Beliefs

The Bible

We believe the scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments are the inspired word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) We believe the Holy Spirit guided and directed human authors to create God’s written means of communication with us, which reveals God’s love and plan to be in relationship with all of humanity. The Bible is God’s blueprint for living the Christian life and is our source for faith and practice.

God

We believe in one God, who exists in three distinct persons…the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity is equally the one God in being, essence, character, power and eternal qualities.

Jesus

We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior who came to earth in the flesh to reveal God to humans and to restore all of fallen humanity to a personal relationship with God. We believe Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; he is both fully human and fully God. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and embodies the truth about God and the Truth of God. Jesus willingly died on the cross to demonstrate God’s love for sinful humans and to provide salvation for all humanity. His sacrifice in our place provides all humans the means to be reconnected with their loving Creator. We believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus ascended into heaven, where he rules as our Lord (absolute authority) and advocate. Jesus will return to earth in the future to establish God’s perfect peace and justice for all time.

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the divine personhood of the Holy Spirit as an equal part of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God present, living within each follower to empower a life that reflects the lifestyle, values and character of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the change agent in the lives of Jesus’ followers, illuminating God’s word for understanding and application in the life of each. The Spirit is involved in progressively transforming each follower into the image of Christ, and is actively working within the Christian community and world at large to bring about God’s plan of redemption for all people and all creation.

The Church

We believe the Church (also known as the Body or Bride of Christ in scripture) is a spiritual organism made up of all those in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, who are called to live in fellowship and worship together. We believe in the priesthood of all believers: everyone in relationship with Christ is gifted, empowered and called to serve within God’s mission to reach the world. The Church is God’s vehicle on earth to bring about God’s justice and mercy for all people.

Learn more about what United Methodists believe

Updated 4.13.23 – Town Hall Handouts with Fall 2022 Letter, Potential Pathways and United Methodist Timeline

We believe...

…that every person on this blue green planet, more than 7.3 billion people, live under the umbrella of God’s grace.

…that from start to finish, from our first breath to last, God’s reckless love covers us whether we realize it or not! God is crazy in love with every person on this planet.

…that God’s not a judge who wants to condemn us. He’s not some ogre who wants to harm us. God is a Father. Remember, Jesus called God his Abba, Papa, Daddy who wants to be in an intimate and personal relationship with all us.

…that we experience God’s amazing grace in distinct, definable stages or phases.

…that before we knew God, we lived under “even there,” prevenient grace. God has been trying to get our attention or woo us into a relationship.

…that we come to a moment or a season when we recognize God’s unconditional, relentless love for us, and enter into “even now,” justifying grace. God takes the initiative to restore our broken relationship with him because of sin.

…that God isn’t finished with us yet, because though he loves us exactly where we are, he loves us too much to leave us there. Growing followers of Jesus learn to cooperate with Holy Spirit in the gift of Christian community and experience “even more,” sanctifying grace. This is when we learn to love God and other people even more and our lives begin to reflect the character of Jesus even more.

…that this journey of sanctification leads us to death’s door. Because at the end of our lives, God’s arm is not short! God leads us by the hand through the veil of death as we graduate from this life temporal to that life eternal. We will experience “even when” I die, glorifying grace. It’s our homecoming day when we will see Jesus face to face!

LGBTQ+ Practices

-We believe that unity of the church is a primary practice for the Body of Christ generally and for Legacy Church specifically. Unity is not the same as uniformity. Legacy Church is full of people with a variety of theological perspectives concerning many issues facing the current Church, including the biblical understanding of human sexuality.

-Our intention is to love the way that God loves us by doing no harm and doing all the good we can. We will maintain the historic biblical picture of marriage being between one man and one woman, at the same time recognizing that some within our congregation may have a different biblical interpretation. We will teach and listen with compassion as we walk alongside each other.

-Everyone is welcome to serve in all ministries as long as they meet ministry-specific criteria.

-Everyone is welcome to participate in any group or event offered by Legacy Church for personal enrichment.

-Everyone is invited to become a member and explore a call to leadership.

-Everyone’s marriage relationship will be respected at Legacy Church.

-Legacy will provide marital support of all married couples. All can participate in any marriage course.

-Aligned with current United Methodist policy, Legacy clergy will not officiate same-sex weddings, nor will our facilities be used for same-sex weddings. However, clergy will continue to offer pastoral support as same-sex couples navigate personal issues concerning faith and life, just as we minister to divorced, widowed, remarried and single persons.