Chesapeake
Virginia
Add an Article
Add an Event
Edit
Great Bridge United Methodist Church
History of Our Church
Great Bridge United Methodist Church was chartered in 1963. A daughter church of Oak Grove United Methodist Church, GBUMC has grown into an active community of believers with over 1470 members. This body of Christ is one that believes in nuturing faith, family and community.
What We Believe
The United Methodist Church was founded by John Wesley. John Wesley believed that the "living core of the Christian Faith was revealed in scripture, illuminated by tradtion, vivified in personal experience and confirmed by reason." Contrasting the Methodist movement with other religious societies of his day, he said, "The Methodists alone do not insist on you holding this opinion or that opinion;but they think and let think."
Although not primarily a denomination of creeds, the United Methodist Church shares with other Christians the doctrinal heritage of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Besides the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren adaptations of the Articles of Religion of the Church of England, other United Methodist basic beliefs include:
- A Triune God - The essential unit of Father, Son and Holy Spirit embraces the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, God's slavation in Christ, and God's continuing presence in our everyday lives.
- God's Prevenient Grace - The grace of God that precedes any and all conscious impulses. We are loved regardless of who we are or what we have done.
- Justification and Assurance - Also known as conversion, the process of being "justified" or restored to a right relationship with God through faith in Christ, is what Jesus described as being "reborn." We can expect to recieve assurance of this forgivnes of our sins, or salvation, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Sanctification and Perfection - New birth is only the first step in the process of sanctification of "holiness." The Holy Spirit's "sanctifying grace" draws us toward Christian perfection, which according to Wesley is a heart "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor."
- Faith and Good Works - Faith is the only response essential for salvation, but salvation evidences itself in good works. God's grace calls forth human response and discipline.
- Oneness of the Church of Christ - Our ecumenical commitment as United Methodists is to share our own religious heritage with the larger Christian family. We confess a belief in "one holy, catholic (or universal) and apostolic church" which calls us to Christian unity at local, national, and world levels.
- Nuture and Mission of the Church - Personal faith is nourished by the worshiping community which mobilizes connectional ties that bind us for service to the world. Personal salvation always involves Christian mission, and love of God is always linked with love of neighbor.
- Two Sacraments - We believe in two Sacraments ordained by Christ, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, are symbols and pledges of the Christian's profession and of God's love toward us. They are the means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening, and confirming our faith in Him.
Great Bridge United Methodist Church was chartered in 1963. A daughter church of Oak Grove United Methodist Church, GBUMC has grown into an active community of believers with over 1470 members. This body of Christ is one that believes in nuturing faith, family and community.
What We Believe
The United Methodist Church was founded by John Wesley. John Wesley believed that the "living core of the Christian Faith was revealed in scripture, illuminated by tradtion, vivified in personal experience and confirmed by reason." Contrasting the Methodist movement with other religious societies of his day, he said, "The Methodists alone do not insist on you holding this opinion or that opinion;but they think and let think."
Although not primarily a denomination of creeds, the United Methodist Church shares with other Christians the doctrinal heritage of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Besides the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren adaptations of the Articles of Religion of the Church of England, other United Methodist basic beliefs include:
- A Triune God - The essential unit of Father, Son and Holy Spirit embraces the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, God's slavation in Christ, and God's continuing presence in our everyday lives.
- God's Prevenient Grace - The grace of God that precedes any and all conscious impulses. We are loved regardless of who we are or what we have done.
- Justification and Assurance - Also known as conversion, the process of being "justified" or restored to a right relationship with God through faith in Christ, is what Jesus described as being "reborn." We can expect to recieve assurance of this forgivnes of our sins, or salvation, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Sanctification and Perfection - New birth is only the first step in the process of sanctification of "holiness." The Holy Spirit's "sanctifying grace" draws us toward Christian perfection, which according to Wesley is a heart "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor."
- Faith and Good Works - Faith is the only response essential for salvation, but salvation evidences itself in good works. God's grace calls forth human response and discipline.
- Oneness of the Church of Christ - Our ecumenical commitment as United Methodists is to share our own religious heritage with the larger Christian family. We confess a belief in "one holy, catholic (or universal) and apostolic church" which calls us to Christian unity at local, national, and world levels.
- Nuture and Mission of the Church - Personal faith is nourished by the worshiping community which mobilizes connectional ties that bind us for service to the world. Personal salvation always involves Christian mission, and love of God is always linked with love of neighbor.
- Two Sacraments - We believe in two Sacraments ordained by Christ, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, are symbols and pledges of the Christian's profession and of God's love toward us. They are the means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening, and confirming our faith in Him.