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Meet our staff and learn about what it means to be a Nazarene.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.

About the Nazarenes

Our Statement of Mission defines who we are, why we exist, and our reason for being.

The mission of the Church of the Nazarene is to make Christlike disciples in the nations.

We are a Great Commission church. As a global community of faith, WE ARE COMMISSIONED TO TAKE THE GOOD NEWS OF LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST TO PEOPLE EVERYWHERE and to spread the message of scriptural holiness across the lands.

THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE BONDS TOGETHER INDIVIDUALS who have made Jesus Christ Lord of their lives, sharing in Christian fellowship, and seeking to strengthen each other in faith development through worship, preaching, training, and service to others.

We strive to express the compassion of Jesus Christ to all persons along with our personal commitment to Christlike living. While the primary motive of the church is to glorify God, WE ALSO ARE CALLED TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN HIS MISSION – RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF.

The statement of mission contains historical essentials of our mission: EVANGELISM, SANCTIFICATION, DISCIPLESHIP, COMPASSION. The essence of holiness is Christlikeness. Nazarenes are becoming a sent people-into homes, work places, communities, and villages as well as other cities and countries. Missionaries are now sent from all regions of the world. GOD CONTINUES CALLING ORDINARY PEOPLE TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS made possible by the person of the Holy Spirit.

We are a Great Commission church. As a global community of faith, we are commissioned to take the good news of life in Jesus Christ to people everywhere and to spread the message of scriptural holiness across lands.

Agreed Statement of Belief

WE BELIEVE in one God – The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
WE BELIEVE that human beings are born with a fallen nature, and are, therefore, inclined to evil, and that continually.
WE BELIEVE that the atonement through Jesus Christ is for the whole human race; and that whosoever repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is justified and regenerated and saved from the dominion of sin.
WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the new birth, and also to the entire sanctification of believers.
WE BELIEVE that the Old and New Testament Scriptures, given by plenary inspiration, contain all truth necessary to faith and Christian living.
WE BELIEVE that the finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost.
WE BELIEVE that believers are to be sanctified wholly, subsequent to regeneration, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

One LORD | One FAITH | One BAPTISM

Every organization that survives over time contributes its longevity to a deeply shared combination of purpose, belief, and values. So It Is with the Church of the Nazarene. It comes into existence to preach, teach, and model holiness of heart and life as the missional core of its vocation to make Christlike disciples In the nations. Our present and our future as a denomination depends on our faithful participation in the mission of God and our embrace of the distinctive vocation God has given us one of many Christian denominations

Our Core Values are the essence of our identity and support the vision of our denomination and help shape our culture. To view a complete version of our Core Values, please click the Core Values PDF button below.

A Christian People

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).

A Holiness People

God, who is holy, calls us to a life of holiness. We believe that the Holy Spirit seeks to do in us a second work of grace, called by various terms including “entire sanctification” and “baptism with the Holy Spirit”-cleansing us from all sin, renewing us in the image of God, empowering us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and producing in us the character of Christ. Holiness in the life of believers is most clearly understood as Christlikeness.

Because we are called by Scripture and drawn by grace to worship God and to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, we commit ourselves fully and completely to God, believing that we can be “sanctified wholly,” as a second crisis experience. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts, cleanses, fills, and empowers us as the grace of God transforms us day by day into a people of love, spiritual discipline, ethical and moral purity, compassion, and justice. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that restores us in the image of God and produces in us the character of Christ.

We believe in God the Father, the Creator, who calls into being what does not exist. We once were not, but God called us into being, made us for himself, and fashioned us in His own image. We have been commissioned to bear the image of God: “I am the LORD… your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44).

A Missional People

We are a sent people, responding to the call of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go into all the world, witnessing to the Lordship of Christ and participating with God in the building of the Church and the extension of His kingdom (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:1). Our mission (a) begins in worship, (b) ministers to the world in evangelism and compassion, (c) encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship, and (d) prepares women and men for Christian service through Christian higher education.

Core Values PDF

Our Articles of Faith are our foundational beliefs, and set forth the essential truths which guide every area of practice. To see our full Articles of Faith, please click the Articles of Faith PDF button below.

Preamble

In order that we may preserve our God-given heritage, the faith once delivered to the saints, especially the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification as a second work of grace, and also that we may cooperate effectually with other branches of the Church of Jesus Christ in advancing God’s kingdom, we, the ministers and lay members of the Church of the Nazarene, in accordance with the principles of constitutional legislation established among us, do hereby ordain, adopt, and set forth as the fundamental law or Constitution of the Church of the Nazarene the Articles of Faith, the Covenant of Christian Character, and the Articles of Organization and Government here following, to wit:

Articles of Faith PDF

The official sourcebook of church government and bylaws, history, doctrine, ritual, and policy of the Church of the Nazarene. Contains all new legislation enacted by the delegates to the 2017 General Assembly.

From Manual Foreword

Commitment and clear purpose are important. But an intelligent and informed people following commonly agreed-upon practices and procedures advance the kingdom faster and enhance their witness for Christ. Therefore, it is incumbent upon our members to acquaint themselves with this Manual – the history of the church and the doctrines and ethical practices of the ideal Nazarene. Adherence to the injunctions of these pages will nurture loyalty and faithfulness both to God and the church and will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of our spiritual efforts.

With the Bible as our supreme Guide, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and the Manual as our official agreed-upon statement of faith, practice, and polity, we look forward to the new quadrennium with joy and unswerving faith in Jesus Christ.

English Manual PDF Spanish Manual PDF

Nac Naz (Nacogdoches First Church of the Nazarene) is a member church of the global Church of the Nazarene organization in the South Texas District. To learn more about our organization or our district, please visit the websites below.

Nazarene Website District Website