What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Bethel United Methodist Church | Shannon, IL, based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines. We are part of a wider United Methodist tradition, so we share the heritage of John Wesley, the Founder of Methodism.

The United Methodist Church is a worldwide connection of more than 12 million members in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. We are the person next door, the church on the other side of the country, and the worshiping community across the globe. Together, we share a legacy of living as disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing God's love both in what we say and how we serve our neighbors.

Like many other Christian groups, we affirm the beliefs expressed in the Apostles Creed. These include:

• The belief in one God, who is the Creator and sustainer of the universe.
• The belief in the Trinity, that there is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• The belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is fully human and fully divine.

The kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and a future hope. Christian faith is, in part, a matter of hoping. We believe in and trust the Lord of the future, and we lean into the future that God has promised. God goes before us, beckoning us into the new world that is already being created, calling us to join in the challenging work of fashioning it. Our hope is in the Lord of all creation and all history—a God who is still in charge and is actively at work transforming the world.

Genesis 1:27 teaches that every person is created in the image of God. Because we bear the image of our Creator, we have been given the capacity to love and care for one another, to communicate, to create, and to live in community.
God invites each of us into a loving relationship, while also giving us the freedom to accept or reject that invitation. We believe that we discover the fullness of our humanity when we live in relationship with God—receiving God’s love, growing in faith, and reflecting God’s grace in the way we treat others and care for creation.

We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith and practice. The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) and twenty-seven in the New Testament. These books were written over a one-thousand-year period in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke), and Greek.

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior. That is why salvation can be found in Christ alone.

We believe that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ's life and ministry in the world today.
We believe that the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
We believe that the church is "the communion of saints," a community made up of all past, present, and future disciples of Christ.
We believe that the church is called to worship God and to support those who participate in its life as they grow in faith.

Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth.