Church of the Nazarene also known as the Nazarene with its member is the largest Wesleyan-holiness Christian religious gathering in the world.
As tasked from the Holiness movement, the Nazarenes had a universal mission to “go and make disciples in all nations.”
On this post is the church of the Nazarene brief history and belief you should know.
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1. Church of the Nazarene originated from the Holiness Movement
The Church of the Nazarene is the result of a series of mergers that took place between several churches, organizations, and denominations of Holiness over the course of the 20th century. This most famous alliance took place in 1907 and 1908 at the first and second general assemblies in Chicago, Illinois and Pilot Point, Texas. The main coordinator of this early merger was C. W. Ruth. The main founder of the Church of the Nazarene was Phineas F. Bresee, who was also the founding president of Point Loma Nazarene University.
The history of the Church of the Nazarene has been divided into seven random periods by the organization of the Archives of the Nazarene in Lenexa, Kansas: (1) the names of the parents (1887-1907); (2) Association (1896-1915); (3) Finding a solid foundation (1911-1928); (4) Resilience in the midst of adversity (1928-1945); (5) the medieval soul crusade (1945-1960); (6) Before the evangelical tendencies of the post-war period (1960-1980); and (7) internationalization (since 1980).
2. The Nazarene Global Mission is to make disciples of all nations
The worldwide mission of the Church of the Nazarenes since its foundation has been to “meet the High Principle of Christ” to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
In December 2006, it was briefly called “Creation of Christ-speaking disciples in the nations”. This sentence describes the global mission of the name.
In 2009, the General Assembly revised Article XI of its Handbook, which described the means to fulfill its mission: “Making disciples through evangelization, teaching, mercy, working for justice and witnessing the kingdom. of God”.
Since 2001, the three “fundamental values” of the Church have been recognized as “Christians, saints, missionaries”. The ideals of the name are: “To be a disciple-making church of an international name in the tradition of Wesleyan holiness.”
3. seven features highlighted by officials of the Nazarene Church
The Board of General Superintendents declared seven characteristics for the Church of the Nazarene, at the 2013 General Assembly meeting.
Below are the declarations:
- Meaningful Worship
- Theological Coherence
- Passionate Evangelism
- Intentional Discipleship
- Church Development
- Transformational Leadership
- Purposeful Compassion
According to a statement declared by The Board of General Superintendents, it read: “While these descriptors do not take the place of our mission ‘to make Christlike disciples in the nations’ or our core values of ‘Christian, holiness and missional,’ they describe what we believe should characterize every Church of the Nazarene and in large part, should be reflected by Nazarenes everywhere.”
4. The Church of the Nazarene has Made a Publication of their Faith and Practice
,. The publication of the 2013-2017 Handbook, endorsed by the General Assembly as the “supreme formative and legislative body of the Church of the Nazarene”, is “the official declaration of the faith and practice of the Church” and “is therefore considered a guide for action.” Presents the conclusions and evaluations of scholarly representatives from the twenty -eighth general assembly, which convened in Indianapolis in 2013.
The 2013-2017 manual contains a brief historical description of the name. Its constitution, which contains 16 articles of faith, its understanding of the church, the Christian character’s covenant for holy living, and the principles of organization and government. The Covenant of Christian Conduct, which addresses important issues in modern society policy and church governance related to local, provincial and general church organizations.
5. Arminian Influence in the Nazarene Church
The Christian Church adheres to the Armenian tradition of free grace for all and human autonomy to choose to participate in this saving grace. The monastery church differs from other Protestant churches in that the Holy Spirit of God allows Christians to continue to respect it – as does the faith of other churches in the evangelical holiness movement.
The Christian church does not believe that a Christian tends to sin every day. On the other hand, the monastic church teaches that sin must be the rarest exception in the life of a devout Christian. Christians also believe in total sanctification, the idea that a person can have a full devotional relationship with God, in which he is no longer affected by original sin. In other words, by the power of the Holy Spirit, people can evolve to live holy lives to the glory of God. The idea of absolute sanctification derives from John Wesley’s concept of spiritual integrity. It is presented on different levels; Like any community, some followers interpret the faith more strictly than others.
6. Nazarene was originated from the biblical town of Nazareth.
The denomination inherited its modern title from one of its predecessor groups, the California Nazarene Church, founded in 1895. October month. Founded by Dr. Phineas F. Bresee and Dr. Joseph Pomeroy Widney. The name of the denomination comes from the biblical description of Jesus Christ, who grew up in the city of Nazareth (hence the “Nazarene”). In Matthew 2:23 and Acts 24: 5, where Tertullus describes him as “the leader of the sect of the Nazarenes,” Jesus the Nazarenes is called.
