Our Mission, Vision, Core Beliefs, and Values


Our Mission

The mission of the United Methodist Church is to...

Go and make disciples of Jesus Christ
Matthew 28:19

We at First United Methodist Church of Lakeland will fulfill this mission by…

Living and sharing the love of Christ with joy

 


Our Vision
 

 

·         Welcomes all people

·         Leads people into a relationship with Jesus Christ

·         Equips believers to become disciples

·         Sends disciples to meet human needs

While we move in the direction of our vision, our hearts and minds are rooted in a core set of beliefs and values that fuel the fire for our mission and vision.

Our Core Beliefs

 

God is the Creator of heaven and earth who gave his only son, Jesus, to save us all; and is present with us today in the Holy
Spirit
.
 
The Word of God, contained in the Old and New Testaments, is
our guide for faith and life.

The Church is God’s people living as the body of Christ in the world.

Therefore, we believe all people need God.

Our Values

 

·         God-centered Worship

·         Christ-centered Relationships

·         Personal Spiritual Growth

·         Others-centered Service

 


 

Living our Values

God-centered Worship that

¼      Celebrates God’s goodness.

¼      Expresses itself in a variety of styles and settings.

¼      Proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and music.

¼      Connects us with God through prayer.

¼      Moves us to put our faith into action.

Christ-centered Relationships that

¼      Help children show and experience God’s love.

¼      Help young people deepen their relationship with God.

¼      Help adults live as God’s men and women.

¼      Bring harmony, unity and wholeness to the home.

¼      Forgive and reconcile.

¼      Foster trust and accountability between individuals and within small groups.

¼      Connect all people in and beyond our church.

 

 

Personal Spiritual Growth that

¼      Draws us closer to God as we pray individually and collectively, for ourselves and for others.

¼      Makes us hungry to learn the wonders and knowledge of the faith.

¼      Grounds us in the Wesleyan principles of Scripture, tradition, reason and experience.

¼      Helps us identify, understand and apply our spiritual gifts.

¼      Helps us, through God’s grace, grow toward perfection in love.

 Others-centered Service that

¼      Calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

¼      Places us in our community to recognize and meet needs.

¼      Offers strength and help for those going through hard times.

¼      Advocates justice and is a voice for the voiceless.

¼      Commits a dollar of our church’s resources to others for every dollar the church spends on itself.

¼      Requires us to be good stewards of God’s creation.

 

 

 For questions or comments about the website,  email: webmaster@firstumc.org

First United Methodist Church
A Stephen Ministry Church
72 Lake Morton Drive - Lakeland, Florida 33801 863.686.3163
For Questions and/or comments contact the webmaster@firstumc.org