About Us

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Who Are the People at Central?

We are a faith community seeking to understand and live out what it means to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.  We seek to have inviting and inspiring worship, and we are engaged in mission and outreach in Mathews and beyond.  As a congregation and through small groups for all ages, we pray for the Holy Spirit to transform our lives, equipping and empowering us for service beyond ourselves, to the glory of God!  We seek to live into what is printed each Sunday in our worship bulletin: "Our pastor is The Reverend John Choi and the ministers are the members of Central United Methodist Church."  We welcome you to journey with us, with God. 

History of our Church

Central United Methodist Church was founded in 1873 as a circuit of 17 churches covering 4 counties. Through the years Central has grown and continues to be an active community of believers with over 300 members. This body of Christ is one that believes in nurturing faith, family and community!

Read the complete church history.

What We Believe

The United Methodist Church was founded by John Wesley. John Wesley believed that the "living core of the Christian Faith was revealed in scripture, illuminated by tradition, vivified in personal experience and confirmed by reason." Contrasting the Methodist movement with other religious societies of his day, he said, "The Methodists alone do not insist on you holding this opinion or that opinion;but they think and let think."

Although not primarily a denomination of creeds, the United Methodist Church shares with other Christians the doctrinal heritage of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Besides the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren adaptations of the Articles of Religion of the Church of England, other United Methodist basic beliefs include:

  • A Triune God - The essential unit of Father, Son and Holy Spirit embraces the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, God's salvation in Christ, and God's continuing presence in our everyday lives.
  • God's Prevenient Grace - The grace of God that precedes any and all conscious impulses. We are loved regardless of who we are or what we have done.
  • Justification and Assurance - Also known as conversion, the process of being "justified" or restored to a right relationship with God through faith in Christ, is what Jesus described as being "reborn." We can expect to receive assurance of this forgiveness of our sins, or salvation, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
  • Sanctification and Perfection - New birth is only the first step in the process of sanctification of "holiness." The Holy Spirit's "sanctifying grace" draws us toward Christian perfection, which according to Wesley is a heart "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor."
  • Faith and Good Works - Faith is the only response essential for salvation, but salvation evidences itself in good works. God's grace calls forth human response and discipline.
  • Oneness of the Church of Christ - Our ecumenical commitment as United Methodists is to share our own religious heritage with the larger Christian family. We confess a belief in "one holy, catholic (or universal) and apostolic church" which calls us to Christian unity at local, national, and world levels.
  • Nurture and Mission of the Church - Personal faith is nourished by the worshiping community which mobilizes connectional ties that bind us for service to the world. Personal salvation always involves Christian mission, and love of God is always linked with love of neighbor.
  • Two Sacraments - We believe in two Sacraments ordained by Christ, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, are symbols and pledges of the Christian's profession and of God's love toward us. They are the means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening, and confirming our faith in Him. 

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