Methodism recognizes two sacraments instituted by Christ: Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion). The Methodist Articles of Religion (Article XVI) affirm Baptism as a sign of the new birth and regeneration; it may be administered by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring, to both infants and adults. Infant baptism is practiced and understood as a sign of the covenant and prevenient grace. The Lord's Supper is celebrated as both a memorial of Christ's sacrifice and a means of grace — a real encounter with the living Christ through faith.

Methodist eucharistic theology follows a broadly receptionist or virtualist position: Christ is truly present in the Lord's Supper, but through faith rather than through a physical change in the bread and wine. The United Methodist Church practices open Communion — all who love Christ and seek to follow him are invited to the table, regardless of baptism or membership — reflecting Wesley's practice of 'converting ordinances,' using the Supper as an evangelistic means of grace. Wesley's sacramental theology was in many ways more Catholic in emphasis than his Protestant heirs, and he communicated weekly at the Lord's Supper.