UMC 101

Our Beliefs

Church of the Palms believes in a Triune God, known to us as our:

Creator, the God beyond names and labels who is All in All;
Redeemer, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah-Savior of the world;
Sustainer, the Holy Spirit present spiritually to guide, counsel and comfort us.

Authority of Scripture and Justification by Grace

We believe in the authority of Scripture in matters of faith; the confession that our justification as sinners is by grace through faith; and the realization that the church is in need of continual reformation and renewal.

Wesleyan Heritage and Salvation

We are the root church out of which all Wesleyan churches grew, tracing our theological and organizational heritage back to John Wesley. We believe our salvation comes as a free gift of love from God, demonstrated and made effective in the death of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross as his act of obedient and forgiving love for all humankind. We believe in the free will of persons to choose to follow Jesus or pass Jesus by. We understand those who follow Jesus to be part of God’s universal Church found in Jesus, the Christ.

Sacrament of Holy Baptism

We believe in the sacrament of Holy Baptism as the present day sign of the amazing grace of God. For us, that grace as signified in Holy Baptism is not dependent upon our acceptance of the offer of the gift of salvation. Therefore we baptize persons of all ages who are presented or present themselves as having trust in God and a willingness to follow Jesus. [read more about Baptism]

The Lord's Supper and Eucharist

Parents promise to be faithful in bringing up their baptized children in the church that they may be fully nurtured in the love of God until their majority. Of course, with children and adults of sufficient competence to answer for themselves, we require that they confess their rejection of sin and profess their faith in God prior to their Holy Baptism. Baptism is not only a real act of God’s grace but also a sign of the person’s regeneration or new birth in Jesus, the Christ.

Priesthood of All Believers

We believe in the sacrament of Holy Communion, also known as The Lord’s Supper and The Holy Eucharist. We partake of the bread and unfermented wine in a heavenly and spiritual manner by faith and do not believe in Transubstantiation, or the actual physical change of the elements of bread and wine into blood and flesh. We do believe that by participating we receive God’s redeeming grace by Jesus, Christ’s death.

Stewardship and Service in Creation

We believe in the priesthood of all believers; that all who love God will follow in the way of obedient service which was given its ultimate expression in Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore we believe that we are stewards of all of creation; the people, creatures, earth, water, air and uttermost depths of outer space. We are engaged and involved in our world and do not shrink from spreading the good news of God’s love in every arena of God-created existence.

More at UMC

What is Spiritual Direction?

Spiritual Direction – the art of holy listening for God’s movement in another’s sacred journey. (1 Samuel 3:8-9, John 4:1-42)

Spiritual Direction is an encounter between the Holy Spirit, a Spiritual Director, and a Directee that allows the Directee to explore a deeper relationship with God. The Spiritual Director sits with the Directee helping him or her pay attention to God’s work in their life.

In the midst of our busyness it may be difficult to notice God’s actions in our lives. At our deepest level, all of us long for a more conscious experience of God’s presence and love. In Spiritual Direction we reflect deeply on the experiences of our daily lives. Gradually, as we contemplate, we begin to recognize how the Holy Spirit is truly with us every day and everywhere. We discover that God has been waiting for us to experience a closer relationship.

Spiritual Direction is about being encouraged and challenged to draw closer to God.

Courtesy of the AWF Spiritual Formation Leadership Team

Rev. Shannon Bullion is a certified Spiritual Director, who has done 2 years of additional education and she can meet with people one-on-one to do Spiritual Direction.

What does it mean to be a Lay Leader?

(We are working on it!)

What does it mean to be a Chairperson of Council?

An effective chairperson brings initiative, coordination, and collaboration to the group that does planning, goal-setting, implementation, and evaluation of ministry for the congregation.

Who is qualified for the job?
Spiritual gifts should include leadership, administration, servanthood, discernment, and teaching.

This leader should show evidence of prior effective ministry leadership, evidence of active and growing personal discipleship, ability to collaborate with other ministry leaders, preside over meetings, delegate responsibility and follow up getting the job done.

Structure
The Church Council is the administrative agency of the charge conference to envision, plan, implement, and annually evaluate the ministry of the congregation. (The book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2008, ¶252) The chair of this group is elected annually by the charge conference (¶251.3).

What does the Chairperson of the Council do?

Lead the council in fulfilling its responsibilities as outlined in The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2008, ¶252.
Work with the pastor(s), lay leader and others to fulfill the mission of “making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
Through the year, this leader prepares and communicates the agenda for meetings, leads the meetings, follows up actions by assigning responsibility for implementation, coordinates the activities of the leadership team, and maintains a healthy and growing spiritual life.

What Is Salvation?

Through faith in Jesus Christ, one can be saved from the eternal consequences of sin and receive eternal life with God in heaven. It is the cornerstone of the Christian faith and is available to anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Salvation is as easy as believing in your heart that Jesus died for your sin and wants to live in your heart. If you'd like to be saved, pray the prayer below:

"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and that I need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for my sins, and that He rose from the dead on the third day. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and to come into my life as my Lord and Savior. I give my life to you, and I ask for your guidance and strength to live for you from this day forward. Thank you for your love and mercy. In Jesus' name, Amen"

I've Decided To Follow Jesus!

We'd love to give you more information about what it means to be a follower of Jesus everyday. We'd love it if you filled out the form below just so that we can help you on this exciting new journey!

Get Baptized!

Baptism is in outward expression of an inward decision.
If you are interested in getting baptized, you can sign up using the form below by providing your name, contact information, and any other required details. Once you have submitted the form, you will be contacted by our church with more information!