Encountering God - Loving the Community - Serving the World
If you are new to the Northbrook United Methodist Community, welcome! We are a church deeply interested in being a source of light and support for others, most especially for those who are in need. Our mission is to provide a place for all people to encounter the presence of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the eternal promises of our creator God. We are committed to loving one another and all of God’s people and creation. We strive to serve beyond our campus, longing to connect with a world in need.
If you are looking for a church home committed to welcoming everyone to the table, continuing conversations and open dialogue, and searching for God’s presence and purpose through Holy Scripture, then this is a place for you. We are rooted and deeply committed to the United Methodist Church and our Wesleyan heritage and theology. If you would like to know more, please feel free to reach out to me. You can learn more about us on this website, by watching our worship services, or better yet, visiting us on Sunday mornings. Blessings, Rev. Jennie Andone |
Membership
If you feel that Northbrook United Methodist Church is a place you would like to call home, we invite you to become a member of the church. Becoming a member requires that you make a first-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ and become baptized if you have not been already. Or, if you have been a Christian and a member of another congregation, we simply ask you to reaffirm your faith in Jesus Christ and vow to support this congregation with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness. For More Information Contact: Rev. Kena Newkirk |
What We BelieveMost broadly, our beliefs can be summed up in the Apostles' Creed which we recite together most Sundays in the traditional worship service:
More specifically, we believe the power of Jesus Christ, through the workings of the Holy Spirit seeks to transform our lives and offer us eternal life with God. The power of Jesus is expressed as God’s grace and as United Methodists we believe grace works in three distinct ways. First is a grace we call "prevenient," which essentially is the love and presence of God in our lives before we even know or recognize such a presence. We celebrate prevenient grace in infant baptism, taking vows of baptism for a child before she or he comes to know God personally. The second is a grace that convicts us, or awakens us to God’s saving power, in Jesus. This justifying grace opens our hearts, minds and souls to the need to ask for forgiveness and the assurance that in fact we have received it. Justifying grace is what causes us to make a profession of faith or a reaffirmation of our faith. The third grace allows us to continue to grow and mature in our faith and personal relationship with God, a grace that molds us into the likeness of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are all in the process of being “sanctified” which is why we call this grace sanctifying grace. We also believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and are committed to continued study and learning from Scripture. We celebrate talking and discussing the Bible with each other. Our beliefs and convictions come from scripture above all; however, we also believe that tradition, reason, and experience play a role in forming our faith and reading of scripture. As a United Methodist Congregation, we are part of a much larger, international denomination which was birthed from a holiness movement within the Church of England. While Northbrook UMC was formed in 1979, we were birthed out of the Methodist Movement which started in the late 1700’s and our denomination has a rich history. For a more expansive look at The United Methodist Church please visit www.umc.org. |
Baptism and Holy CommunionWe have two sacraments in the United Methodist Church, Holy Communion and Baptism. A sacrament is a sacred part of worship which can only be performed by an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, is taken on the first Sunday of the month, using grape juice and bread. We believe these “elements” of communion are the symbol of the body and blood of Christ, and we receive communion as a gift from Christ himself to continue the process of our personal transformation and sanctification. The only requirement for Holy Communion is the desire to take it. Baptism is celebrated for infants and people of all ages. We believe that once a person has been baptized, no matter what age, that baptism is a sign of God’s ever-lasting promise that cannot be “re-done” by the church. We “sprinkle” from a baptismal font, which allows baptism to be a regular part of our worship services. A person’s baptism is lasting and eternal, and we all reaffirm our baptism every time in the practice of Holy Communion and every time we witness another’s baptism. In infant baptism, the congregation, as well as those who present a child for baptism, vow to nurture, pray for, teach, support, and ensure that the child is guided and directed to one day profess his or her own personal faith in Christ. We offer confirmation classes for children when they reach middle school age, teaching about our Christian beliefs and traditions and allowing them to make a decision for Jesus Christ to be their own personal path for salvation and the light for their own lives. For More Information Contact: Rev. Kena Newkirk |
It's simple.
Church is a community of people looking to love and serve because that is how God created us to be. God came to restore the image of God within each of us through Jesus Christ. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, we become one body, united in our common goal to bring the loving and amazing Kingdom of God to earth!
FAQs
Where should I park? There is ample parking surrounding our church buildings. We invite visitors to take advantage of visitor parking, located just to your left as you turn in off Crabapple Road.
What should I wear? Your Sunday best is whatever makes you comfortable.
What if I want to bring my children? We currently have nursery care for babies and young children four and under. We encourage older children to join us in worship. In traditional worship, we provide activity packets for children and invite them to be a part of a children's moment. In our modern worship service, The Brook, we have activities for older children while they worship with their families. We also have youth programming on Sunday nights.
Can I plug into a small group? Yes! We do our best to help you land in the right spot.
For more Information Contact: Rev. Kena Newkirk
What should I wear? Your Sunday best is whatever makes you comfortable.
What if I want to bring my children? We currently have nursery care for babies and young children four and under. We encourage older children to join us in worship. In traditional worship, we provide activity packets for children and invite them to be a part of a children's moment. In our modern worship service, The Brook, we have activities for older children while they worship with their families. We also have youth programming on Sunday nights.
Can I plug into a small group? Yes! We do our best to help you land in the right spot.
For more Information Contact: Rev. Kena Newkirk
