everything is about jesus

what we believe

Following the priorities taught and lived by Christ, we believe the great focus of a Christian life is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Living into these relationships with God and each other means becoming faithful, generous in spirit, broadminded, passionate children of God who pursue a Christ-centered way of life.


St. Barnabas is a United Methodist church, and so our ministry is shaped by grace, deep love for our neighbors and the world around us, and a dedication to growth through personal and social disciplines. We pursue personal holiness by fostering transformative relationships with Jesus Christ. We find authentic and meaningful ways to grow as we follow Jesus’ way of life and practice spiritual disciplines. We also strive for social holiness as we engage and serve the communities in which we live. For us, that looks like living out grace, compassion and the hope that together we can make the world look a little more like the kingdom of God.


While our faith is passionate, United Methodists are also willing to ask and wrestle with tough questions and struggle with complex subjects all while letting grace lead. We think and let think. We remember and strive to live out John Wesley’s approach, “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”


We passionately and joyfully pray, live, sing, serve, think, worship and live out love together. We affirm and celebrate the full participation of men and women, young and old, and people of diverse backgrounds as we all follow God’s call to live faithfully and graciously in our church, our community and the world.


Our faith and its practice are deeply rooted in and inspired by the Bible. So, we earnestly and carefully study the Scriptures and stories as we also earnestly and carefully study the world in which we live. As United Methodists, we are people of method. We participate in spiritual disciplines and means of grace as we “methodically” seek to grow and be part of the transformation of the world.

what membership means

When church membership is little more than a membership at a country club or in a support group, there really isn't much reason to make the effort to be a part of a congregation. 


AT ST. BARNABAS, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT PERCEPTION ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CHURCH.


Our purpose is to connect people to God and to be transformed by God. This purpose is why we do what we do. We strive to live in the image of Jesus the Christ. Like a family, our congregation is different in perspectives, opinions and life experience. We are a multi-generational congregation; some of our families have 3-4 generations of the same family in our church, while others are single participants. We share the gift of diversity. We have varied professional and religious backgrounds, cultural and racial upbringing, and socioeconomic standings. Our diversity is a blessing and affords us the opportunity to reach a wider range of people for the sake of the gospel.


BEING A PART OF ST. BARNABAS MATTERS.


We work to live out the gospel through regular worship attendance (unless one is ill or on vacation), learning, serving and through our generosity. You will find there are no perfect people here. We are a people of faith who believe that God is a God of grace who welcomes all, and in that grace, offers reconciliation to God and to one another. If this sounds like the kind of community for which you have been longing, we invite you to come and check us out!