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Our Denomination

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THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE

 

Southside Church is affiliated with the Global Church of the Nazarene, a Wesleyan-Holiness denomination whose mission is: "To Make Christlike Disciples in the Nations." From small beginnings in Pilot Point, Texas in 1908, the Church of the Nazarene has expanded rapidly, and is present today in over 150 different nations or world areas, with around 12,000 congregations and 1.6 million members worldwide.

 

Nazarene? What is that?

"Can anything good come from Nazareth?" As a matter of fact, yes - Jesus Christ was a Nazarene! Our denomination's name associates us closely with the One we follow. Specifically, with the humble and lowly place where He was raised. Jesus came into the world as the least, the last, and the lowliest. He came that way in order to help us see that no one can sink so low as to be beyond the reach of His love. Our name reminds us that we are called not to be Great Somebodies, but "nobodies" who aren't concerned about prestige or reputation.

 

So . . . What are Nazarenes like?

Here are some of the characteristics of the Global Church of the Nazarene:

  • At the heart of our Wesleyan heritage there is a joyful “optimism of grace.”  We have confidence that God’s grace is able to transform us and restore us in His own image – to make us like His Son Jesus Christ!
  • Our understanding of God’s work in the redeemed human heart is synergistic.  We don't believe that our eternal destiny is fixed no matter how we choose to live. We understand that if we are not progressing, moving forward, walking in the light, and growing spiritually – then we are drifting away into a place of danger and peril. The only pathway to eternal security that we know of is to engage, by God’s grace, in ongoing, active, faithful, obedient discipleship!
  • We are concerned to make lifelong disciples of Jesus! Our understanding of our mission owes much to John Wesley, a powerful evangelist whose preaching in open fields and streets, and his compassionate response to human need, brought many thousands of England’s impoverished working-class people to faith in Christ in the 18th Century. But he was not content merely to make “converts” of them. He also developed a brilliant system of small-group discipleship which was amazingly effective in bringing these people to spiritual maturity and leadership.
  • Compassion for those in need is central to who we are as a people. Wesley taught that ministry to the impoverished, the sick, the addicted and prisoners, was a means of grace which we could not neglect without bringing peril to our own souls. When the Church of the Nazarene came into existence in 1908, it was a union of several Holiness groups in various parts of the United States who were also heavily involved in urban ministry to the poor, the homeless, the addicted, and the hopeless. This continued to be a characteristic of the denomination that came into being.
  • Nazarenes are deeply and enthusiastically mission-minded. Our understanding of God’s work in the world is that He gently and persistently draws people to Himself through “prevenient grace.” So we are a missional people. We believe that Christians play a key role in the salvation of others through our witness. Our vision and mission embrace the entire world.

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