The Church of the Nazarene is a Protestant Christian church in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Organized in 1908, today the denomination is now home to about 2.6 million members worshipping in more than 30,875 local congregations in 163 world areas.
Christian – Our whole identity revolves around the person of and work of Jesus Christ.
Protestant – Today making up 40% of Christians worldwide the original Protestant movement began in 1517 and emphasized a free church that worshiped Christ and focused on the key teachings of the Bible regarding Jesus, Scripture, Salvation, and God’s glory. Salvation by Grace, the Priesthood of All Believers, and the Primacy of the Word of God are important to Protestants.
Evangelical – We believe in the possibility and the necessity of a personal relationship with Jesus we also believe we are called to give witness to our Faith.
Wesleyan – We believe in God’s prevenient, saving, sanctifying, and sustaining grace that enables us to live a Holy life. Wesleyans are also known for being “Middle Way” people enabling people from different traditions to avoid the excesses while embracing the strengths of each.
Nazarene was the earliest name for Jesus’ followers. Jesus chose to identify Himself as a Nazarene coming from the town of Nazareth. When Paul was brought to trial in Acts 24:5 they said, “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.
In John 1:43-46 when Philip told his Nathanael about Jesus he said, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
In 1895 when the First Church of the Nazarene was started in Los Angeles to minister to the urban poor the founders chose the name “Church of the Nazarene” because they felt it identified the ministry with the toiling masses of common people for whom Jesus lived and died.
Today the denomination is now home to about 2.5 million members worshipping in more than 30,000 local congregations in 162 world areas.
