College United Methodist Church  •   701 East Main Street  •  Warrenton  •   MO  •  63383      |      636-456-3390
Beliefs of College United Methodist Church
College UMC We are always glad to visit about any of these basic beliefs and encourage you to ask questions. If some of these terms are confusing, don't feel you are alone.

We are all growing and seeking to understand our faith more fully.
Here are few of the basic beliefs of our faith:

God: We believe in the one, true, and Holy God who exists in three persons - God, the Father, God the Son who came to earth in human form as Jesus Christ, and God, the Holy Spirit, who dwells with us in the present and future. He created heaven and earth and sustains our earth and lives in each one of us through His Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ: Jesus is the Son of God and was sent to show God's love and grace by His teaching and examples. He is a co-equal with God but came in human form by the miracle of a virgin birth to his mother, Mary. He lived a sinless life, but was crucified, dead and buried, and rose again to show God's power over sin and death. His death was a perfect sacrifice for the sins of humankind and through His death we received God's salvation. He exists eternally with God, but will come again to establish God's perfect peace and justice for all time.

Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and Son and is present in the world to make us aware of our sin and our need for Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian from the time of their salvation providing us with power for living and guidance for doing God's will. The Holy Spirit works in our lives to transform us to be more like Christ in our lives.

Prevenient Grace: Just a way to say that God's grace and forgiveness operates in our lives even before we accept Him. God took the first step in loving and redeeming humankind. We are given a choice by God if we will respond to this grace or ignore it. We are responsible for our sins, but given the offer of salvation, not by what we do, but by God's forgiving grace.

Justification: A big word which just means we are saved by God's grace - period. There is no behavior, no matter how holy and righteous, by which we can achieve salvation. Rather it is a gift from God. We are "justified" by an act of God, not by our deeds. To receive this gift, we must acknowledge and repent of our sins to God and truly seek to follow Him by our actions. The test of believing in Christ is seeking to obey Him.

Sanctification: Another big word to describe how God works through the Holy Spirit to transform our lives to be more like Christ. We become a new creation and strive to live by His teaching and examples. Even though we are human, commit sins, and have faults, we are on a journey to become more like Him.

The Church: We refer to the church as the "Body of Christ". Although, we often worship in a physical space we call "a church". THE CHURCH is a fellowship of believers here and around the world who follow Christ. As the church, we seek to glorify God, strengthen believers, declare God's mercy and justice for all, and share the Good News of how Christ is working in our lives. As believers, we are all gifted by God in at least one way to help build His kingdom. We are called and empowered to share our gifts to serve God in our world.

The Bible: The Bible is the inspired word of God written to all by human authors under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit. It consists of the Old and New Testaments written as a blueprint for living a Christian life and is the final authority in matters of faith and practice.

Don't stop here, read About Us and our Vision and Mission statement.
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