Explore Methodism
Basics of Methodism
To see specific beliefs about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, etc., please visit our Beliefs page.
One of the elements that makes Methodists unique from other denominations is the method in which we experience God. We believe that the world is a complex place, and all of our personal experiences and understandings of God are needed and valued.
We explore our faith in four distinct ways:
- Scripture - The Bible is our primary understanding of our relationship with God and what God expects from us to bring the Kingdom to earth.
- Tradition - We lean on the creeds, hymns, and prayers of the past to recenter ourselves and connect with the community of Christ across generations, languages, borders, races, genders, and socio-economic status.
- Experience - Your personal experiences will help you better interpret and understand scripture. Bring your joys, hurts, pains, and desires to your faith journey. God wants to be in relationship with you.
- Reason - Use your reason and logic to interpret scripture contextually. We value scientific discovery, intellect, and curiosity. We believe God is big enough to handle doubts and questions.
UMC Updates
We're sure you've heard there are a lot of big changes happening in the United Methodist Church, and there's a lot of news to keep up with! We've created a page to help you learn more about General Conference, commonly asked questions about the UMC, and resources to help you. We are committed to the United Methodist Church and blessed to be part of this worldwide organization for good.
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Who is John Wesley?
John Wesley (1701-1791), along with his brother Charles, was the founder of the Methodist movement. While the two brothers were students at Oxford University, they joined a small group of men who studied scripture together daily, with a very methodical approach to daily prayer and devotion. Because of this approach, passerbys made fun of them and referred to them as “Methodists.” The name stuck and our denomination is well-known for our methodical approach to spiritual formation and devotion. Learn more about John Wesley in this fun video.
Small Groups and Methodism
In the early formation of the Methodist church by John and Charles Wesley, they put a huge emphasis on the importance of small groups, which they called “Class Meetings.” John Wesley’s Class Meetings were made up of 12 people who lived in the same community who would read scripture together, uplift each other in prayer, take up donations for each other, and would meet each week to answer the question, “How is your soul?”
John Wesley valued the spiritual transformation that happened in Class Meetings so deeply, that attending your local Class Meeting was a requirement to be able to attend worship services on Sunday!
At Trietsch, we’ve taken John Wesley’s idea of Class Meetings and created our own groups called “Life Groups.” Although we don’t go as far as Wesley (you are allowed to worship with us without attending a Life Group), we have clearly seen that Life Groups are the best environment for community connection and spiritual transformation.
In our Life Groups, we come together once a week to answer the simple question, “How is your life with God?” There is no homework, scripture reading, or curriculum. The goal is simply to share life together.
