ABOUT US

Faithful Presence

Author David Fitch writes that "Faithful presence names the reality that God is present in the world that He uses a people faithful to His presence to make Himself concrete and real amid the world's struggles and pain."

This is the broadest and most central focal point for us at Mac Free. We believe that be being purposefully present to both God and the people He has placed around us; we will carry His presence with us wherever we go. When this happens, we can expect to see Him tangibly at work through His Holy Spirit right where we are, and we can then engage in that work with Him for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

Because we believe this is true, according to Fitch, we actively pursue His presence in three "Circles"

Spirituality

Spirituality - The spirituality that God has called us to has two legs: The Scriptures and the Spirit.

The Scriptures contain God's infallible word to His people as well as the full sweeping narrative of what He has in mind to do in and beyond time. The Scriptures are strong and true, and we can place our full weight on them and the God to whom they point.
The Spirit of God leads His people to fulfill the part of Scripture's sweeping narrative that are called to fulfill in the here and now. In this way, the scripture provides the faithful framework withing which the Spirit then personally guides and strengthens us as a People on Kingdom Mission for Him.

Generosity

Generosity - The Generosity that God has called us to with our time and resources begins with generosity of Spirit. It is rooted in the deep kindness He has shown us since the beginning of time. Two beliefs about Him stand behind our commitment to being a radically generous people:

He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams: "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." - Ephesians 1:3
His resources are not scarce: "I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it." - Psalm 50: 9-12

Diversity

Diversity - The diversity that God has called us to comes from a recognition that He has gone to the ends of the Earth to redeem His people, and therefore, we do not want to miss out on meeting the beauty and plurality of those He is drawing to Himself. We want a church that reflects now the breadth of God's creative heart and mind, unified ultimately in Christ alone like it will one day eternally:

"After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, "Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!" -Revelation 7: 9-10

What We Believe

Free Methodists are first and foremost a Kingdom people. Yet throughout church history God has raised up distinct movements like ours to enrich the larger body of Christ. Building on the legacies of John Wesley and B.T. Roberts, but always discerning where God is moving today, our identity is shaped by values that are both historical and aspirational. Of the many values we hold deal, these five lie at the heart of our movement. We view them as a whole, each one bringing necessary balance to the others. In the time of rising polarization in our nation, we resist the pull toward both fundamentalism and theological liberalism - not out of a spirit of compromise, but from a radical commitment to what Wesley called "the middle way." It is a path that takes the whole gospel seriously and continually calls us to "both/and" convictions in an "either/or" world. We call it The Free Methodist Way.

Core Beliefs

Life Giving Holiness

God's call to holiness was never meant to be a burden, but a gift that liberates us for life that is truly life by delivering us from the destructive power of sin.

All who are born again are made right with God by the finished work of Jesus Christ and called to experience the fullness of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Forgiven and filled, we approach life with confidence that we are acceptable to God even as He continues to transform our character and behavior to become more and more like Jesus. Life-giving holiness, then, is the fruit of full surrender to the loving reign of God over every aspect of our lives, establishing within us love that is truly love.

Leaving behind the legalism that once hindered our movement, the Free Methodist way invites every believer to embrace the transforming work of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to love and serve God and others in joyful obedience.

Love- Driven Justice

Love is the way we demonstrate God's heart for justice by valuing the image of God in all men, women, and children, acting with compassion toward the oppressed, resisting oppression, and stewarding Creation.

We devote ourselves to our founders' deep convictions around matters of injustice as they took their stand against the evils of slavery, the oppression of the poor, the marginalization of women, and the abuse of power in the church. Our heart for justice continues and expands today, fueled by God's holy love for the unborn, the vulnerable, oppressed, marginalized, and people of all races and ethnicities.

The Free Methodist way is not only to realize a better society, but all may be reconciled to God and one another in ways that reflect God's just character.

Christ- Compelled Multiplication

The Gospel of Jesus Christ - the message He proclaimed, the live He lived, and the ministry He modeled - set into motion a redemptive movement destined to full the whole earth.

Jesus' approach to discipleship was primarily a relational one in which He poured His life into a few with the full expectation that they would follow His example. His aim was not merely the transmission of information, but the transformation of lives by empowering those who followed Him to do what he had been doing. His mission is now our mission. We believe this redemptive movement of multiplication applies to every believer and should permeate our Free Methodist culture at every level: the found reaching the lost, disciples making disciples, leaders developing leaders, churches planting churches, and movements birthing movements.

The Free Methodist way is to see God's kingdom expand exponentially as ordinary people are equipped by God's power to do extraordinary things.

Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Form the beginning, God's intent was to have a people from every nation, culture, and ethnicity, united in Christ and commissioned to carry out His work in the world.

Today we celebrate the beauty of a multicultural and multiethnic church both in the U.S. and in over 100 countries around the world. In the U.S., we cling to the promise that we have been made one in Christ even as we dedicate ourselves to becoming a much more diverse church that looks like the kingdom of God. Globally, we continue to send missionaries to other nations even as we rejoice that the nations are increasingly coming to us. Freely sharing our own gifts and resources, we are also challenged and inspired by the faithfulness, perseverance, ceaseless prayer, theological insights, and spiritual wisdom of our international brothers and sisters. Without question, we are better together.

The Free Methodist way aspires to move beyond colonialism and ethnocentrism in favor of a collaborative partnership in God's global work in anticipation of the day when a great multitude from every tongue, tribe, people, and language makes up the eternal throng before the throne of God. (Revelation 7:9)

God- Given Revelation

We hold unwaveringly to our conviction that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Drawing on our Wesleyan heritage of understanding truth through the lenses of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, we keep Scripture primary. With the church will always be tasked with authentically communicating and applying biblical truths with sensitivity to cultural dynamics, we do not subjugate the Bible's timeless truths to cultural norms or social trends.

The Free Methodist way is to fully alight our lives and our movement on the unshakeable foundation of God's Word.

For those looking for in-depth descriptions of what we believe please click here: We Believe - Free Methodist Church USA