Who Are the Wesleyans?
The Wesleyan Church is an evangelical, Protestant denomination in the Wesleyan holiness tradition of historic Methodism. We offer the good news that faith in Jesus Christ makes possible a wonderful personal relationship with God, a holy life empowered by His Spirit for witness and service, and assurance of eternal life in heaven. Our name is in honor of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, whose emphasis on a life of faith, self-discipline, and perfect love is our example.
There are nearly 5,000 Wesleyan churches and missions in over 70 nations worldwide. In the United States and Canada alone, there are approximately 1,700 local congregations.
MISSION STATEMENT
To exalt Jesus Christ by
• Evangelizing the lost
• Discipling the believers
• Equipping the Church
• Ministering to society
VISION STATEMENT
Equipping and empowering churches for Great Commission ministries in the spirit of the Great Commandment.
Core Values
The following are terms descriptive of who Wesleyans are and why they do what they do. They describe the "soul" of the Church. They are the core values, because they are at the center, as primary motivations for all Wesleyans do.
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: The Bible is the highest source of written authority for God’s plan for His people; it reveals how to live out that plan, individually and corporately. Beliefs, practices and priorities are to be anchored in clear biblical teachings.
CHRISTLIKENESS: Jesus Christ is the defining feature of God’s will for all humankind. In Christ is found the highest and most practical meaning and clearest example for holy living or godliness. Christ is both example and strength as Wesleyans pursue integrity, excellence, faith, hope and love.
DISCIPLE-MAKING: Making disciples is a clear mandate from Christ. This requires a strong focus on evangelism and training in spiritual growth and holy living. Done effectively, this will produce and promote growth and health in and among the churches.
LOCAL CHURCH CENTERED: The denomination exists to serve local congregations. Local churches are the most fundamental and strategic points of evangelism and discipleship. The challenge of the denomination is to keep finding the best ways to serve and strengthen congregations.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Wesleyans respect leadership that is placed over them, while realizing that the authority and effectiveness of spiritual leadership is not primarily bestowed, but earned and manifested by a loving and willing heart of obedience that serves God and mankind gladly. Wesleyans desire to be leaders in serving.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY: There is intrinsic value in every person. Unity becomes all the more important and beautiful in light of the wide ranges of difference in personality, culture, race, talents, and perspectives. Loving each other eliminates devaluation and deprivation of life to one another.
CULTURAL RELEVANCE: Wesleyans are called to keep serving the present age. The Church respects and builds on its past without becoming its slave. Wesleyans are "culture informed" for the sake of reaching people for Christ, but not "culture captives," in the sense of surrendering core values, beliefs and behaviors.
Statement of Purpose
KENTUCKY DISTRICT STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
In harmony with the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39), the Great
Commission (Matthew 28:19, 30) and the Mission of The Wesleyan Church (The Discipline, par. 100, 105), the purpose of the Kentucky District of The Wesleyan Church is: to involve the entire district in bringing the unsaved to Jesus Christ, discipling and incorporating new believers into the life and ministry of a local Wesleyan church; to promote holiness of heart and life; to instruct and counsel ministers and lay leaders to become more efficient and effective in service and ministry; to establish new churches within our district through an aggressive program of church planting.
KENTUCKY DISTRICT OBJECTIVES
In order to fulfill our purpose, our district is committed to:
(1) Being a channel through which local churches can join in cooperative ministries
(2) Provide resource material and personnel to assist local churches
(3) Give supervision to the training, ordaining, appointment and functioning of pastoral leadership
(4) Be a two-way liaison between the local churches and The Wesleyan Church denomination
(5) Assist in cooperative efforts of local churches in such things as evange-lism, missions, church planting, and camp programs
(6) Provide a stabilizing influence in areas of doctrine, moral standards, or-ganization, administration, goals and methods
(7) The all-prevailing objective is to honor the Holy Spirit, exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, and bring glory to our God
ADOPTED BY THE 1993 KENTUCKY DISTRICT CONFERENCE
