About Us

First United Methodist Church
   Excelsior Springs, Missouri

   The Methodist movement began in England in the 1700s as an effort to revive the church. After the Revolutionary War, preachers on horseback--"circuitriders"--helped to spread the message of God's grace through the growing United States. By the 1850s the Methodist churches represented more Americans than any other denomination. In 1968 the Methodist Church joined with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church, a global denomination of nearly ten million members. Our local congregation was formed in 1884. After occupying several buildings downtown, one of which burned in 1947, we moved to our present site in the early 1990s. Although we have inherited a rich legacy of faith and tradition from the Christian church of history, there are several "distinctively" United Methodist features of our theology:

--Diversity. Along with our founder, John Wesley,
   we believe that there are certain essentials to
   Christian faith. Differences of opinion remind
   us of the limitless grace of God and challenge us
   to grow.

--Grace. The free and unearned love of God
   brings us to faith, forgives us and renews us,
   and urges us toward perfect love, that is, loving
   God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength,
   and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

--Conversion. For some it happens suddenly and
   for others it comes gradually. But our lifelong
   growth in faith is led by the Holy Spirit.

--Service. We are saved by the grace of God, but
   we demonstrate our salvation through works of
   love: witness, service, and social action.

based on "The United Methodist Way"

Our Pastor

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