The Foundations of Central Church

Our overall guiding principles are summarized in the Purpose Statement recently adopted by the Natural Church Development Committee and ratified by the church Administrative Council. That Statement defines our purposes as:

"Loving God, Loving People--While Serving Our World"

The first four words declare what the Scriptures describe as the Greatest Commandments--to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves. As such, they are a concise reflection of the principles of the previously discerned "Vision of Central United Methodist Church," manifesting the love of God through meaningful worship experiences in the Methodist Christian tradition, and the love of those around us expressed through welcoming compassion. Yet, pursuing the principles of the faith does not pre-empt our responsibility to simultaneously put that faith into practice with service to those immediately surrounding us, as well as elsewhere in the world in which we find our own shelter and sustenance. Our foundations are explored in depth in the material appearing below.

The Vision of Central Church

We are a community of Christian disciples committed to prayerful discernment, vital worship, compassionate service and expansive spiritual growth; taking seriously Christ's teaching to "love your neighbor," welcoming all people as neighbors.


Our Mission

The Mission of Central United Methodist Church is...

To make disciples of Jesus Christ,

To celebrate the love and grace of God,

To focus on Jesus Christ, our savior, and to help others know his love personally,

To prayerfully seek God's will, guided by the Holy Spirit,

To develop meaningful worship experiences and opportunities for Christian fellowship,

To promote life-long educational opportunities for Christian growth, global ministry and community service,

To respond to the unique calls to service that come to this downtown church,

And to love one another as creations of God, with all of our differences, treasuring our
unity in Christ.

Our Values

Central United Methodist Church is a friendly, enthusiastic and charitable congregation that:

• is guided and empowered by the Holy spirit,
• proclaims the saving love of Jesus Christ,
• nutures all to maturity in Christ,
• responds to the needs of others,
• affirms tradition yet is open to God's continuous leading,
• celebrates in worship, witness and service,

• is committed to ministry in the metropolitan area and world beyond.

The goals of Central Church will be accomplished as we:

• receive Jesus Christ's loving grace working to honor and unify individuals in God's family (the Body of Christ),
• foster unity based on commitment to Christ rather than conformity among the membership,
• offer a variety of settings for worship of God, the care and edification of our members and outreach to the community,
• increase our influence for God and good through growth and development of programs and ministries,
• equip people to live out and share their faith in every relationship at church, home, work and play.
  
  

The character of our church includes the gifts of God's spirit:

• love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) as well as,
• honesty, integrity and reverence, tolerance, understanding and trust, friendliness, listening and respect.

Principles of our life together include:

• consistency with our Wesleyan tradition. We will be guided by scripture, tradition, reason and experience in matters of faith and practice,
• taking seriously our connectional responsibilities as opportunities to be in mission,
• modeling a life together based on love rather than fear.