Ask The UMC

Mission and Ministry

Young adults pass the collection plate during the contemporary worship at McKendree United Methodist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga. 2016 file photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS.

Ask The UMC: What does The United Methodist Church teach about tithing?

Tithing is commonly understood as the giving of one-tenth of one’s income for God. This standard of giving comes from several passages in Scripture.

Theology and Education

Painting of Jesus and his Disciples on the Sea of Galilee dated 1833 by Carl Wilhelm Friedrich Oesterley courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. German art historian, painter and university teacher. Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.

Ask The UMC: What is the difference between an apostle and a disciple?

There are two different Greek words involved. Learn the relationship between these two terms.

Theology and Education

The Rev. Jerome R. DeVine (left, rear) makes the sign of the cross on the Rev. Kyland Dobbins during a reaffirmation of baptism at Facing the Future 2018, an event for clergy in cross-racial/cross-cultural appointments, in Newark, N.J. DeVine described the service as “both a remembering of how we are claimed by God's grace in baptism as well as the ongoing gift of grace that heals and strengthens us in the midst of the storms of life and ministry.”

Ask The UMC: Do United Methodists make the sign of the cross?

Why is making the sign of the cross sometimes viewed as foreign to United Methodists? The answer isn’t hard to find.

Church History

A view of Kingswood School in England. Neil Phillips Photography, courtesy of Kingswood School.

Ask The UMC: What was the first school started by Methodists?

Wesley believed everyone should have access to education regardless of gender or class. He championed education as a way to assure that leaders would act ethically and responsibly.

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