Church of the Nazarene

Church of the Nazarene
Seal of the Church of the Nazarene
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Evangelical
Polity	Mixed. Elements of Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Episcopal polities.
Associations	World Methodist Council; National Association of Evangelicals
Founder	Phineas F. Bresee
Origin	1895 (officially 1908) Los Angeles, CA, USA (officially Pilot Point, TX, USA)
Merger of	15 Holiness denominations
Separations	Methodist Episcopal
Congregations	20,958
Members	1,837,393

For other uses, see Church of the Nazarene (disambiguation).

The Church of the Nazarene, often referred to as the Nazarene Church, is an international evangelical Christian denomination that began in the Wesleyan tradition of the 19th century Holiness movement. Its mission is "to respond to the Great Commission of Christ to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19)," or, more succinctly, "to make Christlike disciples in the nations." This frames the global mission of the denomination. Since 2001, the three “core values” of the Church have been identified as “Christian, missional, and holiness.” It is currently a member of the Christian Holiness Partnership, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Methodist Council, Mission Exchange (formerly the Evangelical Fellowship of Missions Agencies), and the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

As of the end of 2008, the Church of the Nazarene had 1,837,393 members (1,655,685 full and 181,679 associate members), (a 5.98 percent gain from the previous year) in almost 23,000 churches from around the world, of which there are 16,209 organized churches, a 5.53 percent net gain. Membership in the United States in 2008 was 658,402, the largest of any nation (35.8% of the total church membership), followed by Haiti with over 107,000 members, and India with 59,039 total members), although as of 2008 there are presently more total members outside the U.S.A. with 1,178,991 church members in World Mission areas. In 2007, a total of 1,032 new churches were organized, and 156,525 new Nazarenes (with just over 131,000 added by profession of faith) were reported in 2008. Most of that growth took place outside of the U.S.A. (108,553 net increase in church members in 2007). The denomination has the highest percentage presence in the nations of Cape Verde (where its members constitute 2.5% of the population); Samoa (1.88% of the population); Barbados (1.0% of the population); Haiti (0.99% of the population); and Swaziland (0.96% of the population) . During 2008, total monies paid for all purposes was US$946,777,409. Worldwide per capita giving was US$515.28.

The Church of the Nazarene also supports 57 undergraduate and graduate educational institutions in 40 countries on 6 continents around the world. As is common for an evangelical Christian denomination, the Nazarene church holds revivals and is highly active in missionary work. Until 2008, the International Headquarters for the Church of the Nazarene was in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2005, the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene decided to relocate the headquarters complex. The new Global Ministry Center (GMC), designed by 360 Architecture, opened on September 15, 2008, and is located at 17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Lenexa, Kansas.. The Nazarene Publishing House is located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Origin of the name

The name of the denomination comes from the biblical description of Jesus Christ, who had been raised in the village of Nazareth (and was regarded consequently as "a Nazarene"). In the NASB translation, Jesus is called the Nazarene in Matthew 2:23; Mark 10:47; Mark 14:67; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:19; John 18:5; John 18:7; John 19:19; Acts 2:22; Acts 3:6; Acts 4:10; Acts 6:14; Acts 22:8. Consequently, the denominational name focuses on Jesus who was "The Nazarene". Additionally, the followers of Jesus were initially called "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5), a term perhaps used by Jesus himself.

The name of the denomination was first recommended by Dr. J.P. Widney, a former president of the University of Southern California and influential figure in the early days of the Church of the Nazarene on the West Coast. He explained that the name had come to him one morning after spending the whole night in prayer. He said that the word "Nazarene" symbolized "the toiling, lowly mission of Christ. It was the name that Christ used of Himself, the name which was used in derision of Him by His enemies, the name which above all others linked Him to the great toiling, struggling, sorrowing heart of the world. It is Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth to whom the world in its misery and despair turns, that it may have hope" (Smith, Called Unto Holiness, Volume I). The denomination started as a mission that ministered to the homeless and poor, and wanted to keep that attitude of ministering to "lower classes" of society.

History

Phineas Bresee sought to return to John Wesley's original goals of preaching the good news of the gospel to the poor and underprivileged.

