MISSION STATEMENT*

By the Fathers creative design,
by Jesus redeeming love,
and by the Spirits empowering grace,
God is leading us on a spiritual journey
to transform ourselves, our community, and our world.




VALUES SUPPORTING OUR MISSION:

We are one body in Christ.

We seek, respect, and encourage each persons spiritual gifts.

We welcome people of all generations and backgrounds.

We grow through prayer, worship, Bible study,
fellowship, and service to others.

Gods Word and Spirit deepen our faith, clarify our vision, and equip us to reach out in loving service.

Our journey with God makes a difference in our world
and prepares us for eternity.

By tradition and calling we place special emphasis
on spiritual growth, youth ministry, Christian education,
music ministry, and active involvement in mission.


*Approved, as a work in progress, Church Conference, 11-7-05




FAITH STATEMENT

Background: Gods revelation in the Bible is the source and authority for the faith and life of Baker Memorial UM Church. Our faith has been handed down through the centuries from the beginning of Christianity. The historical path of United Methodism begins with the early, undivided Church, extends through the Catholic, Anglican (Church of England), and Reformation traditions, and is expressed in the writings of John Wesley. Authoritative statements of our Scriptural faith include the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, Wesleys Standard Sermons and Notes on the New Testament, The Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith, and other documents included in the Book of Discipline. As Christians in the Wesleyan tradition, we share a common faith with our brothers and sisters in Christ, in what the Nicene Creed calls the one holy catholic and apostolic church.

Our Wesleyan theological heritage emphasizes Gods grace at work in our lives. Grace is Gods gift of transforming power, bringing forgiveness, new life, and eternal hope. Wesley recognized that while humanity was created in Gods image, something had gone wrong. Living apart from God left us powerless to escape the realities of evil and death. In order for Gods purpose for our lives to be achieved, there had to be a new creation that would break the power of sin and set us back on the path of life. (II Corinthians 5:17, NIV) Gods love reaches out to us even before we can understand or respond (Prevenient Grace). (Psalm 139) It is often only when we look back that we can see how His grace has been at work in our lives.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God offers forgiveness and a new beginning, a life with God, instead of self, at the center. Jesus becomes the foundation and motivation for our lives and we are free to be the people God created us to be. It is Gods grace that makes things right between us and God (Justifying Grace). (Romans 5:1) This grace comes only from God, and takes effect only with our willing response.

Grace does not stop with forgiveness and a new start. The power of the Spirit transforms and perfects our lives, moving us forward on a journey of faith, from where we start our new life with God, to Gods ultimate vision of what our lives can become, our destiny (Sanctifying Grace). This transformation makes a profound difference in us, and in our participation in the world. The Bible calls it faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6, NIV) Our relationship with God is deeply personal, but not private. Each Christian has a special part to play in the body of Christ, the fellowship of all
Gods people. (Romans 12:5) Everything we do is rooted and grounded in love that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:17, NRSV; I John 4:7, NIV) We love, because he first loved us. (I John 4:19, NIV)


God: We believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As Father, God is creator of all, infinite in power, wisdom and goodness. As Son, God is revealed most perfectly in Jesus. As Spirit, God works within and through His created order. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons in perfect unity. We believe in Jesus as the Son of God - God incarnate who, through His death and resurrection, brought about the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation between sinful humans and God. We believe in the Holy Spirit that guides and empowers us in our striving to be disciples of Jesus in our daily lives.

Humanity: All people are created in the image of God for a purpose. Human sin destroyed the perfection of Gods creation, damaging, but not completely destroying, His image in us. By turning away from God, we lost our original relationship with Him and our purpose in life. The corruption of our human nature brought evil and death into our world, yet God has never stopped loving us and reaching out to restore us and our relationship with Him. Gods Spirit makes us aware of our need and opens our hearts to the possibility of a new beginning (Prevenient Grace). Christ lived, died, and rose again to restore our original relationship with God, and to bring us forgiveness and eternal life.
Our free acceptance of Christs sacrificial love marks a new beginning in our relationship with God (Justifying Grace). Through His leadership and our willing response, God restores the goodness and purpose in which we were created (Sanctifying Grace). Our purpose, our spiritual unity with other Christians, and our love for the world are rooted in Christ and empowered by the Spirit.


Scripture: We believe that Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, is the divinely inspired and authoritative word of God. Scripture is the primary and final standard of faith and practice and speaks Gods truth to peoples of every age. The Holy Spirit guides our understanding of Scripture, and inspires its application in our lives (John 14:26, 15:13).

Basic ideas in Wesleyan Theology:

Creation in Gods Image: men are created in the image of God, an image which has been defaced but not destroyed by the Fall. I. Howard Marshall, The Epistles of John (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978, 212.

New Creation: In Christ God chooses all humanity for renewal in that destiny for which all were created, to be the very image of God. And prevenient grace seeks to awaken every human being to that possibility. Theodore Runyon, The New Creation: John Wesleys Theology Today. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998, 42.

Scripture in John Wesleys Thought: Wesley considered the Bible to be the primary source for Christian belief and life. All his basic theological convictions were rooted in the scriptures and he constantly appealed to them in his preaching, teaching, and disputing about religious matters. The other three sources, that is, tradition, reason, and experience, were necessary to interpret the Bible, to assist Christians to understand it and to put its message into practice.
Wesley was satisfied that the Bible was authoritative. It was inspired by God, and should be read prayerfully with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. - Charles Yrigoyen, Jr., John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life. New York: Womens Division of the Board of Global Ministries, 1996, 16.

Wesleys primary appeal is to Scripture, and only derivatively to tradition, reason, and experience. Thomas C. Oden, John Wesleys Scriptural Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994, 55.

Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace: Wesley likens the process of salvation to a house. Prevenient grace serves as the porch, justification as the door, and sanctification or holiness as the rooms of the house wherein we are called to dwell. - Runyon, 27.

Prevenient Grace: This is the grace that comes before we are conscious that God is
seeking us out. Runyon, 27.

Wesley understood Prevenient Grace to be Gods initial move toward restored relationship with fallen humanity. Since Gods grace is universal, so is the possibility of such a relationship. Since Gods grace is resistible, no individuals participation in inevitable. Randy Maddox, Responsible Grace: John Wesleys Practical Theology. Nashville: Kingswood, 1994, 90.

Prevenient grace isall the ways in which God works with human beings before they believe in Christ. Prevenient grace leads us to repentance, sorrow over sin and the realization that we are unable to save ourselves. Ted A. Campbell, Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999, 55.

Justifying Grace: Prevenient grace leads to justifying grace, the grace of God by which, through faith in Christ, our sins are forgiven. The faith by which we are justified involves not merely knowledge about Christ; it involves heartfelt trust in Christ. Ted A. Campbell, Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999, 56.

Sanctifying Grace: Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit transforms believers and renews them in the image of Christ. While John Wesley emphasized sanctification as the gift of God, he also stressed then necessity of human cooperation. David J. Carter, Sanctification, in John A.Vickers, ed. A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland. Peterborough, England: Epworth Press, 2000.

Wesley characterized the very essence of religion as a therapy by which the Great Physician heals our sin-diseased souls, restoring the vitality of life that God intended for us. Maddox, 145.

Means of Grace: Wesley believes that God has ordained certain ways in which human beings can reliably receive Gods grace. He lists the three chief means of grace as prayer, searching the Scripture, and receiving the Lords Supper. Scott Jones, United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002, 242 & 244.