Our church strives to embrace the diversity of our community and of our world. We affirm that all people are children of God with unique gifts and graces that God can and does use in the building of God's kingdom. We welcome into full membership in the congregation all people who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and promise to support the church with prayers, presence, gifts, and service.

It is our fervent hope that Prescott United Methodist Church will always be known as a place of refuge within the community, where people are free to engage one another in open, honest, and respectful conversation on controversial issues. We encourage our church members to prayerfully open their hearts to understand persons with differing viewpoints. We respect the right of any church member to disagree on particular matters of faith and practice, but urge all to find ways to work together in the building of God's kingdom despite such differences in opinion. We recall the teaching of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, who once said, "Is thy heart herein as my heart? If it be give me thy hand!"

Furthermore, as Christian people who actively seek reconciliation and wholeness, we embrace ministries of justice and seek to support all who suffer discrimination or who are disenfranchised within the secular and religious communities. To this end, we support both philosophically and financially the following organizations in our community:

• Open Door
•  Prescott People Who Care
•  Prison Ministries
•  Catholic Social Services
•  Child Haven Crisis Center
•  Women in Recovery
•  Stepping Stones Women's Shelter
•  Church on the Street
•  Community Cupboard Food Bank
•  Project Aware Men's Shelter
•  Salvation Army
•  Habitat for Humanity
•  West Yavapai Guidance Clinic
•  Yavapai HIV/AIDS Task Force
•  Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Pro-gram
•  Prescott Free Clinic
•  Standing in the Gap Ministries
•  Feed the Hungry
•  Granite Creek Park Ministry
•  Others…

The church wants to be multicultural and inclusive in its leadership and its teaching, recognizing that such a congregation is in harmony with the stories of Jesus Christ, who reached beyond the boundaries of his society to engage the sick, the lonely, and the outcast of the day. We encourage people to study the following Biblical stories, which lift up the inclusiveness and forgiveness of the Christian faith:

• The Least of These (Matthew 25:31-46)
• The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
• The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8)
• Peter's Vision (Acts 10)

We also encourage people to study the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church, recognizing these Principles to be