First founded in 1895 in Los Angeles, California, by Phineas F. Bresee, a Methodist Episcopal Church minister, and Dr. Joseph Pomeroy Widney, a Methodist layman and former President of the University of Southern California, the Church of the Nazarene today is the product of many mergers that occurred between various holiness churches and denominations throughout the course of the early 20th century. The most prominent of these mergers took place at the First and Second General Assemblies, held at Chicago, Illinois, and Pilot Point, Texas in 1907 and 1908 , respectively. The latter date marks the "official" founding date. The newly-merged Church of the Nazarene began with 10,034 members, 228 congregations, 11 districts, and 19 missionaries, according to historical records.

The First General Assembly brought together the East and the West: the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, a denomination formed in 1896 through the merger of two older bodies that existed principally from Nova Scotia to Iowa and the northeastern United States, and the primarily-West Coast Church of the Nazarene. The name of the united body adopted at the First General Assembly was Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene.

At the Second General Assembly held at Pilot Point, Texas, the Holiness Church of Christ, located in the southern United States, merged with the Pentecostal Nazarenes. The merger of the Holiness Church of Christ in the south and the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene took place on Tuesday, October 13, 1908, at 10:40 a.m., "amid great shouts of joy and holy enthusiasm."

The Holiness Church of Christ in the South, like the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America in the east, was also the result of an earlier merger between two older denominations. Between the First and Second General Assemblies, there also occurred major accessions of members from the Holiness Association of Texas and the merger in September 1908 of the Pennsylvania Conference of the Holiness Christian Church.

The term "Pentecostal" in the church's original name soon proved to be problematic. In the Wesleyan-holiness movement, the word was used widely as a synonym simply for "holiness." But the rise of 20th century Pentecostalism, especially after 1906, gave new meanings and associations to the term -- meanings that the Pentecostal Nazarenes rejected. At the Nashville General Assembly in 1919, the name was shortened to avoid any confusion in the public mind about the church's place on the theological spectrum.

Other independent bodies joined at later dates, including the Pentecostal Church of Scotland and Pentecostal Mission, both in 1915. At this point, the Church of the Nazarene now embraced 7 previous denominations and significant parts of two other groups. In time, the Church of the Nazarene and the Wesleyan Church would emerge as the two major denominations to gather in the smaller bodies of the 19th century Wesleyan-holiness movement.

In subsequent decades, there were new accretions and merges. In the 1920s, there were major accessions from the Laymen's Holiness Association located in the Dakotas. In the 1950s, there were mergers with the International Holiness Mission and the Calvary Holiness Church, both located primarily in the United Kingdom, the Hephzibah Faith Missionary Association in Iowa, the Gospel Workers Church of Canada, and an indigenous Church of the Nazarene in Nigeria.

International growth

Former International Headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene, Kansas City

Even before the merger of October 1908, the Church of the Nazarene had a vision to be a global denomination. By then, there were churches in Canada and organized work in India, Swaziland, Cape Verde, and Japan, soon followed by work in central Africa, Mexico, and China. The 1915 mergers added congregations in the British Isles and work in Cuba, Central America, and South America. There were congregations in Syria and Palestine by 1922. General Superintendent Reynolds advocated "a mission to the world," and support for world evangelization became a distinguishing characteristic of Nazarene life. Taking advantage of new technologies, the church began producing the Showers of Blessing radio program in the 1940s, followed by the Spanish broadcast La Hora Nazarena and later by broadcasts in other languages. From the 1940s through the 1980s, indigenous holiness churches in other countries continued to join the church.

In the General Assembly of 1972, held at Miami Beach, Florida, steps were taken to move the church in structure, as well as name, toward an international fellowship, with the proposal that mission area districts must be represented on all legislative bodies of the church. In 1976, concrete steps were taken to make possible a regional church with the creation of intercontinental zones. In 1980, these zones became six church regions. At the 1980 General Assembly, held in Kansas City, the denomination formally committed itself to the process of internationalization -- a deliberate policy of being one church of congregations and districts worldwide, rather than splitting into national churches like earlier Protestant denominations. The principle was set forth of “one church, one doctrine, one polity, and one policy.”[2] By the 2001 General Assembly, held in Indianapolis, 42 percent of delegates present and voting were not native English speakers. Today 64 percent of Nazarene members and 80 percent of the church's 429 districts are outside the United States. Since the Church of the Nazarene's quadrennial General Assembly is based on representation from districts from 151 world areas, the 2005 General Assembly was probably one of the most racially and linguistically diverse general meetings of any religious body that originated on American soil.

