We Are a Christian People

As members of the Church Universal, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in embracing the historic Trinitarian creedal statements of 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 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.

We Are 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.

For further information on our values please see the Global Nazarene website.

Our Beliefs

These are the beliefs that Nazarenes hold to be true:

We believe in one God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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 man is born with a fallen nature, and is, therefore, inclined to evil, and that continually.

We believe that the finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost.

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 believers are to be sanctified wholly, subsequent to regeneration, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the new birth, and also to the entire sanctification of believers.

We believe that our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place.

Our Mission

The global mission of the Church of the Nazarene is: To make Christlike disciples in the nations.

This mission is built on the Church of the Nazarene’s core values of Christianity, holiness, and mission.

While the primary motive of the church is to glorify God, the Board of General Superintendents believes that the church is also called to actively participate in His mission of reconciling the world to himself.

The seven words in the statement of mission embody the historical essentials of Nazarene mission:

• evangelism,
• sanctification,
• discipleship,
• compassion, and
• equipping all who respond in faith.

The essence of holiness is Christlikeness.

The Church of the Nazarene is blessed with some of the most dedicated disciples of any denomination. Our goal is to build on this strength. We’re also moving from a ‘sending’ to a ‘sent’ church. The responsibility is to be a witness, helping make Christlike disciples, in whatever nation we happen to be. Nazarene missionaries are now sent from all regions of the world.

Our Purpose

The Church of the Nazarene is a Great Commission church (Matthew 28:19-20). 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 (Christlike living) 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.

Our History

Since the time when Jesus Christ lived, died, was resurrected and ascended back to into heaven, there have been people who placed their faith in Christ and in so doing became Christians. The Christian Church grew so fast that within three hundred years of Christ’s death it had become the most powerful force in the Roman world.

All through the centuries there have been people around the world who have discovered that Jesus Christ is able to bring forgiveness for sin and peace with God. These Christians have joined together in churches in order that they might worship God and encourage one another.

The first Church of the Nazarene was a single congregation organised in 1895, in Los Angeles, California. Between 1896 and 1958 eleven small denominations, all of whom shared the desire to live entirely devoted to God, joined together in a series of unions. Three of these small denominations were British, some were from Canada and others from the USA. The union which took place in 1908 is now remembered as the official beginning of the Church of the Nazarene.

Since its beginning in 1908 with 228 churches and 10,500 members, the Church of the Nazarene is now working in 159 world areas, with 2.15 million members. There are more than 700 contracted missionaries. The Church is known to be in the Methodist tradition since the teachings of John Wesley are respected and a large percentage of the early Nazarenes came from the Methodist Church.

The Nazarene Church in Australia

The Church of the Nazarene came to Australia through the endeavour of a young serviceman. His first convert was a young Australian serviceman, Albert Berg. He was to become the Superintendent of the Nazarene work in Australia and under his leadership, churches were planted in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Mackay, Townsville, Adelaide and Perth.

Since 1976, the church work has been organised into 3 districts with many churches all over Australia. The Church has been established among the Greeks, Armenians, Asians and Samoans. All of our local congregations reflect the multi-cultural heritage of the Australian people.

The church also supports a fully accredited Nazarene Theological College in Brisbane for the training of its Christian workers.