What We Believe

Good Shepherd United Methodist Church is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the UMC.  As United Methodists we believe that we are called ‘to make disciples for the transformation of the world’ and that we are to love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously.  

At Good Shepherd here are some of our foundational understandings together:

As Matthew 18:20 says, where two or more gather in Jesus’ name, he is with them. We strive to be living disciples of Christ together as we grow in our love of God and God’s people, as study God’s Word together and as we serve our community.

We believe that coming together weekly to connect with God and one another is foundational to our life together. Through a service filled with hymns and praise songs, the preached Word and the sacraments of communion and baptism, we joyfully worship and praise Jesus together.

We believe honesty and clarity about our mission and beliefs help people feel informed and welcomed.  We have a leadership team known as L.A.M.B. (Leadership Accountability Ministry Board) that guides our life under the power of the Holy Spirit.

We believe all people are children of God.  No matter where you have come from, what you believe or doubt, who you love or where you are on your journey, you are welcome in our church community.

At Good Shepherd mission is a hallmark of who we are.  Jesus taught, we seek to let our light shine by serving our community, country, and world.  We serve locally through our Education Center, hosting Our Place feeding ministry, offering food support for Elsie’s Pantry and offering financial support to local agencies such as LifeStyles and Health Partners.  We serve outside of our community through our annual Appalachia Service Project and through support of the Quessua Mission in Angola.