As of 2009, the church is located in 155 "world areas" (approximately equivalent to nations). At the 2009 annual meeting of the General Board, it was decided that the denomination would enter the following new nations: Guinea-Conakry (Africa Region), Niger (Africa Region); Moldova (Eurasia Region), and Norway (Eurasia Region). Each week Nazarenes worship in more than 212 languages or tribal languages, with literature produced in 90 of these. The Church of the Nazarene reaches out to persons around the globe through the Internet, radio broadcasts in 33 languages, and video and printed materials in 95 languages.

In 2008, there were 794 General Board-funded missionaries (active, retired, regional, Mission Corps volunteers, and "tentmakers") for the Church of the Nazarene. These missionaries originate from 26 world areas. In 2008, 508 Mission Corps (formerly Nazarenes in Volunteer Service) volunteers, including 23 "tentmakers," ministered in 51 world areas.

Influential figures

Founders and architects included Phineas F. Bresee, Joseph Pomeroy Widney, Fred Hillery, Hiram Reynolds, Ernest E. Angell, Mary Lee Cagle, C. W. Ruth, H. Orton Wiley, J.B. Chapman, and Mildred Bangs Wynkoop.

Notable church historians include Timothy L. Smith and Stan Ingersol.

Biblical scholars of note include Olive Winchester, Ralph Earle, J. Kenneth Grider, and William Greathouse. Contemporary theologians include Michael Lodahl and Thomas Jay Oord.

Notable Nazarene academics include Darrel R. Falk, Richard G. Colling, Donald A. Yerxa, Randall J. Stephens, and Karl W. Giberson.

Currently, the denomination's most famous member is Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, who does not speak for the church in any official capacity.

Doctrine and beliefs

The spiritual vision of early Nazarenes was derived from the doctrinal core of John Wesley's preaching and the holiness movement of the 19th century. The affirmations of the church include justification by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, sanctification by grace through faith united with good works, entire sanctification as an inheritance available to every Christian, and the witness of the Spirit to God's work in human lives. The holiness movement arose in the 1830s to promote these doctrines, especially Entire Sanctification, but splintered by 1900.

The Church of the Nazarene remains committed to Christian holiness. Nazarene doctrines and beliefs are published in a book called Manual: Church of the Nazarene published quadrennially at the General Assembly, the premiere convention and gathering of Nazarenes, at which leaders are elected, and amendments and suggestions are updated into the Manual. The Manual is published in print, and is available online at the Nazarene Church's website.

Nazarenes have established 16 "Articles of Faith" as a guiding principal for living Christianity. The "Articles" include the following: one eternal self-existent God manifest in a three-fold nature; the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit; the authority of the Bible; Original and Personal Sin; the work of atonement; prevenient grace; the need for repentance; justification, regeneration, and adoption; entire sanctification; the church; baptism by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring; the Lord's Supper for all believers; divine healing; the return of Jesus Christ; and the resurrection of the dead.

Arminianism

The Church of the Nazarene stands in the Arminian tradition of free grace for all and human freedom to choose to partake of that saving grace. The Nazarene Church distinguishes itself from many other Protestant churches because of its belief that God's Holy Spirit empowers Christians to be constantly obedient to Him -- similar to the belief of other churches in the Evangelical Holiness movement. The Nazarene Church does not believe that a Christian is helpless to sin every day. Rather, the Nazarene Church does teach that sin should be the rare exception in the life of a sanctified Christian. Also, there exists the belief in entire sanctification, the idea that a person can have a relationship of entire devotion to God in which they are no longer under the influence of original sin. This means that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, people can be changed so as to be able to live a holy life for the glory of God. The concept of entire sanctification stems from John Wesley's concept of spiritual perfection. This is interpreted on a variety of different levels; as with any denomination, certain believers interpret the theology more rigidly and others less so.

Both the doctrines of entire sanctification and prevenient grace are usually interpreted in less rigid fashion by most church members, viewing spiritual perfection as something to strive toward, being already sanctified and forgiven for their sins under the sacrifice of Christ. Hence, thinking in a circular and very Greek fashion, one would be perfect, since one would be forgiven; however, since Christ was also human, and one is still entirely alive and living in the world, then one would still need to continue striving to live the best, or most "perfect" life possible, because Christ was God and man. And so, the dilemma continues in theological interpretation.

