The Church of the Nazarene is a Protestant Christian church in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Organized in 1908, the denomination is now home to about 2.3 million members worshiping in more than 29,000 local congregations in 159 world areas. The Church of the Nazarene is the largest denomination in the classical Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The doctrine that distinguishes the Church of the Nazarene and other Wesleyan denominations from most other Christian denominations is that of entire sanctification. Nazarenes believe that God calls Christians to a life of holy living that is marked by an act of God, cleansing the heart from original sin and filling the individual with love for God and humankind. This experience is marked by entire consecration of the believer to do God's will and is followed by a life of seeking to serve God through service to others. Like salvation, entire sanctification is an act of God's grace, not of works. Our pursuant service to God is an act of love whereby we show our appreciation for the grace that has been extended to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Core Values
As members of the Church Universal, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in affirming the historic Trinitarian creeds and beliefs of the Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.
We are united with all believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We believe that in divine love God offers to all people forgiveness of sins and restored relationship. In being reconciled to God, we believe that we are also to be reconciled to one another, loving each other as we have been loved by God and forgiving each other as we have been forgiven by God. We believe that our life together is to exemplify the character of Christ. We look to Scripture as the primary source of spiritual truth confirmed by reason, tradition, and experience.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Church, which, as the Nicene Creed tells us, is one, holy, universal, and apostolic. In Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God the Father offers forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to all the world. Those who respond to God’s offer in faith become the people of God. Having been forgiven and reconciled in Christ, we forgive and are reconciled to one another. In this way, we are Christ’s Church and Body and reveal the unity of that Body. As the one Body of Christ, we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” We affirm the unity of Christ’s Church and strive in all things to preserve it
(Ephesians 4:5, 3).
More About Our Beliefs
Church of the Nazarene WebsiteStatement of BeliefOur BeginningStatement of MissionQuestionsHow to Know JesusArticles of Faith
We believe…
I. The Triune God
…one eternally existent, infinite God, Triune in being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
II. Jesus Christ
… eternally one with the Father, incarnate by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He died for our sins and arose from the dead.
III. The Holy Spirit
…ever present and active, convincing the world of sin, regenerating the repentant, sanctifying believers,and guiding into all truth.
IV. The Holy Scriptures
…the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing God'swill for our salvation.
V. Sin, Original and Personal
…original sin, corruption of the nature of Adam’s offspring, and personal sin, a voluntary violation of a known law of God.
VI. Atonement
…the only ground of salvation through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ and his death on the Cross.
VII. Prevenient Grace
…from God to enable all who will to choose the right and to turn from sin to righteousness to receive pardon from sin.
VIII. Repentance
…a sincere and thorough change of the mind in regard to sin and a voluntary turning away from sin.
IX. Justification, Regeneration, and Adoption
…full pardon of all guilt and release from the penalty of sins, new spiritual life, and God’s reception of the believer as His child.
X. Entire Sanctification
…subsequent to regeneration, wrought by the baptism with the Holy Spirit resulting in a heart cleansed of sin, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and growth in grace.
XI. The Church
…the Body of Christ who confesses Jesus as Lord, called together by the Holy Spirit to continue the redemptive work of Christ.
XII. Baptism
…a sacrament signifying acceptance of the benefits of the atonement of Jesus Christ to be administered to believers.
XIII. The Lord’s Supper
…a memorial sacrament declarative of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.
XIV. Divine Healing
…the Bible doctrine of divine healing, urging the prayer of faith. We also believe God heals through medical science.
XV. Second Coming of Christ
… Jesus Christ will come again. Those abiding in Him will be caught up to meet the Lord and be ever with Him.
XVI. Resurrection, Judgment, and Destiny
…the resurrection of the dead and every person’s appearance before God for judgment, the repentant for everlasting life and the impenitent for eternal suffering.
* A summarized version of the sixteen Articles of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene. Full detailed explanation of each article,including scripture references, can be obtained from a current Manual of the Church of the Nazarene or here.
