Statement of Belief

The love of God at work in us and through us.

About The Methodist Church

‘Methodist’ is a nickname that has stuck, referring originally to the orderly and methodical way in which 18th Century Christian students at Oxford, John and Charles Wesley and their friends, went about their devotional life of prayer and Bible study on the one hand and their service to needy people, like visiting prisoners, on the other.

John and Charles were ordained into the Priesthood of the Anglican Church, but it was John’s outdoor preaching, so radical then, and Charles’ gift for writing hymns in the religious revival of the 18th Century, which eventually led to the emergence of those influenced by the Wesleys as the people called Methodists.

Our aim is to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our daily living, summarised as loving God and loving our neighbour as ourselves.

What do Methodists Believe?

We accept the historic creeds of the mainstream Christian Church.

We believe in one God who is revealed in the Bible (our final authority) as:

• God the Creator and Father-Parent God;
• God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world: and
• God the Holy Spirit, unseen presence with us now.

Following the emphasis given by John Wesley we believe that God is for all people everywhere (he said “the world is my parish”), no one is excluded from God’s love, and therefore we seek to be an inclusive Church, open to all people.

In Royal Wootton Bassett we have been serving the community and sharing Jesus for over 175 years.