In recent days, Nazarene theologians have increasingly understood the movement's distinctive theological doctrine, entire sanctification, as best understood in terms of love. Love is the core notion of the various understandings of holiness and sanctification found in the Bible. Christians are called to love when in relation to God and others (Oord and Lodahl, 2005).

Historical and contemporary issues

The Church of the Nazarene has maintained a stance supporting total abstinence from alcohol and any other intoxicant, including cigarettes. Although this continues to be debated, the position remains in the church. While the church does not consider alcohol itself to be the cause of sin, it recognizes that intoxication and the like, are a 'danger' to many people, both physically and spiritually. Historically, the Nazarene Church was founded in order to help the poor. Alcohol, gambling, the like, and their addictions were cited as things that kept people poor. So in order to help the poor, as well as everyone, Nazarenes have traditionally abstained from those things. Also, a person who is meant to serve an example to others should avoid the use of them, in order not to cause others to stray from their 'walk with God,' as that is considered a sin for both parties.

The Church of the Nazarene also takes a stance on a wide array of current moral and social issues, which is published in the Manual and online. These issues have included stances regarding human sexuality, theatrical arts, movies, social dancing, AIDS/HIV, and organ donation.

The Church of the Nazarene believes that every man or woman should be treated with dignity, grace, and holy love, whatever their sexual orientation (biological sex of person attracted to). However, the Nazarene Church continues to hold the position that the homosexual lifestyle is sinful and is contrary to the Scriptures. The Church of the Nazarene further reemphasizes the call to Nazarenes around the globe to recommit themselves to a life of holiness, characterized by holy love and expressed through the most rigorous and consistent lifestyle of sexual purity. The Nazarene Church stands firmly on the belief that the biblical concept of marriage, which they interpret as being between one man and one woman in a committed, lifelong relationship, is the only relationship within which the gift of sexual intimacy is properly expressed.

Worship and rituals

First Church of the Nazarene near Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Nazarene churches typically have worship services three times a week: Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. In recent years, the Sunday and Wednesday evening services in many Nazarene churches have changed from worship services to discipleship training, and many of the growing churches have utilized weekly small group meetings. Worship services typically contain singing a mix of hymns and contemporary worship songs, prayer, special music, reading of Scripture, sermon, and offering. Services are often focused toward a time of prayer and commitment at the end of the sermon, with people finding spiritual help as they gather for corporate praying.

Worship styles vary widely. Over the last ten years, an increasing number of Nazarene churches have utilized contemporary worship services as their predominant worship style. This may involve the use of a projector to display song and chorus lyrics onto a video screen. More traditional Nazarene churches may have a song leader who directs congregational hymns from the pulpit or platform. In some worship services, particularly the traditional Wednesday night prayer meeting, members are often encouraged to "testify," that is, give an account of some aspect of their spiritual journey. A testimony may describe a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit or speak to a particular event of meaning in a person's recent Christian life. Prayers offered during services are most often communal and led by a single person.

Annual "revival" meetings have long been a traditional part of Nazarene life, though may be seen less today than they once were. An "evangelist" comes to preach the revival services. The Church of the Nazarene has been known to credential evangelists, many of whom earn their entire living through their ministry of evangelism. Most Nazarene districts also sponsor an annual camp meeting for adults and their families as well as separate camps for both "teens" and children.

While Nazarenes believe that the ill should utilize all appropriate medical agencies, Nazarenes also affirm God's will of divine healing and pastors may "lay hands" upon the ill in prayer, either at the hospital or in a worship service. A prayer for divine healing is never understood as excluding medical services and agencies.

Sacraments

The Church of the Nazarene recognizes two sacraments: Christian baptism and the Lord's Supper, or communion. Nazarenes permit believer's baptism and infant baptism alike, although in recent times infant baptism has given way to more frequent infant "dedication" ceremonies, thus reserving baptism until after the time when the child makes a conscious decision to follow Christ. Every Nazarene church is required to administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper at least four times a year. Some congregations offer Communion at least once a month. The Nazarene Manual also includes rituals for the reception of new church members, weddings, funerals, the installation of new officers, and church dedications.

