How did the Church of the Nazarene come to be? Let’s step back in time. We are standing before the First Church of the Nazarene. This church has roots in a movement that sought to bring Christianity to all.
The Church of the Nazarene emerged from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism in the 19th century. It officially formed in Texas in the early 1900s. Today, the Church of the Nazarene is headquartered in Lenexa Kansas.
People who are members of the Church of the Nazarene are commonly referred to as Nazarenes. It stands as the largest denomination aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It is a member of the World Methodist Council.
The mission of the Church of the Nazarene comes from the Great Commission in Matthew 28. It is to make Christlike disciples in the nations. The mission statement was adopted in 2006. In 2009, it was refined to express disciple-making through evangelism. It includes education, compassion, justice, and bearing witness to the kingdom of God.
The denominational vision is to be a disciple-making church. It strives to be an international community of faith. It is rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Since 2001, the Church’s core values have been Christian, Holiness, and Missional.
The Church adopted seven characteristics in 2013. They express the core values meaningfully. These include worship, theological coherence, passionate evangelicalism, and intentional discipleship. They also include church development, transformational leadership, and purposeful compassion.
The guiding principles for the Church are in “The Manual for the Church of the Nazarene”. It is updated every four years during the General Assembly. The General Assembly is the supreme doctrine-formulating and lawmaking body of the Church of the Nazarene. The Manual is the official statement of faith and practice. Therefore it is an authoritative guide for action.
The Manual includes a historical statement. It contains the sixteen core beliefs or Articles of Faith. Its Constitution details the Church polity. It gives guidance on living a contemporary Christian lifestyle.
The formation of the Church of the Nazarene is part of the history of Methodism in the United States. It is a product of mergers between holiness churches and denominations throughout the 20th century. Its roots started in the 1880s. Churches with similar views concentrated in New England. They were also in California and Texas. They agreed to meet and align as one denomination. The first meetings were in Chicago then Pilot Point Texas in 1907 and 1908. These meetings are now known as General Assemblies. They resulted in the formation of the Church of the Nazarene. It has a centralized denominational headquarters in Kansas City Missouri.
The Church of the Nazarene is a global community. It is rooted in faith, compassion, and a commitment to spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ. The First Church of the Nazarene is a testament to this enduring legacy. It invites all to participate in its mission.