ABOUT US

First Methodist Church Johnson City is an independent, traditional Methodist church standing in the tradition of John Wesley. We worship Jesus Christ, hold to the historic Christian faith, and welcome all people to come and experience the grace of God with us.

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Our Foundation

• We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — the maker and preserver of all things.

• We believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, was crucified for our sins, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father, and will return to judge the living and the dead.

• We believe the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, gives life to believers, and sanctifies us — renewing our fallen nature so that we may love God fully and walk in His commandments.

• We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain everything necessary for salvation. Scripture is our final authority for faith and practice.

• We believe salvation comes by God's grace alone, received through faith in Jesus Christ alone — not earned by our works or merit. Through Christ's sacrifice, we are forgiven, justified, and adopted as God's children. Good works follow as the fruit of saving faith.

• We affirm the historic creeds of the Church — the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon — as faithful summaries of biblical truth handed down to us across the centuries.

 

The Sacraments
We celebrate two sacraments instituted by Christ:

• Holy Baptism unites us with Christ in His death and resurrection, incorporates us into His Body, and marks our entry into the Christian life. We baptize both adults and children by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• Holy Communion (the Lord's Supper) is the ongoing sign of God's grace, where we remember Christ's death, give thanks, and are spiritually nourished at His Table. Our Table is open to all Christians who love Christ, repent of sin, and seek to live in peace with one another.

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Our Witness in the World

• We believe every person is made in the image of God and is loved by Him. All people are welcome at our church — to worship with us, participate in our programs, receive the sacraments, and become members — without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender. We are committed to being a safe place of refuge, hospitality, and spiritual fulfillment for everyone who walks through our doors.

• At the same time, as a traditional Methodist church, we hold to the historic Christian understanding of human sexuality and marriage. We believe human sexuality is a gift from God to be expressed within the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and we believe gender reflects the biological reality given to each person at birth. Marriages performed by our pastors and in our facilities reflect this understanding.

• We hold these convictions with humility and love, recognizing that all of us — without exception — depend entirely on the grace of Jesus Christ.

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Our Heritage
We stand in the tradition of historic Methodism as shaped by John Wesley and articulated in the Twenty-Five Articles of Religion. While we are an independent, autonomous church not affiliated with any larger denomination, we joyfully cooperate with other Christians and churches in the work of the Gospel.