What We Believe

At San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church, we are Christians who are glad to be part of the United Methodist Church.

United Methodists are the second largest Protestant denomination in America. People with views as diverse as President Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton find a home in the United Methodist Church. In this local church, you’ll find a similar diversity of beliefs, understandings and viewpoints. What holds us together is our common faith in God as revealed to us in the life, teachings and resurrection of Jesus Christ. United Methodists tend to be moderate, rather than fundamentalists or literalists. We look to the Bible as the authority for God’s word to us, but we also find God speaking through the tradition of the Christian Church, as well as our own ability to think and to experience God for ourselves. Methodists have a passionate faith and strong convictions, but tend to recognize that the world is not always black and white. We agree in our life together to ask questions, to wrestle with difficult issues, and to do so with love and compassion.

Methodists have been known for our emphasis on a personal faith, lived out in concrete ways in the world. In this church, you’ll find an emphasis on teaching and learning, on inspiring worship, on small groups where people can grow in their faith together, and on mission opportunities that invite everyone to participate in God’s work of love and justice in the world.