Polity and leadership

The Church of the Nazarene combines episcopal and congregational polities to form a "representative" government. The salient feature of this structure is shared power between people and clergy as well as between the local church and the denomination. At the 1923 General Assembly, the following was stated in relation to the denominational's polity: "Our people have felt they did not want extreme episcopacy in the appointment of pastors, neither did they want extreme congregationalism. In the past, we have tried to find a middle ground, so as to respect the spirit of democracy and at the same time retain a degree of efficiency."

Board of General Superintendents

Main article: General Superintendent (Church of the Nazarene)

Six ordained elders are elected by the General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene every four years to serve as the Board of General Superintendents. The general superintendent is the highest elected office in the Church of the Nazarene. According to the denominational website, "This board is charged with the responsibility of administering the worldwide work of the Church of the Nazarene. The Board of General Superintendents also interprets the denomination's book of polity, the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene." At the General Assembly held in Orlando, Florida, USA in June 2009, General Superintendents Jesse C. Middendorf, Jerry D. Porter and J. K. Warrick were re-elected to another four-year term. Dr. Eugenio Duarte, then regional director of the Africa region, from Cape Verde, was elected the 37th general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene on the seventh ballot, thus becoming the first person elected to the Board of General Superintendents from Africa, and the the first citizen from outside the USA/Canada Region elected to the Church of the Nazarene's Board of General Superintendents. Dr. John Bowling, currently serving as president of [Olivet Nazarene University] was elected as the 38th General Superintendent on June 30, 2009.

General Assembly

Main article: List of Church of the Nazarene conventions

According to the denominational website, "The General Assembly of the church serves as the supreme doctrine-formulating, lawmaking, and elective authority of the Church of the Nazarene, subject to the provisions of the church constitution. Composed of elected representatives from all of the denomination's regular districts globally, the General Assembly meets once every four years. The General Assembly elects the members of the Board of General Superintendents and considers legislative proposals from the church's 429 districts. Topics under consideration may range from the method of calling a pastor to bioethics. The General Assembly also elects representatives from around the world to the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene. The General Board carries out the corporate business of the denomination." The General Assembly meets every four years. At the most recent General Assembly, held in Orlando, Florida, USA, in June 2009, a total of 1,030 delegates were finally registered, with 982 eligible to vote, and 48 non-voting delegates.

Ministers

The Church of the Nazarene's has two orders of ordained ministry: the ordained elder and the ordained deacon. The ordained elder is a person, either male or female, who has been set apart for a ministry of "Word and Sacrament." Their primary assignment is to preach the Word, administer the sacraments, and lead the local church. The ordained deacon is a man or woman who has been set apart for full-time ministry in a role other than "Word and Sacrament." Those eligible to be ordained as deacons include those who are called to a full-time ministry of music, Christian social ministry, or director of Christian education, or another ministry that does not typically involve leading a congregation. The church also has district licensed ministers. Usually these are persons who are on the path toward ordination or who are strongly considering a call to ordained ministry. A licensed minister may, in some cases, be the pastor of a church.

The Church of the Nazarene also recognizes these specialized forms of Christian service and ministry. The Church of the Nazarene has 14,869 ordained elders, 684 ordained deacons and 7,435 licensed ministers.

Organization

Local church

The basic unit of organization in the Church of the Nazarene is the local church congregation, which may be either an organized church or church-type mission (often known as "New Starts").

District

Local congregations are grouped administratively into Districts, each district led by a District Superintendent, who is usually elected by delegates from each local church in an annual meeting called the District Assembly. In embryonic districts, the District Superintendent may be appointed by the jurisdictional General Superintendent. There are currently 433 Districts worldwide. Of these, 174 are Phase 3; 85 are Phase 2; and 141 are Phase 1. There are also 33 pioneer areas. There are 85 Districts in the USA and Canada. The two Districts with the largest membership in the Church of the Nazarene are the Guatemala North Verapaz District, with 22,012 members, and the Korea National District, with 20,282 members. Districts may also be divided into several Zones, where local churches within a Zone may cooperate for various activities, particularly for youth events.

