Times

Sundays

9:30 AM – Sunday Study
10:30 AM – Worship Service

Wednesdays

6:45 PM – FMY/Youth Group
(6-12th grades)
6:45 PM – Christian Life Club
(thru 5th grade)
7:00 PM – Prayer group
(Adults of all ages!)

Through the week

A variety of small groups, Bible studies, English Conversation classes and volunteer opportunities. Check the calendar for details.

Online

You can join & follow our community on social media also!  We're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

At Mattis Avenue Free Methodist Church we worship God, raise up disciples of Jesus Christ and serve our community and world.

The Free Methodist Church

Free Methodists seek the power of the Holy Spirit to visit our churches and communities, igniting a Spirit-Fueled Movement in our day. We desire to see the wounded healed, the broken-hearted encouraged, the lame walk, the dead be brought back to life, the darkness overcome with the light of Christ, and the Kingdom of God advance. Movements like this can only happen when the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed through people who surrender themselves entirely to the Lord and His service. We are a people who hunger for igniting a Spirit-fueled movement in our day.

The “free” in Free Methodist stands for freedom—freedom in worship style, freedom for the poor to worship with the wealthy, and freedom from slavery for all people. These are the reasons why, in 1860, a group of Methodist lay people and pastors joined together to form a new denomination and called it Free Methodist. We encourage you to learn more about the Free Methodist denomination, read the Free Methodist Statement of Doctrine, as well as recently shared "Position Papers" on recent topics of interest.

Here is how we see the "Free Methodist Way" happening in our local context:

1. Life-Giving Holiness  -  (1 Peter 1:15-16, Hebrews 12:14, 2 Corinthians 7:1)

• God’s call to holiness was never meant to be a burden, but instead a gift that liberates us for life that is truly life by delivering us from the destructive and isolating power of sin.
• In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul writes, “May the God of peace sanctify you entirely.”  We know God calls us to live transformed lives that proclaim His love and lordship, “set apart” from the patterns of our world.  This is all His work entirely, but we’re invited to seek Him obediently together in relationships, proclaiming His work of reconciliation.  
• We believe this work is most often experienced in small groups of accountability and Christ-centered love.   To know and be known in redemptive relationships echoes the intimate love revealed in Jesus and the inherent love of a Triune God.
• Psalm 68:6 reminds us that “God sets the lonely in families…” We believe that safe & secure families and homes shaped across generations in the love of Jesus are one of the greatest foundations God has given us.  Our church family seeks to reflect this as well, as we want to be a place for all to discover the healing love of Jesus and the New Creation power of His Spirit.  No matter what our experiences in the past, God invites us to know and be known in His redemptive love, as part of His family and citizens of His Kingdom.
• We encourage each other to offer God our best worship. This includes intentional preparation and clear purpose for our gatherings and ministries, but also laying our lives down daily as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), which is our spiritual worship. 

2. Love-Driven Justice  -  (Isaiah 1:17, Zechariah 7:9-10, James 1:27)

• Love is the way we demonstrate God’s heart for justice by valuing the image of God in all men, women, and children, acting with compassion toward the oppressed, resisting oppression, and stewarding Creation.
• We believe deeply in the power of prayer as one of our most powerful responses to any injustice.  Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 that His Kingdom and ways would come on earth as in heaven.  We are also to embody our prayers, living as people who are shaped and empowered by abiding in His Spirit, bearing fruit for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2)
• Our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6), which leads us to care and advocate for the sanctity of all life.  We do this while actively standing against the systems and powers that would treat any human as less deserving of the loving grace we have each received freely.  We stand not as champions of causes themselves, but as champions of His relational love which permeates all of life and provides the foundation for all we are and do.

3. Christ-Compelled Multiplication  -  (Genesis 1:27-29, Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:11-13) 

• The gospel of Jesus Christ - the message He proclaimed, the life He lived, and the ministry He modeled - set into motion a redemptive movement destined to fill the whole earth.
• We believe not only in the transmission of information about Jesus, but in an ever-expanding relational experience with Him and with those transformed by His love.
• Peter declares as God’s people, we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).  We affirm this generally by encouraging each person and home to join His missional Spirit on the move to reach those unaware of His love and freedom from sin.  We also affirm this specifically by discovering how each person is gifted by the Holy Spirit for the building up of God’s Church toward full maturity in Christ, and offering every person opportunities and encouragement to serve.  By doing this we will “raise up” new disciples who then raise up disciples from every generation.

