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Mission of the United Methodist Church
"To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." --Ephesians 4:12
Our Mission in the World
God's self-revelation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
summons the church to ministry in the world through witness by word and deed
in light of the church's mission.  The visible church of Christ as a faithful
community of persons affirms the worth of all humanity and the value of
interrelationship in all of God's creation.
In the midst of a sinful world, through the grace of God, we are brought to
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We become aware of the presence and
life-giving power of God's Holy Spirit.
We live in confident expectation of the ultimate fulfillment of God's purpose.
We are called together for worship and fellowship and for the upbuilding of the
Christian community. We advocate and work for the unity of the Christian
church. We call all persons into discipleship under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
As servants of Christ we are sent into the world to engage in the struggle for
justice and reconciliation. We seek to reveal the love of God for men, women,
and children of all ethnic, racial, cultural, and national backgrounds and to
demonstrate the healing power of the gospel with those who suffer.
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2000.
Copyright 2000 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
Rationale for Our Mission
The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by
proclaiming the good news of God's grace and thus seeking the fulfillment of
God's reign and realm in the world. The fulfillment of God's reign and realm in
the world is the vision Scripture holds before us. The United Methodist Church
affirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the Lord
of all. We respect persons of all religious faiths and we defend religious freedom
for all persons. Jesus' words in Matthew 28:19-20 provide the Church with our
mission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything that I have commanded you."
This mission is our grace-filled response to the Reign of God in the world
announced by Jesus. God's grace is active everywhere, at all times, carrying out
this purpose as revealed in the Bible. It is expressed in God's covenant with
Abraham and Sarah, in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, and in the ministry of
the prophets. It is fully embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. It is experienced in the ongoing creation of a new people by the Holy
Spirit.
John Wesley, Phillip Otterbein, Jacob Albright, and our other spiritual forebears
understood this mission in this way. Whenever United Methodism has had a
clear sense of mission, God has used our Church to save persons, heal
relationships, transform social structures, and spread scriptural holiness,
thereby changing the world. In order to be truly alive, we embrace Jesus'
mandate to make disciples of all peoples.
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2000.
Copyright 2000 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
Mission as Active Expectancy
The ministry of all Christians consists of service for the mission of God in
the world. The mission of God is best expressed in the prayer that Jesus taught
his first disciples: Thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.
All Christians, therefore, are to live in active expectancy: faithful in service of
God and their neighbor; faithful in waiting for the fulfillment of God's universal
love, justice, and peace on earth as in heaven.
Pending this time of fulfillment, the ministry of all Christians is shaped by the
teachings of Jesus. The handing on of these teachings is entrusted to leaders
who are gifted and called by God to appointed offices in the church: some
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ
(Ephesians 4:11-12). For these persons to lead the church effectively, they must
embody the teachings of Jesus in servant ministries and servant leadership.
Through these ministries and leadership, congregations of the church are
faithfully engaged in the forming of Christian disciples and vitally involved in the
mission of God in the world.
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2000.
Copyright 2000 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
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