The Nazarenes - Where We Came From

The Nazarene lineage runs through the English Reformation, the international spread of Methodism, and the Wesleyan-holiness movement in America.

The Church of the Nazarene emerged as a union of various Wesleyan-holiness denominations and by 1915 embraced seven previously separate North American and British bodies.

Phineas F. Bresee shaped the church’s form of governance. Hiram F. Reynolds nurtured its identity as a church committed to global missions. Other early leaders included C. W. Ruth, C. B. Jernigan, William Howard Hoople, Mary Lee Cagle, George Sharpe, J. O. McClurkan, Susan Fitkin, R. T. Williams, J. B. Chapman, and H. Orton Wiley.

The Church had an international dimension from its beginning. Today it is, by intention, an international church with over 380 districts world-wide, three-quarters of which are outside North America. There are nearly 1.4 million Nazarenes. Over half live outside the United States and Canada.

Our Mission