4. Cross-Cultural Collaboration  -  (Acts 1:8, John 17:11, Revelation 7:9-10)

• From the beginning, God’s intent was to have a community made up of every people group.  Here at Mattis Avenue Free Methodist Church, we hold fast to the promise that we have been made one in Christ even as we dedicate ourselves to becoming a more diverse church that reflects the global kingdom of God.
• As Champaign County has become a nexus of many different cultures, languages, and perspectives, our local church has the opportunity to discover and celebrate how Jesus is received as “good news” to people with varied life experiences.  By giving these people a voice and a place among us, we amplify the gospel for all to hear and bring glory to our God together in a peace-filled, flourishing community referred to in the Old Testament as “shalom”. 
• We are not called to passively wait for such a community, but to actively engage our world with the hope and love by which we have been transformed and united.  Paying special attention to God’s heart for the foreigner, the poor, and the suffering (Matthew 25:45), we seek to engage the culture with the power and the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
• Cultivating such a community is not only for living missionally to our neighbors and surrounding areas, but also for joining in support of short and long term missions globally.

5. God-Given Revelation  -  (Deuteronomy 8:3, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:1-11)

• We hold unwaveringly to our conviction that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.  Drawing on our Wesleyan heritage of engaging with Scripture through the lenses of tradition, reason, and experience, we keep Scripture primary.  
• In a world of changing trends, shifting sources of influence and shallow attention, we center our lives and homes deeply in His Word, which speaks with greater authority than any other voice. It is our standard, providing clarity where there is a lack of solid foundation and loving truth in response to religious extremism.
• In our worship gatherings, we aim to be centered not on a leader or a style, but on the living Word of God. It sustains us and speaks prophetically into our lives each week.
• We do not rest on our own individual interpretation of Scripture, but instead join in a historically-rooted, ongoing global community of believers that also interprets our response to the world through His Word by the power of His Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:11)

WHAT IS A WORSHIP SERVICE LIKE?

Fundamental to our worship at Mattis Avenue Free Methodist Church is the concept that we want to promote, enable and give every opportunity for the congregation to worship God in meaningful and expressive ways. This affects everything that we do! You’ll find that our musicians strive to be facilitators—encouraging the congregation to worship, and more specifically to sing! We give priority to hearing the word of God, with various congregational members reading Scriptures from the Old and New Testament each week, and Biblical preaching each Sunday. We pray together, celebrate communion together monthly, and as often as we can, share our faith stories with one another.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC CAN I EXPECT?

Expect a mix of musical styles. Expect to sing heartily. Expect songs and hymns chosen for the quality of text and music and meant to encourage the congregation to worship in ways consistent with the diverse traditions of music in the church.

Depending on the Sunday, you’ll hear drum and guitar, perhaps with some violin mixed in - or once a month, our orchestra! One Sunday we might sing some older hymns; another Sunday, something recent. We love to be a place where kids and parents and grandparents can sing formative words and worship alongside each other!

WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE LIKE AT MATTIS AVENUE FREE METHODIST?

Friendly! You'll meet people of different ages, life stages, and cultures.

WHAT ABOUT MY KIDS?

Children of all ages are welcome in our worship services. We also have some great children’s programming options for your kids.

WHAT ABOUT PARKING AND HANDICAP ACCESS?

Parking is plentiful, including reserved spaces for visitors near the front. The church is handicap accessible throughout. Hearing amplification devices and large print Bibles are available.

WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?

Feel free to wear what’s comfortable for you. You’ll see everything from jeans and khakis to dresses and suits!

IS COFFEE AVAILABLE?

It sure is! Come early to services and enjoy complimentary, good quality coffee and tea in the foyer and visit with friends new and old.

I MISSED THE SERVICE. CAN I LISTEN TO IT ONLINE?

Recordings of the message are posted on our website right after the service. In addition, emails and bulletins are sent out to folks who were unable to attend with all the latest news and programming information.

"Our aim is to serve our God, our Church, and our Community around us."

The Board of Administration is the main governing body of the church. Its membership, elected by the society, includes delegates, treasurer, ministry team leaders, members-at-large and corporate executives of the Mattis Avenue Free Methodist Church, incorporated under the civil laws of the State of Illinois. The Board of Administration serves as the trustees of Mattis Avenue Free Methodist Church.