ABOUT MCI
About Us
The Methodist Church in Ireland is a community of people drawn together by God’s love who seek to live wholeheartedly as followers of Jesus for the transformation of the world.
The Methodist Church in Ireland is a Connexion of around 200 churches spread across the whole island of Ireland, across both jurisdictions North and South.
As a small part of an even larger global Christian church, the Methodist Church in Ireland has shared values with those who follow Jesus around the world. Even so, there are some distinctives that shape what it means to be a Methodist in Ireland today.
John Wesley believed that certain aspects of the Christian Faith required special emphasis and Methodists today still hold to these emphases that are summed up by four statements called the “Four Alls.”
“Living wholeheartedly as followers of Jesus for the transformation of the World”
Vision
As Methodists the call to missional discipleship has been part of our story since the beginning. What this looks like has taken different forms at different times in history and may look different in the future.
With newly found meaning to the call we hold as Methodists, we’ve explored language for missional discipleship today.
As the Methodist people in Ireland we are, "Living wholeheartedly as followers of Jesus for the transformation of the world".
Mission
The Methodist Church in Ireland is committed to mission.
“Mission…consists of our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation”.
(God’s Mission Our Mission, 2014)
At a special conference in 2013 the Methodist people took time to listen to God and to consider afresh what it could look like to partner with God in mission. We were reminded who we are as Methodist people and how our Methodist roots shape us as followers of Jesus today. We left this conference with a new story, or more accurately a renewed story. In 2014 the Methodist Conference adopted “God’s Mission Our Mission: “Warm Hearts, Tough Hands and Wet Feet – Mark of Our Whole-Life Discipleship” – a statement on our understanding of mission as the Methodist Church in Ireland.
Our Mission Commitments, affirmed by Methodist Conference in 2018, help us to put this statement into action. As we go through structural and governance change for the sake of mission, these commitments remind us of our priorities. Departments and Teams have incorporated them into their language and work. Our children and young people have engaged with these commitments at Soul Mates and Autumn Soul. We see these commitments lived out as local churches step out in mission.
The primary expressions of mission in the Methodist Church in Ireland are the local church, city missions, pioneer ministries and chaplaincy. We are committed to global mission through Irish Methodist World Mission Partnership and Methodist World Development and Relief at the same time as learning from our global partners about mission.
The story so far
Our beliefs
Methodism as part of the Worldwide Church
When people are received into membership of the Methodist Church, the congregation recites the Apostles Creed. This is a reminder that the historic faith of the worldwide church of all ages (otherwise referred to as the church universal) is the faith of Methodism.
Methodism as Part of the Protestant Tradition
The Protestant Reformation which began in the 16th century was not only a protest against what were seen as abuses within the Church, but was an affirmation of what were judged to be the essential beliefs and practices of the New Testament church. The Methodist Church originated as a reforming movement within the Church of England.
Distinctive Emphases in Methodist Belief
In the 18th century, John Wesley, an Anglican clergyman, began the evangelistic work that led to the formation of Methodist societies throughout Britain and Ireland. There were some elements of the Christian faith, which, though not peculiar to Wesley, were given special emphasis by him. These are still the 'Distinctive Emphases' of the Methodist Church.
Organisation and Worship of the Methodist Church
Every church has its own form of organisation, government and style of worship. Some of these are directly influenced by particular aspects of the teaching of scripture; others are accidents of history. Here we look at various features of the Methodist Church in Ireland.
Practical Expressions of Methodist Belief
Belief should affect behaviour, not just in terms of church life and practice, but also in everyday life. Here are some of the statements made by the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland on various social and ethical issues. Through them we see the relevance of the faith professed by Methodists to their relationship with each other, with other Christians, with society at large and with the whole of creation.
The above is a summary of the core beliefs of the Methodist Church in Ireland, as prepared by the Faith and Order Committee. Download the ‘Methodist Belief’ booklet in full below for further reading.
Our leadership
Find out more
Methodist contacts
View our directory of contacts regarding official correspondence, general enquiries, specific enquiries, the website or Microsoft 365.