About Us
What is The Vine UMC?
The Vine United Methodist Church is a new type of community faith called into being to offer healing and connection to those who seek to actively pursues a faithful and generous way to follow Christ with others. The Vine is a hybrid community, holding a robust presence online community and dispersed small groups that live out the mission of Jesus Christ in their communal context.
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In these times of social polarization, misinformation, and division we choose to commit to way of living grounded, not in what sets us apart one from the other, but in that which can unite our hearts and minds—Jesus Christ, the True Vine.
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The Vine is Movement of Living Love
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We seek to embody the Living Love of God in words, actions, and hearts.
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We seek to live the question more than answers.
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We seek to love people over ideas.
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We seek to honor the image of the Divine in all people.
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We seek to share God's grace and mercy with all people, including ourselves.
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We seek to be a Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered community
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We seek to be an inclusive community that honors differences​
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We seek to be a community that is united in the love God and the teachings of Jesus.
We believe in the power of faith to transform lives, and we are dedicated to spreading that message to the world. We aim to empower individuals and communities to live their best lives and make a positive impact on the world around them.
Our Mission
We exist to cultivate communities of healing, hope, and belonging
Our Vision
To be a movement of Living Love.
Our Beliefs
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We affirm our faith in the living God who created everything that is and called it good, and created human beings in God’s own image.
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We give thanks for Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God’s love and our Savior, who redeems and heals our relationship with God.
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We trust in the movements of the Holy Spirit, transforming human lives and the whole creation.
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We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, and affirm that the Holy Scriptures reveal the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice. We hold that the Scriptures are to be interpreted through the lenses of tradition, reason, and experience.
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We declare that God’s grace is available to all and “nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created” (Rom. 8:38–39).
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We seek to live our lives in accordance with Jesus’ commandment to love one another: “Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other” (John 13:34–35).
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We honor the dignity of all beings and affirm the goodness of life.
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We are grateful for God’s forgiving and sanctifying love, given to us and to all and drawing us toward perfect love.
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We seek to follow Jesus, who gave boundless love to all—the children, the outcast, the condemned and the confused.
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We give thanks for God’s good gift of the Church Universal and for the Christian values embodied in the Wesleyan tradition and in The United Methodist Church. We recognize that the Body of Christ has many parts, and all are valuable. Thus, we respect differences within Christ’s Body, including differences in understanding and expressing faith, in gifts and practices of ministry, and in life experiences, as shaped by ethnicities, cultures, communities, abilities, age, sexual orientation and gender.
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We renew our commitment to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel in our daily lives and work and to magnify our witness as the church.
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With God’s help, we accept the challenge to follow the high calling “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Mic. 6:8, NRSV)
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We will practice John Wesley’s General Rules continue to inspire United Methodists to faithful practices that will do no harm, do good, and follow the ordinances of God.
The United Methodist Church is a worldwide connection of more than 12 million members in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. Together, we share a legacy of living as disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing God's love both in what we say and how we serve our neighbors.
The United Methodist Church
On April 23, 1968, in Dallas, Texas, the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church united to create a new denomination, The United Methodist Church. On that day, these two churches, with similar backgrounds and theologies that had historically been separated largely by language differences, became one. Today, United Methodist congregations are found not only in the United States but also in many countries throughout the world.
The United Methodist Church is a church that celebrates its diversity, found in both rural and urban areas. Our members include people from all ethnic groups. Although our congregations vary in size, location, and cultural background, they share a common heritage as United Methodists.
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At its core, The United Methodist Church is a global faith movement that seeks to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. This work is, first and foremost, relational. United Methodists are a connectional people, connected to one another in mission and service. Comprised of more than 12 million members in 131 Annual Conferences throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. The United Methodist Church is present in 136 countries, serving in mission with 677 missionaries, 125,000 volunteers-in-mission, and 550 refugee and relief workers. The United Methodist Church operates 52 hospitals and healthcare facilities, 92 colleges and universities, 13 theological schools, and 9 pre-collegiate schools. The generosity of United Methodists offers the world $6.3 billion annually in missional outreach.
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The United Methodist Church shares a common heritage with other Christians, believing in a triune God; faith in the mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ; and the celebration of the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. United Methodists believe in the Holy Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, and we read and interpret Scripture through the lenses of tradition, reason, and experience. United Methodists believe that God's grace is open to all and therefore practice "open Communion," meaning that anyone may participate in receiving Communion. We believe that salvation is an open gift from God, accepted by individuals according to their own free will. The United Methodist Church is a "big tent" theologically, providing space for rich theological discourse and, at times, painful disagreements.
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Like many other Christian groups, United Methodists also affirm the beliefs expressed in the Apostles' Creed, which include:
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The belief in one God, who is the Creator and sustainer of the universe.
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The belief in the Trinity, that there is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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The belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is fully human and fully divine."
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, taught that we pursue our faith in community and action with others. We practice a social holiness. We insist that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. The United Methodist Church has a long history of action and advocacy for social justice.
United Methodists are active in their communities and in the world through a variety of ways, including:
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Participating in local mission projects and service initiatives
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Supporting global mission efforts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and other mission organizations
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Advocating for social justice and working to address issues such as poverty, hunger, and inequality
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Providing educational and vocational training opportunities
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Offering counseling, support groups, and other forms of pastoral care
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Creating and supporting community development programs