Faith Formation

at Trinity United Methodist Church

Vision 

Trinity United Methodist Church is a community of individuals living in intentional relationship with Jesus Christ and responding in a life evident of growing faith. 

What is Christian Faith? 

Christian faith is living in dynamic personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and allowing God to direct our lives through the Holy Spirit.  Individually and within community, we seek the guidance of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit for serving the world with shared meaning and purpose. 

What is Christian Faith Formation? 

Faith Formation is one’s journey of hearing and responding to God’s call in the life-long process of being formed for living Christ’s love in the world.  Faith is formed in our experience of God’s grace and application of Christ’s teachings, as we trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our everyday living.  In our growing relationship with Christ as we belong, covenant, pray, study, worship, give, serve, and invite.  

Why is Christian Faith Formation Important? 

The Trinity mission statement calls for “guiding people of all ages to hear and respond to the living God’s call”.  We believe a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ is foundational to the development of one’s Christian faith. As such, Trinity United Methodist Church is committed to guiding people on personal paths of spiritual growth and faith formation. 

What is Faith Formation Ministry? 

Faith Formation is the ministry of encouraging, enabling, and equipping all people to grow in Christ-centered faith.  We believe personal faith formation should be the fundamental focus in all ministries of Trinity United Methodist Church.  Recognizing the relationship of Christian faith formation and stages of human development, as well as one’s personal spiritual gifts and life experiences, Faith Formation Ministry at Trinity UMC encourages participation in worship and the sacraments, small and large group study, service and fellowship opportunities, spiritual companionships and retreats, with resources for:

·         Deepening personal relationship with Christ through prayer and spiritual practices,

·         Sharing faith experiences through word and action,

·         Growing spiritually through formational study and reflection on God’s Word,

·         Intentional and consistent teaching and modeling of Christian faith within families,

·         Tending the health of our bodies and our environment as expression of God’s love,

·         Encouragement and accountability for application of faith growing experiences in everyday living and giving in relationship with others.

CHRIST-CENTERED FAITH FORMATION 
Facets of life-long faith-formation are integrated and interdependent …
all equally important components of growth into Christ-like living.


BELONG

God created and claims us and gives us our identity as Christians through the sacrament of baptism as ordained by Christ.  In baptism we recognize we belong to God, and are called into community, the Body of Christ, where we are nurtured in our Christian faith.  Church membership is our commitment to belong to a specific family of Christian believers, an outward expression of our covenant with Christ and our commitment to further God’s work in the world.

COVENANT

To covenant is to receive God’s promise and to make a lasting agreement with God and others to live faithfully and intentionally in dynamic personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  We promise to be responsible for our faith formation through Christian spiritual practices of prayer, study, worship, giving, serving, and inviting.

PRAY

To pray is to be in relationship with God, the foundation of Christ-centered faith.  Because we are each unique in personality, gift, and experience, our communication with God differs in ways of expressing and listening.  When we recognize Christ as our constant companion, we are transformed into persons who know that all of our living is prayer.

STUDY

We recognize the Bible as the story of God and the text for our life-guidance.  As community of Christ-centered faith, we place church-wide priority on learning of our faith through formational Bible study so as to bring daily Christian interpretation to our being.  As responsible, committed Christians, we engage in the faith-forming spiritual practices of daily reading, reflection, life application, and conversation … continually listening for the intersections of God’s story and our own and others.

WORSHIP

To worship is to know God … and to respond to God’s constant presence in our lives.  It is the personal and communal encounter with God that continually transforms our perception and understanding of the world and our relationship and responsibility to it.  Congregational worship is our gathering to encounter God together, learning from the scriptures and experiencing traditions brought forth from our Christian heritage that encourage us to grow in Christ-like living, while deepening our personal relationship with and worship of God.

GIVE

When we recognize that all we are and all we receive is gift of God, we grow in faith when we give the first and best of all we are and all we have ~ our presence, our prayers, our possessions, our money, our time ~ as expressions of joyful gratitude to God.

SERVE

In all of His living, Christ modeled faith formation for all followers.  He prayed, listened, taught, preached, healed.  He touched the marginalized and the privileged alike.  He gathered followers into small groups for study and leadership development.  He ministered to close friends and to those he did not know.  And then Jesus gave our missional orders ~ to love God with all our heart, strength, mind, and will … to love neighbors … to make disciples.  In this commissioning, we are called to the wholeness of Christian service – to serve out of our skills and passions as joyful response to God’s gracious gift of life with Christ as our guide.  Serving is the work of the church within our walls, our homes, and world-wide.

INVITE

To invite is the ‘called’ ministry of all Christians as persons of the priesthood of all believers.  Involving obedience and trust in God, inviting others to know Christ is the church’s plan to implement Christ’s Great Commandment and Commission … to growingly love God with all that we are through a life-long, dynamic faith trans-formational relationship with Christ, to love our neighbor by sharing the good news of the Gospel, and by guiding others to continue the flow of Christian faith formation through sharing with all persons encountered in daily living. Christ’s model of hospitality … inviting, sharing, relating, equipping, serving …occurs in the heart, the home, the church, the world.

 

Discerned by the Trinity Faith Formation Team  ~  Patty Lowe, Scribe