United Methodist Church

As a “cradle Methodist,” the standards and theological tasks mentioned in Part III of the Discipline are ingrained in how I understand and apply my faith. These aspects of the United Methodist tradition have been a foundation from which I have grown during my formative years. Although I have not always been able to articulate these beliefs, I have learned the power in living them in addition to teaching them. I believe that much of the affirming, teaching, and applying of our standards and theological task that I do in my ministry is out of this same foundation that was formative to my faith. It informs how I preach, the lead Bible studies I lead, how I lead youth group, and my interactions with congregants and the community.

Church of the Brethren does not accept abortion. Participating in abortion is not support their beliefs. Church of the Brethren is a denomination that was formed to continue their practices their own way. They started as a small group and to this day still recruit new members. They solely use the New Testament as their source of guidance for the practice they preach. Rational Choice theory explains Church of the Brethren 's position in opposing abortion.

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) was started in December 1973 and their origin can be traced to John Calvin. The theological distinction of PCA is conservative reformed and the ecclesiology is Presbyterian. “This church was first known as the National Presbyterian Church but changed its name in 1974 to Presbyterian Church in America.” The PCA became a separate denomination from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUSA) due to the “opposition of long-developing theological liberalism which denied the deity of Jesus Christ and the inerrancy and authority of Scripture.” The Evangelical Synod and the Reformed Presbyterian Church joined the PCA in 1982. The belief system of the PCA is based on

United Methodist follows four Theological Task that we base our decision-making from. The following are the four Theological Task:

Church a place many people go on Sunday mornings. A place to worship in the Lord and Savior or whichever God the individual believes in. Some individuals believe that church can only be held in the church building. When in reality it can be held anywhere for example the bedroom or a field. A thing that has been noticed is there are many types of people who go that fit in with a certain group. The types include everyone from the screaming child to the strict churchgoers and everything in between. Church may be a good place to go but it is believed that the churches today are corrupt.

Every week, approximately sixty to seventy devoted followers of Jesus gather in a traditional, white church building nestled by the woods, across from a horse pasture on the edge of the small, mostly blue-collar town of Sparta, Michigan. As they take their seats, those with gray to white hair fill the pews to the left of the aisle, while those whose in their middle age fill the pews to the right, along with a dozen middle and high school students in the back. Baptist Bible Church (BBC) was founded in 2008 and led by a part-time interim pastor until a full-time pastor could be found. However, since their founding as well as their leader's passing in 2010, BBC has been unsuccessful in finding the right pastor for the job and has continued

Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church has two different youth groups, one for the Senior High and one for the Junior High. The Edge program, which is the youth group as a whole, consists of dividing the students into young teen and senior teen. Every Sunday night the youth group meets from 6pm to 7:45pm. Ryan Moline is the youth pastor of the young teens, he has split the youth group into the 7th and 8th graders which meet on Sunday nights and 5th and 6th graders that meet on Wednesday nights. I decided to visit with the 7th and 8th graders on Sunday night.

Description: One Sunday, every month, I help in the nursery at my church. This shows leadership because I teach the children right from wrong. I also play with them and entertain them.

Riverside Baptist Church had an annual budget of about $140,000. About one hundred and twenty-five people attended regularly on Sunday morning. When we left the Church in October 2003, the Church had made a “ Faith Promise commitment” of $32,000 for the year. The church was supporting about 35 missionaries. When we were visiting for thanksgiving that same year, the church had surpassed the goal and had raised $52,000. Not bad for a small congregation of about 125- 150 people. I thank God that He led my family and me to the churches we needed to be in. All four of our daughters and their families are serving God in one way or another. One will be a missionary to Zambia, as soon as their family is fully funded ( $1200 a month). Another daughter will be a medical missionary as soon as she becomes a doctor. All these different congregations have increased my families awareness, taught us the importance of missions, and fed my wife’s and my desire to eventually become full time missionaries to a Spanish speaking

St. Paul's Presbyterian Church seeks to provide a safe and secure environment for the children

I can’t recall not being a part of New Hope Baptist Church because when I was growing up my parents attended everything and they “had us in tow”. I remember being brought to church in the winter and my parents lining us up on the seats next to the potbellied stove. We were required to take care of our “personal business” before entering because we were not allowed to walk while the services were in progress. I really have a hard time understanding why some young people today cannot sit through an entire service right now today. As children the church conferences often baffled us. While watching and listening, sometimes things got into a disagreeable mode. As children, we thought those deacons were at odds with each other, but when they

May 1, 2016, the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, located in Greenwood (S.C.) County will celebrate its 142nd church anniversary. Many years Mt. Olive have been a church that loved people, gave without limits and took great care of its members. The last five of those one hundred and forty-two years, I have been honored to serve as pastor of this great church. Although this is a great church, Mt. Olive and many churches like it are plagued with a disease that has slowly, but surely, causing the church to drift further away from God and fall deeper into the ways of the world. This epidemic is known as “tradition”. Churches that are bound by tradition and not led by the Holy Spirit will find themselves missing the mark of what God has called us to do. The bible is filled with instructions for the church, but as Christians and Disciples of Christ, Matthew 28 is the foundation upon which we should be operating on in the church as well as in our lives. The Great Commission challenges us to “go, teach and preach to all nations.” Traditional churches will allow church tradition to dictate biblical doctrine. It will allow the church to argue about who’s right instead of what’s right. Sadly, church success has been based on structure and finances rather than saving lost souls.

Coalbush United Methodist Church is in Mishawaka, Indiana. The Indiana Conference church development team selected Coalbush as a strategic location for potential growth. The church is located right off of the US 20 bypass on the south side of Mishawaka. The city is slowly moving out toward the country, which is how this church views itself: a country church. Mishawaka is not predicted to experience great growth in the next ten years with the make up of a household having little change either. The majority of the people are Anglo-American with little diversity. This is a somewhat traditional community where the majority of people report a sense of well-being. The average household income is approximately $60,000. The largest age group is between 35-55 years old.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) is a “connectional church.” While the connectional dimension of African Methodism defines it over and against congregational churches, the depth of connectionalism in much richer. With strong roots in Wesleyan Methodism, the AME Church has a well-organized structure which literally connects congregations and members worldwide. Through this connectional structure, the AME Church is able to pursue its mission with the resources of all of its churches rather than the spare resources of one. Moreover, the AME Church connection is a robust system of relationships that provide systems of communication and accountability which take shape in the Class Leader System and in the five conferences

People "out there" also include society's social, economic, political, and spiritual fringe. These folks are the poor, the under-educated, the underprivileged, and the powerless. They are more familiar with bars, jails, group homes, and gutters than they are with country clubs, financial institutions, political parties, and churches. The upshot of this reality is that such disenfranchised persons will continue to avoid the Church as long as assemblies continue to behave like exclusive resorts, fund-raising bodies, and political entities.