Frontier's
Core Beliefs
We believe in the Holy Trinity. God in three persons and Trinity is 3 in 1. God the Creator, Jesus Christ (the incarnation of God who came into our world), and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit continues to work on earth and in our lives.
Jesus was fully God and fully human.
We believe in our congregation that no one person has all the answers. FUMC is filled with imperfect people. Therefore, we believe that it is ok to disagree with each other. Our ultimate standard is to obey the two commandments that Jesus set forth.
“Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
God's Grace
Prevenient Grace
Grace that is offered by God to all people in the past, present, and future. God loves all people even if they do not have a relationship with God.
Sanctifying Grace
Grace that God uses, through justification, that makes us more like Jesus Christ. John Wesley believed that as Christians we are all working our way to perfection. This is not to say any of us are perfect. But it is the goal of our lives to become more and more like Jesus Christ who was perfect.
Justifying/Saving Grace
Grace that is offered by God in the forgiveness of our sins. Justifying grace is the assurance of forgiveness that comes from God when we repent of our sins. It is a turning back to God in our lives.
Holidays
Liturgical Year
We follow the liturgical year which includes celebrations of:
- Christmas
- Epiphany
- Lent – Ash Wednesday
- Holy Week
- Maundy Thursday
- Good Friday
- Palm Sunday
- Easter
- Pentecost
- Ordinary Time
- Advent
Belief In
Two Sacraments
Communion
Communion (First Sunday of the Month) is celebrated as an “open table. Thus, it is offered to everyone and anyone. You do not need to be a member of FUMC to receive communion.
Methodists believe that in Communion, God folds the past and future into the present. It is God’s Gift, not the church’s gift and is a remembrance of all that God has done for God’s people.
Baptism
We believe in the initiation into the Christian faith. Any person of any age may be baptized. We do infant baptisms, baptisms of children or adults. Individuals may be baptized by sprinkling water or full immersion.
If a person was baptized in another Christian denomination, we honor that baptism.
Quadrilateral
Primary Guidelines
Scripture is primary. Scripture leads us to our understanding of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We are to study scripture as individuals, in a community of other believers, and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We are to look at the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus Christ, knowing that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament.
John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. Wesley was an Anglican priest. He sought to revive the Church of England in the 1700’s. After his death in 1791, the Methodist movement began. Today, Frontier United Methodist church uses liturgical traditions and theological understanding that is like John Wesley’s.
John Wesley believed that our life experiences shape not only who we are but what we believe about God. We can experience God in many ways in our lives. Being a part of a congregation, through fellowship, and actively participating in one of our small groups, a person can learn how to become more like Jesus Christ.
A person cannot be left alone in their own reasoning to understand who God is in their lives. That is why reason is the last of the quadrilateral. As people, who have studied scripture, understood the traditions, experienced God in our lives we now can reason two ideologies.
The Christian Faith – which is our theology. Theology is what we believe about who God is.
Christian Ethics – what we believe is morally right or wrong in our lives, our culture, and our world.
Religious
Methodist Books
The Book of Discipline
The book of Discipline is the product of over 200 years of the General Conferences of the denominations that now form The United Methodist Church. It contains history, The Constitution, Doctrine, and polity (rules and regulations) of the United Methodist Church. It is updated every four years by The General Conference.
The Book of Resolutions
In 1968 The Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church united to form The United Methodist Church.The book of Resolutions contains the United Methodist’s official stance on many current social issues. The book has been published after each General Conference since 1968.
