About

Maybe you're asking, "What is the Church of the Nazarene and what do you believe?"

 Well, perhaps it's easier to start with what we're NOT...

  • We are not Baptists, but like the Baptists, we believe in calling people to repentance and to witnessing to their new life in Christ through public baptism. 
     
  • We are not Presbyterians, but like the Presbyterians we believe in the power of the preaching of the Word of God to bring about change in people’s lives. 
  • We are not Lutherans, but like the Lutherans we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ on the authority of Scripture alone, in salvation by faith alone and in salvation as a gift of God’s grace alone. 
  • We are not Charismatics – no, we do not "speak in tongues" in our services – but like the Charismatics we believe in the gifts of the Spirit, who gives people the power to live a Christ-like life and to make a real difference in their world. 
  • We are not Episcopalians – although John Wesley was a lifelong Anglican – but like the Episcopalians we take worship seriously (we just choose to be a little less "formal" in our services). 
  • We are not Quakers or Moravians, but like these pietistic groups, we believe in living a careful life that testifies to the watching world that we belong to the Family of God 
  • And we are not United Methodists, although we have our roots in the Methodist tradition that grew out of John Wesley’s revival movement in the 1700’s. We have good fellowship with our United Methodist "cousins", but we are organizationally separate for historical reasons.

We ARE...

...a warm and friendly group of people who desire, with God’s help, to live holy lives that bring honor and glory to Him. In three words our theology is: "JESUS IS LORD!"  

 We look to the Bible as our primary source for direction in our worship and our lifestyles.

 We are life-centered in our teaching and sensitive to the needs and concerns of others.

 We give people opportunities to put their faith into action through various avenues of service.

 We are honored to take our place among the many who are called Christians.

 We laugh and cry together, rejoice and grieve together, grow together and walk in faith together. 

 We aim to be a family for all who love Jesus, the Nazarene.

 

  

We Believe...

… In one God, who has always been and always will be. He is holy, creative, powerful and active as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Gen.1:26, John 1:1, 1 Cor.8:6-7
 
… That Jesus gave up His heavenly throne, was born to a virgin, to walk with humanity to give them an example of holy living. He died for us as the replacement sacrifice for our sin. We believe that he rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. Psalm 77:15, Matthew 1:20-25, John 1:1-18, Phil. 2:5-11
 
… In the Holy Spirit, who is God living within those who believe, convicting, cleansing, guiding and empowering all believers who give Him access to their lives.John 14:15-18, 26, John 16:7-8, Romans 8:1-27, 1 Thess. 4:7-8
 
… That God inspired the Bible through many different writers. They recorded the history of God’s working in the world, explained His plan to bring humanity back into relationship with Him and teach us everything we need to be more like Him.  
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21
 
… That humanity inherited a tendency to sin from Adam. There are two different kinds of sin, acts of sin and an inner sin nature which gives us the draw toward sin from within.
·         The inner sin is something we did not choose to have, but we will be held responsible for if we reject God’s plan to remove it. Genesis 3, Psalm 51:5, Mark 7:21-23
·         The sin actions we choose that are against God’s plan are ones which block our relationship with God and are in need of forgiveness. Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:9, 2:4
 
… It is only through Jesus’ blood that our sins are forgiven. Our lives can never be good enough for forgiveness, nor can we earn it by “good” actions. We must repent (turn from our sinful actions) and believe that Jesus’ blood does cover our sins. Isaiah 53:5-6, Romans 5:1-21, Galatians 1:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 1:9
 
… That we can choose right from wrong, making us accountable for our own souls. Genesis 1:15-17, Joshua 24:15, Mark 10:17, Romans 1:19-20
 
… That God grants a full pardon for all our confessed sins. God makes me a new person, “clean” in His eyes. We then become His children, adopted into His family. Pardon, a clean heart, and adoption into His family all happen when we confess and repent. Matt. 21:28-32, Romans 10:9, Philippians 3:8-9
 
… That God can also remove our sin nature when we commit ALL (today, tomorrow, our plans, everything) our lives to Him. This happens through the Holy Spirit’s Baptism or indwelling.   While God’s Spirit is with us at salvation, we must choose to make Him our authority. This is called “Sanctification." There is a difference between a pure heart and a mature character. A mature character is developed over time. A pure heart happens at the time when we commit ALL to Him. Romans 6:6-7, Ezekiel 36:25-27, Acts 1:5, Acts 15:8-9, Romans 12:1-2
 
… That the church is the “Body” of Christ on earth today. The church is to preach the Word, observe the reminders of communion and baptism, tell the world about God’s plan, teach believers new truths and show God’s love to the world. Acts 2:42-47, Galatians 6:1-5, 1 Cor. 12:12-28
 
… Baptism is an outward sign of the washing of our hearts from all our sins. All believers are encouraged to experience baptism.  Matthew 3:1-7, Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 2:37-41; 16:31-34, Colossians 2:11-12
 
… That the “Lord’s Supper,” the eating of bread and the drinking of juice, reminds us of Jesus’ body given willingly for us on the cross and His blood which washes away our sin. This, too, is an outward act of something that has happened in the believer’s heart.  Matthew 26:26-29, 1 Corinthians 10:14-21, John 6:25-58
 
… That God challenges us to ask Him to heal our physical, emotional and mental pain. God uses natural and supernatural means to heal His people. 2 Kings 5:1-19, Psalm 103:1-5, James 5:13-16
 
… Jesus will return to earth to take all believers to heaven to live with Him forever. Matt. 25:31-46, 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 2 Pet. 3:3-15
 
… Each of us will be held accountable for our choice to follow or reject God. Those who choose God’s forgiveness will live in Heaven forever and those who reject God will be separated from Him forever in Hell. Genesis 18:25, Psalm 50:6, Rev. 20:11-15