Region

All Districts of the Church of the Nazarene are organized into Regions. In 2009, there were 15 Regions, with 8 in the United States of America, 1 in Canada, and the other 6 comprising the rest of the world. These 6 non-North American Regions are the Africa (410,816 members in 5,629 churches in 35 countries), Asia-Pacific (103,453 members in 1,585 churches in 24 countries), Caribbean (155,364 members in 1,078 churches in 23 countries), Eurasia (153,387 members in in 3,363 churches in 34 countries), Mexico & Central America (154,235 members in 1,698 churches in 7 countries), and South America Regions (201,736 members in 3,027 churches in 10 countries), which are administered through the denomination's department of World Mission, each with a regional Director. Existence of Regions in the United States and Canada is tied to church funds and higher education, as local churches pay budgets on a District level, and as Districts onto the Regional level, and a portion of the local and district budgets is alloted for Nazarene institutions of higher education (see "Higher Education" below). Educational Regions for the Church of the Nazarene were first established in 1918.

Field

Districts in areas administered by the Department of World Mission are often grouped into "fields", with a field strategy co-ordinator providing strategic leadership. On 31 January 2008, India became the first field in the global Church of the Nazarene to be entirely indigenous with the field strategy co-ordinator, Rev Sunil Dange, and all 15 district superintendents, all ministry coordinators, and all pastors from India.

Higher education

See also: List of Church of the Nazarene schools

The Nazarene Manual states that "[t]he Church of the Nazarene, from its inception, has been committed to higher education. The church provides the college/university with students, administrative and faculty leadership, and financial and spiritual support... The church college/university, while not a local congregation, is an integral part of the church; it is an expression of the church." In holding to this philosophy, the Church of the Nazarene owns and operates 11 liberal arts institutions in Africa, Canada, Korea, Brazil, and the United States, as well as 3 graduate seminaries, 38 undergraduate Bible/theological colleges, 3 nurses' training colleges, 1 junior college, and 1 education college worldwide. In 2008, there were 45,103 students enrolled in these 57 Nazarene institutions of higher education, an increase of 2,932 over the previous year. The largest Nazarene university is Korea Nazarene University, with over 5,300 students. Nazarene educational institutions are overseen by the Nazarene International Board of Education (IBOE). Total assets of these educational institutions reached US$1,055,112,861. Church support to these institutions totaled $27,468,445.

A portion of the local and district budgets is alloted for Nazarene higher education, and subsidizes the cost of each Region's (see Organization, Region above) respective institution. Hence, in the United States and Canada, there is one Nazarene liberal arts college per Region. Accompanying that logic of institutional support, there is a gentlemen's agreement between the Nazarene liberal arts colleges in the United States to not actively recruit outside their respective region, requiring that a Nazarene prospective college student must first seek information from any "Off-Region" institution on an individual basis. Bible colleges and seminaries are not associated with a Region in the same way as the liberal arts colleges.

Ministries

There are several key ministries that focus on different aspect of the larger mission statement. The biggest of these are Nazarene Youth International (NYI), Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries, Nazarene Missions International (NMI), and Nazarene Publishing House (NPH).

Nazarene Youth International (NYI)

Nazarene Youth International encompasses membership from young people aged 12-25. NYI membership globally at the end of 2008 was 415,041 (an increase of 18,318) in 13,706 societies (a increase of 671) worldwide.

Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI)

At the end of 2008, Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI) reported an average global Sunday School weekly attendance of 812,672 (in Sunday School) and 47,001 including extension ministries. The Total Global Responsibility List stands at 1,499,335, a gain of 23,731.

Missions

Nazarene Missions International (NMI)

Nazarene Missions International (NMI), "the church-relations heart of World Mission within each local church" and "the local-church-based global mobilization and promotional arm of the Church of the Nazarene",[3] has 916,470 members. The total amount raised for World Evangelism Fund in 2008 was approximately US$48.6 million (with nearly US$47 million coming from the U.S.A.). Mission Specials receipted were US$29,267,879 (a 9.54 percent increase over the prior year). This combined giving totaled $77,879,735, which is 3.52 percent above that of 2007.

