Prayer

Jesus said, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” Matthew 6:5. Prayer is the foundation of Highlands UMC.  We pray constantly and specifically for the will of Jesus Christ in the world.  We do not pray to show the world how we pray; we pray that God’s will be done.  All we are and all we do is built upon prayer.

Faith

Our faith does not end when we leave the doors of the church.  We carry our faith with us and wear it like a knight wears his armor.  Paul said in Ephesians 6, “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  We believe that prayer, along with study, and action, builds our faith and that faith guides us and protects us from the attacks of evil in the world.

Preparation

Psalm 119:15-16 reads, “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.”  The path to discipleship is not just attending church and saying the right words.  It is more than prayer and faith.  It is important that the people of God study the Word of God.  In study with prayer, the Word becomes a living part of us and centers us in the will of God.

Fellowship

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17 God did not design us to be alone.  We are designed to share our lives with one another.  Just as prayer, study, and our faith build us up, so does fellowship.  We at Highlands UMC hold fellowship as a significant means of growing one’s faith through accountability, prayer, and support.  We fellowship with each other and with Christ.

Giving

Giving is an essential core belief at Highlands UMC.  Because Christ gave himself up for us, it is our privilege to give back to him.  Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40. Giving is not a burden; it is an honor.  To give is to know Christ. To give is to be one with the love of Christ.  The word agape is from the Greek meaning an unconditional love.  The kind of love that God has for his creation.  We seek to give like God gives.

Outreach

At Highlands UMC, outreach is more than just creating a group for people to meet.  Outreach is about meeting a need in the community.  It is about correcting a wrong or lifting someone out of a situation.  It is providing a way for freedom, and a reason to love. We do not reach out in the community with only our hands and feet, we reach out with our hearts.

Inclusion

We stand against division. We are “one in Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to the world.” Jesus, when giving the disciples his last commandments before ascending to heaven said to “go into the world making disciples of all nations.” We do not allow race, social status, economic status, or any other factor to segregate us. Christ shared the gospel with the Samaritans. Philip shared the gospel with the eunuch. We share the gospel with all.

Worship

We worship the Lord our God revealed to us in three persons. The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We believe that worship is a means of growth and response to God’s love in Jesus Christ that lives in us through the work of the Holy Spirit. We do not love God only because we are called to, we love God because God first loved us. And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.