"The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the Earth."

 

Our Beliefs

As United Methodists, we have an obligation to bear a faithful Christian witness to Jesus Christ. We reflect upon the lessons Jesus taught, and take those lessons and apply them to our lives as we go out into the world.

We, as all Christians, believe in the Bible as the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine, and as the guide for our behavior and beliefs. We absolutely believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and is the living Word of God in our midst, whom we trust in life and death. Worship is the core of our faith. Through worship we learn the teachings of the Bible, and how God expects us to live our lives. We continually seek out ways to communicate God’s living Word in today’s world. Our mission is to use God’s Word to spiritually influence  people of all ages and education levels, and to bring them to Faith in Jesus Christ. We recognize, and celebrate the 2 sacraments in which Jesus Himself participated in, these being Baptism and Communion. We welcome all who love and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter their denomination, to participate in Communion with us. Won't you join us?

Our Mission

:Our mission is to make disciples for Jesus Christ. We make disciples as we proclaim the gospel; lead persons to commit their lives to God through baptism by water, spirit, and profession of faith in Jesus Christ; nurture people in Christian living; and send people into the world as servants of Jesus Christ; by working to develop social structures that are consistent with the Bible; and continuing the mission of seeking, welcoming, and gathering people into the community of the body of Christ.

 

Our Statement of Faith

The Struthers United Methodist Church is a friendly and welcoming Bible based church, which follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Bible as the one and only path to salvation and eternal life. We believe in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, and in the total authority of the Bible for all matters of faith and conduct. This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God, that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. You can read our complete Statement of Faith here.

Why Believe the Bible, Who is Jesus, and Why Does He Matter?

We believe that the Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of God, sent from God with Holy inspiration to the individual writers of the Bible.  The Bible contains 66 Books, and It is estimated that 40 different writers wrote the individual Books of the Bible. These writers lived on 3 different continents. It was written over a period of roughly 2000 years, and was written in 3 different languages. These writers came from every walk of life. Fishermen and kings, shepherds and a priest, a tax collector and scholars, a cup-bearer and numerous prophets all penned Books of the Bible. They wrote in the wilderness, and from prison; from a palace and in exile. They wrote in forms of poetry, and in prose. They wrote songs, genealogies, and histories. Despite this, the Bible remains remarkable in that it is consistent and unchanging over time. To this day there are 1st century manuscripts of individual parts of the New Testament, and recently a 2500 year old Biblical text was discovered in Jerusalem. More and more, archeology finds more and more evidence supporting Biblical accounts. The discovery of pottery in Jerusalem dating back to the time of King David had stumped experts, until they realized that what they were looking at was not written in the language of the Canaanites, which they expected, but in a very old version of the Hebrew Language. The Bible has texts dating back as far as 1000 years BC. "The Dead Sea Scrolls", a set of Old Testament texts, and fragments,date back as far as 233 BC. The New Testament has manuscripts dating back to the 1st century AD.The Bible, and its individual books are well established in historical terms. The more we learn, the more we confirm the Bible. We can trust that the Bible was written when it says it was written.

What about Jesus? The Bible tells us that He grew up learning carpentry, and debated the scriptures in the Holy Temple as a child. He became a Rabbi as an adult, a teacher of the scriptures. Is that all though? Not really. Jesus is also the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, who came to earth to save all who believe in Him from their sins. Jesus is recorded in the Bible, and also in extra-biblical texts from early 1st and 2nd century writers like Thallus, who was quoted by Julius Africanus, Mara Bar-Sarapion, Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Jewish texts like the Talmud, and many other early secular sources.

Jesus is a historical figure, with more documentation, (even without considering the Bible) than most people of that time.

Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, and was probably trained as a carpenter. He also debated the scriptures as a child in the temple. He grew up, and discovered the ministry of his cousin, John the Baptist. (or "Baptizer") When Jesus was baptized, those present saw the spirit of the God come upon Him, and His own ministry began.

Jesus' ministry was one that taught the need for people to belief in Him as their Messiah and Savior, and He also taught the need for repentance of sins. Jesus taught that He was the way to the God. In John 14:6, Jesus taught "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.."  This one statement wraps up the basic message of the New Testament. If we wish to be forgiven of our sins, and if we want eternal life in heaven, then we need Jesus Christ. Jesus came to this earth, was born, lived, taught, and suffered and died upon the cross for one simple reason; to bring forgiveness of sin to all who believe in Him. Jesus also taught, in John 10:28, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” What an incredible assurance. Acts 4:12 tells us that;“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Jesus Christ is THE way to salvation. No one else can do what He does for us, saving us from our sins, and bringing us eternal life. In John 3:17, we are taught that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  Romans 3:10 tells us that  "There is no one righteous, not even one;” We are unable to enter the Kingdom of heaven on our own merits, because we have all, as Romans 3:23 teaches, “sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Mankind is sinful. Luckily we are also informed, in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” If we live in Adam’s sin, we will die. If we are reborn in Jesus Christ, we will live. Jesus taught us to treat all people as our brothers and sisters, to turn the other cheek, and to serve others. He taught us that we should approach everything with love, that we should turn our worries over to God in prayer, to forgive others, and to give quietly. He told us to speak good, and that nothing is impossible if we have faith. Jesus also taught us to pray expectantly, saying; “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

Despite what most would consider to be loving and peaceful teachings, the authorities of the day wanted to end the ministry of Jesus by any means possible. To this end they killed Jesus in the most brutal fashion of their time,  lashing, and then a vicious and humiliating death hanging on the cross. The Jewish and the Roman authorities were both committed to ending the fledgling Christian religion following the death of Jesus. They denied the belief that Jesus rose from the dead, and that He was the Son of God, and Messiah. If they wanted to permanently end the Christian faith then and there, all they had to do was to find the dead body of Jesus and parade it through the streets. They never could though. The body of Jesus is no longer on this earth, because Jesus defeated death. His heavenly body is in heaven, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. The Romans could be ruthless and relentless when they wanted something. They were masters of torture, and were masters of information extraction. Despite this they were never able to even find a hint as to some "hiding place" for the dead body of Jesus Christ. The disciples of Jesus Christ were all executed for their beliefs, (though John actually survived poisoning, and was then exiled)  The authorities of the day tried to get them to go back on their beliefs. Not one did. The reason is simple. Jesus Christ is exactly who He says He is, and we should all Thank God for that. The Good News of Jesus Christ is alive and well to this very day!  This assurance that comes from Jesus Christ, the "peace that passes understanding", (Philippians 4:7) is also with us, as long as we have Jesus Christ!

 

United Methodist Church: Basics Of Our Faith
United Methodist Church: Social Principles and Creed
United Methodist Church: Christian Living
United Methodist Church: Frequently Asked Questions