The United Methodist Church is a global denomination that opens hearts, opens minds and opens doors through active engagement with our world. The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

A United Methodist is someone who joins in that mission by putting faith and love into action. We believe that God loves all people, and that we share in expressing that love. So the United Methodist tradition emphasizes God's grace and in serving others. We believe that Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of God's love--showing us the fullness of God's care through Jesus' teachings, death and resurrection.

John Wesley started the Methodist movement in 18th century England. His teachings on practical divinity (living out our faith) and appeals to reason and experience form important aspects of United Methodist practice today.

Though The United Methodist Church was officially created in 1968, its history dates back to 1730 when John and Charles Wesley, two students at Oxford University in England, gathered a small group of students who sought to spread the Methodist movement.

At about the same time, people like Philip William Otterbein, a German-American clergyman, and Martin Boehm, a Mennonite preacher, were leading similar movements in America that helped people grow their faith through the United Brethren in Christ Church.

Across the decades, both movements spread and grew, often merging to form new denominations. In 1968, both strands of Christianity came together to form The United Methodist Church.

Our pursuit of holiness of heart and life is something we are expected to do together. For John Wesley there was such thing as “solitary religion.” He wrote, “The gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness.” In other words, our faith is not private. It is to be lived and shared.

Early Methodists lived into this understanding of faith by opening schools, feeding the hungry, healing those who could not afford to see a doctor, speaking out against slavery, and so much more. Today, United Methodist remain connected not only to the people in their small groups and congregations, but also to a church of millions around the world. Together we tell people about Jesus, protect people’s health, assist victims of disaster, stand up for those living on life’s margins, and watch over one another in love.

United Methodists believe our faith is demonstrated in the way we live. Jesus used the metaphor of a tree. He taught, “Every good tree produces good fruit… Therefore, you will know them by their fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20). The book of James similarly states, “Faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity” (James 2:17).

Wesley offered the early Methodists three General Rules to help us live out our faith. Do no harm is the first rule, followed by do good. The final rule is to attend upon “all the ordinances of God,” for which Wesley explains are things like worship, prayer, and fasting.

United Methodists today also have The General Rule of Discipleship stated in the Book of Discipline: “To witness to Jesus Christ in the world, and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit” (2016 ¶1117.2). We do these things as individual Christians, as congregations, and as a globally-connected denomination, not to earn something from God, but to participate in God’s ongoing work in the world, in our lives, and in the lives of others.

As one of our hymns states, "The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people" ("We Are the Church" United Methodist Hymnal #558).

The United Methodist Church connects more than 12 million members on four continents, and engages in ministry all around the world. We speak many languages, come from various cultures, and span generations. Yet, we are united in our faith in Jesus Christ.