“What Makes Methodists Different?”

This article highlights several ways that being a Methodist is unique and special.

Service to Others

• John Wesley wanted Methodists to love God with all their hearts and to love their neighbors as they loved themselves. The Wesley’s pushed for more expressions of this directive: “our faith is exemplified in the way we love others. For example, caring for neighbors is an expression of grace and an expression of how we love others.”

• The early Methodists placed a heavy emphasis on providing relief to the poor, caring for the ill, visiting prisoners, and disrupting the cycles of brokenness and injustice in their communities. We continue to do this today.

Grace

• Grace is not earned. It is a gift from God and is present in our lives even before we are aware of it (we—United Methodists—call this “prevenient grace”).

• It is through God’s grace that humans are transformed and empowered to live in ways that extend God’s love.

• The United Methodist Church believes that people are saved by grace through faith.

Two Sacraments

• United Methodists observe two sacraments. A sacrament is a human activity through which God is active and we encounter God’s grace.

• The first sacrament is the sacrament of Holy Communion, also known as the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, which is open to anyone who wishes to receive the elements and participate in God’s grace.

• The second is baptism—a rite of initiation into the Christian community. In the United Methodist Church, baptism is open to people of all ages.

Of course, there are many more ways we are unique and special. These are but a few!