.”
United Methodists believe in the primacy of grace (God's unmerited love), human dignity, conversion, faith and good works, and tolerance. For them social consciousness has always gone hand in hand with faith. From the earliest efforts by John Wesley and the Methodists to distribute blankets and food to the poor in London to the continuing Volunteers in Mission and United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), United Methodists have been involved in improving people’s living conditions as well as offering them the gospel message.
As United Methodists, we have an obligation to bear witness to Jesus Christ, the living reality at the center of the Church’s life and witness. To fulfill this obligation, we reflect critically on our biblical and theological inheritance, striving to witness faithfully in our own lives.
The United Methodist Church is a "connectional church", which means our churches are connected by a system to guide our work and govern our policies. This also allows us to pool our resources so that we may more effectively work together and be in ministry throughout the world.
This church is one of churches of the San Diego District of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
To learn more about the United Methodist heritage and the larger church’s current activities, please visit the official website of the United Methodist Church.