Our Mission Statement

Fenton UMC Mission Statement:
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

At Fenton United Methodist Church, you will find a lively bunch of people who are doing our best to follow Jesus.  We think hard and wrestle with difficult questions.  We work hard, and we have a passion for feeding hungry people.  We love young people, and we provide a safe place where they can meet God and know that they matter.  We make friends. We sing a lot.  We laugh a lot.  We care for each other, and we care about the people in the communities in which we live.

If you are feeling disconnected from God or from the church, we would love to meet you.  Maybe you’re new in town.  Maybe you’ve been away from church a while.  Maybe you’ve had a bad experience, and you’re feeling cynical and disillusioned about what church can be.  Before you give up on church, give Fenton UMC a try. Help us show the world that faith can be the glue that holds people together instead of the wedge that drives them apart.  Help us show the world that it’s possible to love God with our hearts and our heads.  Help us show the world that the simple message of Jesus is more relevant than ever.

Our Vision Statement

Reaching upward to God

Reaching inward to each other

Reaching outward to our neighbors

So that all can find wholeness in Jesus Christ


Finding wholeness in Jesus Christ first and foremost means having a life-shaping relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus, His teachings and example become THE shaping model of our own lives. Wholeness, then, means personal transformation of our character through the grace of God. Wholeness means attending to every aspect of our lives: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Wholeness also means discovering and using our God-given gifts and passion to serve God, one another, and our neighbors. Wholeness also means growing in our love for God and for our neighbors.


Each of the clauses of our Vision Statement have one goal in mind - all can find wholeness in Jesus Christ. We believe this is the greatest gift we can offer to anyone; and for this reason, God put us here in Fenton.

What We Believe

About God
We worship one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We believe that God created this world and is lovingly and relentlessly pursuing us.  We believe that even when we turn our backs on God, God never turns away from us.

About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus is the best and most complete picture we will ever have of the heart and mind of God.  We believe that Jesus is both human and divine: he shares our struggles and pain, and he shares God's power to save.  When he died on the cross, Jesus showed us the fullest measure of God's love.  When he was raised from the dead, Jesus showed us that the power of love is able to conquer sin and death.  Jesus is present with us now through the power of God's Holy Spirit; he will come again one day to heal creation and drive out all darkness.

About the Holy Spirit
We believe that God works in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit tugs at our hearts, informs our thinking, and gives us power to do God's work.  We believe that the world is filled with all kinds of spirits - the spirit of anger, the spirit of condemnation, the spirit of bitterness, the spirit of selfishness.  We believe that the Holy Spirit drives those other spirits out of our hearts and fills us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

About Humanity
We believe that God created us to be in a loving relationship with God, but in our brokenness we have turned away from that relationship.  We believe that all people have been endowed with sacred worth.  We believe that God's Holy Spirit is working in every human heart, nudging and calling us back into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We believe that our lives, our work, and our decisions matter.


About Grace
We believe that we cannot earn God's love, nor do we deserve God's favor.  But, we believe that God loves and favors us anyway; this is what we call grace.  Grace is God's unconditional and undeserved love acting in our lives to draw us closer to God, and to help us become more and more like Jesus Christ.  God's grace forms the foundation of all of our theology.

About Salvation
We believe that we receive God's gracious gift of salvation through faith in God's Son, Jesus.  We believe that God is able to forgive sins and make us new people.  We believe that God can fill our hearts with a love we could never produce ourselves.  We believe that we can find a sense of peace and assurance through trusting in Jesus.  We believe that we grow closer to God as we pray, search the scriptures, worship with other believers, share in the sacraments, love the outcast, and feed the poor.

About the Bible
We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, contain everything we need to know in order to be saved.  We interpret the Bible through the lenses of reason, tradition, and human experience.  We may not always agree about how to interpret the Bible, but we believe that its writers were inspired by God, and in its pages we can see God's face.  We believe that the Bible is the highest authority in matters of faith.

About the Church
We believe that the church is God's answer to the fractures of this world.  We believe that the church is meant to be an island of love in a sea of hate.  We believe that the church is a family where every human division fades away as we draw closer to Jesus, one step at a time.  We believe that the church is open to all who seek God and desire to follow Jesus Christ.

About Everything Else
We believe that the Way of Jesus cannot be contained by a list of beliefs; it is meant to be lived.  We believe that it's okay to answer questions.  We believe that it's okay not to have an answer to every question.  If you desire to follow Jesus, and if you have questions, we would love to meet you!