What is a United Methodist?

A Person of Faith

A United Methodist is ...

A person who believes that faith is not simply "believing the right things about God", but instead we think of faith as trusting our lives and everything we have into God's hands.

Along with other Christians, Muslims, and Jews, we find an example of true faith in the Old Testament stories about a desert wanderer named Abraham.  When Abraham and his wife were approaching a hundred years old, God made a promise to this elderly, childless couple:  “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).  Abraham obeyed, leaving everything he had ever known out of a simple trust that God would keep God’s promises.

Christians believe that Jesus himself is the highest possible example of faith.  Jesus’ trust in God’s power was so great that he allowed himself to be executed on the cross, rather than fighting his enemies.  By this great act of faith, Jesus broke the power of death over all humanity; God raised him up from the dead, and we believe that all who put their trust in Christ will also be raised.  We have therefore been set free from fear, anger, and the materialism that causes so much of this world’s suffering.  When we are at our best, our faith in God makes us gentle, generous, and brave.