At Grace Avenue we seek to be a church built on a foundation of God’s love and compassion for all. As such, there are some core beliefs that help to keep us focused in that direction. Here are some of those beliefs and how we have seen these beliefs manifest themselves into our actions and the cultural fiber of our church.
Faith
We believe that faith and doubt are not exclusive of one another.
Therefore…We invite you to fully engage your God-given intellect as you navigate your personal faith journey. We are here to explore questions of faith, to create and open dialogue and to learn along with you.
God
We believe that God is love, we believe that all people are welcome and equal in the family of God, and that God is for us, not against us.
Therefore…We strive to be a community of diverse thought. We don’t all believe the exact same way, but we are all here to worship the same God. We are committed to having a space for all and open to the challenges of respectfully living together, even in our disagreement.
Jesus
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and we work to follow His example of radical, justice-seeking love.
Therefore…We seek to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, embrace the lonely, seek justice for the marginalized, and eradicate homelessness in whatever form it presents itself.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit as God’s constant presence in our lives and in our hearts, empowering us to do God’s work.
Therefore…Through prayer, worship, study, fellowship, mission, and all of our daily tasks we continually seek to feel the Spirit moving and guiding us to fulfill God’s call for us as people and as a church.
The Bible
We believe in the Bible as the fundamental truth of God’s love and grace as revealed through the story of God’s people and by the life of Christ.
Therefore…We hold the Bible to be divinely inspired and are committed to live by its words. We also recognize the Bible was written by people who heard God in the light of their own cultural and historical circumstances. As such, we make use of scholarship and study the scriptures carefully. We examine it. We study it. We apply it to our lives and then we start all over again. Because we take it so seriously, we do not take it literally. Instead, we are engaged in an ongoing encounter with the living Word of God. We cling to and proclaim the overarching and overwhelming message of love which the Bible teaches.
When we encounter theological differences among Christians, we bear in mind John Wesley’s approach, “in essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” United Methodists share a common heritage with other Christians, holding to the historic essentials of the Christian faith.
Humanity
We believe that God created all human beings in God’s image.
Therefore…We love and accept all people as children of God and embrace the diversity of God’s creation.
Salvation
We believe that God wants to be in relationship with all people and that human beings have the free will to accept or reject that relationship.
Therefore…We actively work to introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ. We are also open to the mystery of how and where God is at work in our world and in our hearts. As with all relationships, our connection to God is individual and can take on many forms.
A cornerstone to how we live out our faith at Grace Avenue is called 4G Faith. As a faith community we strive to Gather, Grow, Go, and Give in an effort to be faithful participants in the Reign of God.
A cornerstone to how we live out our faith at Grace Avenue is called 4G Faith. As a faith community we strive to Gather, Grow, Go and Give in an effort to be faithful participants in the Reign of God.
Want more information about our United Methodist heritage?