Who We Are
Pike Road United Methodist Church began in the fall of 2023 to be an expression of Wesleyan grace, hope, and mission in the Pike Road, Alabama community. We are graciously hosted by the congregation of Grace Episcopal Church and meet in the Church's original chapel, a building constructed over 130 years ago. We regularly join with Grace Episcopal in Christian formation and mission.
Our Pastor
Rev. Dr. Lane Davis is pastor of Pike Road United Methodist Church. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Huntingdon College, a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in Church History from Southern Methodist University. In addition to his role at Pike Road UMC, Dr. Davis is also Assistant Professor of Religion at Montgomery's Huntingdon College. He and his wife Elissa have two sons, Jude and Jesse, and a daughter, Willa.
Our Future
Pike Road UMC started with a conversation. A few families in the Pike Road community felt the need for a United Methodist congregation in the area and began meeting and praying to see what God might do. Within a few weeks, the group was holding regular Sunday morning classes at Grace Episcopal Church. A few weeks later, we began holding Sunday morning worship. The conversation continues and our church is growing and changing each week. We remain focused on staying Christ-centered and mission oriented. We welcome you to find a church home with us!
What We Believe
Pike Road UMC is a group of people with different stories and perspectives all united around the belief that God transforms lives and communities through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the Christian faith as expressed in the historic creeds of the universal church. Each week, we respond to the reading and proclamation of God's word with the recitation of either the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. Learn why we recite a creed each week.
We believe that the Holy Scriptures as found in the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are "the word of the living God" and contain all that is necessary for salvation. Scripture is our "true rule and guide for faith and practice." Learn more about what we believe about Scripture.
In addition to the historic creeds and the authority of scripture, we rely upon a set of doctrinal standards to guide us in our beliefs. Four texts constitute these standards: The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, the Evangelical United Brethren Confession of Faith, John Wesley's Standard Sermons, and Wesley's Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament.
We understand God to be at work in the world through the action of grace. This grace is "prevenient" - it begins working in us before we are even aware of it. It is "justifying;" a grace that puts us in a right relationship with God despite our sin and brokenness. Finally, this grace is "sanctifying." It continues to work in our hearts throughout our lives, bringing us closer to God so that we can reflect the love of Jesus to the world. Learn more about our understanding of grace.
We seek to encourage and practice the "means of grace." These are the practices, rituals, and habits that Methodists embrace because they bring us closer to God and enliven the grace already at work in us. Some of the means of grace are practiced personally or privately: the study of scripture, prayer, and a regular devotional life. Others are done corporately, such as attending worship and serving others in the community.
We believe that two of these means of grace are specially ordained for our spiritual growth and nourishment. We call these "sacraments" and believe that there are two of them: baptism and holy communion (sometimes called the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist).
Because we believe that God is at work in us preveniently, we follow the practices of the historic Christian church and baptize infants as well as adults.
Communion is both a sign of God's love towards us and a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death. When we receive it by faith, we share in a real spiritual presence of Christ available to us by grace.
We believe that Christians are called to faith in action. We hold a set of Social Principles that guides us as we pursue works of justice and mercy locally, nationally, and internationally. As a connectional church, we are able to reach out in mission to the entire world.