Following this biblical reference, the denomination’s name focuses on Jesus as the “Nazarene”. In addition, Jesus’ disciples were originally called “Nazarenes” (Acts 24: 5), a phrase that Jesus himself may have used. According to the Church of Nazareth Archivist, Dr. Stan Ingersol:
The Hebrew name “Jesus” derived from “Joshua” is common in first century Palestinian Judaism, so “Jesus of Nazareth” refers to who Jesus is, and in Acts the early Palestinian Christians are “Christians”. . The Nazarene sect. The term “Christian” originated outside of Palestine, by law in Syria, with missions in other nations. It comes from Christos, the Greek-Hebrew translation of “Messiah” or “anointed”. Pagan Christianity spread in the Mediterranean valley. Jesus came to be known as Christ and was referred to as a “Christian”. 19th century and 20 a. In the beginning, European writers prepared many biographies of Jesus, the term “Nazarene”. for how the Church of the Nazarene got its name.
7. The consumption of alcohol and cigarettes are prohibited At The Nazarene Church
Throughout its history, the Church of the Nazarene has advocated the complete renunciation of alcohol and all other intoxicants, including cigarettes.
Bresee, the founder of Nazareth, was involved in the prohibition movement. Although this is still being debated, the position in the Church remains. Although the Church does not consider alcohol to be the cause of sin itself, it recognizes that drunkenness and similarly pose a “danger” to many people, both physically and spiritually.
Historically, the Church of the Nazarene was founded to help the poor. Alcohol, gambling, and the like, and their addictions, have been listed as impoverishing things, and the Nazarenes have traditionally renounced it. In addition, they believe that a person who should be an example to others should stop using it so that others do not interfere with “walking with God,” because it is considered a sin for both people.
8. The Nazarene Church practices two sacraments known as Baptism and Communion.
The Church of the Nazarene practices two main sacraments: Christian baptism and the sacrament or communion.
Every Nazarene church should observe the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at least four times a year. The 2009-2013 Handbook encourages pastors to improve the regularity of the sacrament, which is observed by some churches on a monthly or even weekly basis.
The Nazarenes allowed believers and infants to be baptized. When a family in the Church of the Nazarene chooses not to baptize their children, they often participate in the initiation of a child. The child’s parents decide whether the child is baptized or performed. These choices are often influenced by the geographical location of their pastor, the culture of the local church and teaching position, and whether they were baptized or ordained as infants.
9. Churches of the Nazarene is/are organized by Local, District, and Region.
Local – The main organizational unit in the Nazarene Church is the local parish, which can be a reunited church or an ecclesiastical mission (often referred to as a “new beginning”). 2014 September. Eventually, there were 21,425 organized churches and 7,970 ecclesiastical missions in a total of 29,395 parishes.
District – Local parishes are administratively divided into geographic districts. 2009 The General Assembly adopted a declaration defining the district as “a unit of interdependent local churches, organized to facilitate the mission of each local church through mutual aid, resource sharing and cooperation assistance”. Each district is chaired by a district superintendent, who is usually elected by the delegates of each local church at an annual meeting called the district assembly.
Region – All the districts of the Church of the Nazarene are divided into regions. Since September 2014. Used to be:
Africa (611,398 members), 8,686 churches in 130 districts.
Asia Pacific (119,349 members) in 1894 churches in 46 districts.
Eurasia (240,585 members) in 7,832 churches in 52 districts.
Meso America (unites the former Caribbean, Mexico and Central America) (364,368 members in 3,133 churches in 77 districts).
South America (279,408 members in 2,603 churches in 80 districts.
The United States / Canada, which includes the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, has 649,998 members in 5,247 churches in 80 districts, 11 universities and colleges in Nazarene, and a Nazarene theological seminary in Kansas City, Missouri.
The regions are managed by the Nazarene Global Mission, an institution founded in 2011. After a major transformation that brings together all the objectives of the former World Mission Department. The focus is on collaborating to enhance the support of Nazarene churches at the local, regional, regional and international levels.
10. The Church of the Nazarene emphasized higher education from the very beginning.
The Church of the Nazarene Handbook 2013-2017 states: “The Church of the Nazarene has been active in higher education since the beginning. Church colleges / universities, although not local communities, are an integral part of the church. that is the expression of the church. ”
A portion of the church and county budget is allocated to Nazarene higher education, which includes the cost of education zones or schools in each state.
As of 2016, the Church of the Nazarene owns and operates 52 educational institutions in 35 countries on six continents, including 5 postgraduate seminars. 31 university colleges for theology, 2 nursing courses in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea and 1 training seminar in Papua New Guinea. The number of students enrolled in Nazarene schools worldwide was 51,555 in 2016.
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