Is it the pursuit of Christian holiness that brings us to Grace Church of the Nazarene today? This church belongs to a Christian denomination. It emerged from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. This movement emphasized living a holy life. Grace Church of the Nazarene embraced this core value.
The Church of the Nazarene formed in Texas in the early 1900s. Today, its headquarters are in Lenexa Kansas. Members are called Nazarenes. The Church of the Nazarene is 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 is to make Christlike disciples. It refines that mission by making disciples through evangelism. It also emphasizes education compassion and working for justice. Bearing witness to the kingdom of God is another key aspect.
The vision is to be a disciple-making church. It strives to be an international community of faith. The Church follows the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Since 2001, the core values have been Christian Holiness and Missional.
Seven characteristics express these core values. They include meaningful worship and theological coherence. Passionate evangelicalism is important. Intentional discipleship is key. Church development transformational leadership and purposeful compassion also matter.
The Manual for the Church of the Nazarene guides the church. It updates every four years during the General Assembly. The General Assembly formulates doctrine and makes laws for the Church of the Nazarene. The Manual guides action.
The Manual includes a historical statement. It details sixteen core beliefs or Articles of Faith. The Constitution details the Church polity. Guidance is given for living a contemporary Christian lifestyle.
The Church of the Nazarene is part of Methodism’s history. It resulted from mergers between holiness churches. These mergers occurred throughout the 20th century. Roots began in the 1880s. Churches in New England California and Texas agreed to meet. They aligned as one denomination. The first meeting was in Chicago. Pilot Point Texas followed in 1907 and 1908. These meetings formed the Church of the Nazarene. It has a centralized denominational headquarters. It was originally in Kansas City Missouri.
The Church of the Nazarene’s origins lie in the Third Great Awakening. In 1895 Dr Bresee and Dr Widney founded a church in Los Angeles. They refocused the Methodist Episcopal Church. They served the poor in cities. They named it Church of the Nazarene.
Groups with similar beliefs along the east coast formed the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America. Fred A Hillery C Howard Davis and William Howard Hoople led it. On November 12 1896 these two groups merged in Brooklyn. They retained the name and Manual of Hoople’s group.
Both east coast churches and Bresee’s west coast church met in Chicago in 1907. They merged into a new church. It was named The Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. This is considered the First General Assembly. At that time the APCA existed from Nova Scotia to Iowa. It also covered the northeastern United States.
In April 1908 Bresee accepted Edgar P Ellyson. He was president of the Holiness University of Texas. His wife Mary Emily Ellyson and its members joined too. They joined the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. In September 1908 the Pennsylvania Conference of the Holiness Christian Church merged as well. Horace G Trumbauer led them.
The east and west coast branches merged. Then they focused on merging with the Holiness Church of Christ. It existed in the southern United States. It was the merger of two groups. One was the New Testament Church of Christ. R L Harris founded it. His widow Mary Lee Cagle soon led it. The other was a group also called the Holiness Church of Christ. Charles B Jernigan and J B Chapman led it.
The Holiness Church of Christ and the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene merged in 1908. This took place at the Second General Assembly. This date marks the official founding. Bresee Reynolds and Ellyson were elected general superintendents. The merged Church of the Nazarene began with 10034 members. It had 228 congregations 11 districts and 19 missionaries.
Other independent bodies joined later. These included the Pentecostal Church of Scotland and the Pentecostal Mission. The name comes from the biblical description of Jesus Christ. He was raised in Nazareth Israel. Followers of Jesus were called Nazarenes. It was recommended by Dr Joseph Pomeroy Widney. He wanted to minister to the lower classes.
Initially the newly formed merged church operated under the title the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. In 1919 the Church voted to remove the word Pentecostal. It returned to Church of the Nazarene. Grace Church of the Nazarene is part of this rich history.