JESUS Film

In 2008 World Mission (WM) and JESUS Film Harvest Partners (JFHP) had 351 JESUS Film teams working with missionaries and local leaders, spreading the gospel in 273 languages and in 100 world areas. The cumulative total since 1998 is 50,576,397 evangelistic contacts with a reported 8,963,161 decisions made for Christ (17.7 percent of contacts) and 2,944,075 (32.8 percent of decisions) initial discipleship follow-ups. Since 1998, 17,700 new missions were started. In 2008, JFHP had a total of 3,875,777 evangelistic contacts; 728,900 (18.8 percent) of evangelistic contacts indicated a decision for Christ in 2008. Of these decisions there were 319,905 (43.9 percent of decisions) initial discipleship follow-ups. There were also 3,462 new mission churches started in 2008.

Work and Witness

Since its inception in 1974, Work and Witness, an endeavor that sends teams of volunteers into cross-cultural situations primarily to construct buildings)( on the mission field, has has 196,060 participants who have given 13,246,196 labor hours, which equals 6,564 years of labor. In 2008, there were 722 Work and Witness teams and a total of 10,750 participants. Teams served in 72 world areas.

Compassionate Ministries

The Church of the Nazarene has 245 full-time compassionate ministries centers and volunteer efforts around the world. Nazarenes have been instrumental in assisting people in every part of the globe who have been affected by war, famine, hurricane, flood, and other natural and human-made disasters. In 2008, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries' Child Development program had 123 Child Development Centers globally that provided more than 11,140 sponsorships in 77 countries, and met the needs of more than 50,000 children through nutritional programs. The church operates 64 medical clinics and hospitals worldwide.

Nazarene Publishing House (NPH)

Nazarene Publishing House (NPH), the publishing arm of the Church of the Nazarene, is the largest publisher of Wesleyan-Holiness literature in the world. NPH prints more than 25 million pieces of literature each year. NPH processes more then 250,000 orders each year from more than 11,000 churches.

The Third General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene held in Nashville, Tennessee in 1911 recommended that the infant denomination’s three publishing companies (then located in Rhode Island, Texas, and Los Angeles, California) each founded by a different Nazarene parent body, consolidate into “one central publishing company” and merge their three papers into one strong paper. The newly created Pentecostal Nazarene Publishing House was sited at 2923 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, in 1912, with Clarence J. Kinne, a Nazarene ordained minister, as its first manager. The Herald of Holiness, the new weekly paper, edited by B. F. Haynes, appeared for the first time in the spring of 1912. The Other Sheep (later World Mission) magazine began publication in 1913 under founding editor Charles Allen McConnell (born 19 June 1860 in Valparaiso, Indiana; died c.1950), who was NPH manager from 1916 to 1918. Both magazines were published until 1999, when they were discontinued in favor of Holiness Today, a new publication. In the meantime, Spanish, Portuguese, and French editions of Herald of Holiness appeared over the years.

NPH is a separate corporate entity from General Church of the Nazarene, although it is accountable to the church. NPH has a Board of Directors and is also accountable to one of the six General Superintendents of the Church of the Nazarene who has oversight of NPH. NPH publishes a variety of books, music and materials. The primary label under which books are published is Beacon Hill Press. Sunday school curriculum is published under the label Word Action. Youth ministry resources are published under the label Barefoot Ministries. Consuming Worship is a new company that publishes materials for the Emerging Church. Spanish materials are produced by Casa Nazarena de Publicaciones.

Music and drama resources are published under the label Lillenas Publishing, which was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1925 by Nazarene minister and composer Haldor Lillenas (born 19 No­vem­ber 1885 at Stord Is­land, Norway; died 18 August 1959 at Aspen, Colorado), and subsequently purchased by NPH in 1930.

Notes and references

• Encyclopedia of Religion in the South, Samuel S. Hill, editor
• Handbook of Denominations, Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, & Craig D. Atwood
• Relational Holiness: Responding to the Call of Love. Thomas Jay Oord and Michael Lodahl. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2005.
• Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States, Glenmary Research Center
• The Manual: Church of the Nazarene, 1995/2005, ISBN 0-8341-1944-7
• A Wesleyan-Holiness Theology, J. Kenneth Grider, 1994. ISBN 0-8341-1512-3

See also

• Church of the Nazarene (disambiguation)
• List of Church of the Nazarene schools
• List of Church of the Nazarene conventions
• Nazarene Hymnals

External links

• Church of the Nazarene
• 2005-2009 Church of the Nazarene Manual online