Up | Wesleyan Movement, 18th century | Holiness Movement, 19th century | Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, 1887 | Holiness Church of Christ, 1894 | Church of the Nazarene (CA), 1895 | Timeline

The Church of the Nazarene (CA)

In October 1895, Phineas F. Bresee and Joseph P. Widney, with about 100 others, organized the Church of the Nazarene at Los Angeles. At the outset they saw this church as the first of a denomination that preached the reality of entire sanctification received through faith in Christ. They held that Christians sanctified by faith should follow Christ's example and preach the gospel to the poor. They felt called especially to this work. They believed that unnecessary elegance and adornment of houses of worship did not represent the spirit of Christ but the spirit of the world. and that their expenditures of time and money should be given to Christlike ministries for the salvation of souls and the relief of the needy. They organized the church accordingly. They adopted general rules, a statement of belief, a polity based on a limited superintendency, procedures for the consecration of deaconesses and the ordination of elders, and a ritual. The Church of the Nazarene spread chiefly among the West Coast, with scattered congregations east of the Rocky Mountains as far as Illinois.

The Year of Uniting: 1907-1908. The Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Holiness Church of Christ were brought into association with one another by C.W. Ruth, assistant general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, who had extensive friendships throughout the Wesleyan-Holiness Movement. Delegates of the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America and the Church of the Nazarene convened in general assembly at Chicago, from October 10 to 17, 1907. The merging groups agreed upon a church government that balanced the need for a superintendency with the independence of local congregations. Superintendents were to foster and care for churches already established and were to organize and encourage the organizing of churches everywhere, but their authority was not to interfere with the independent actions of a fully organized church. Further, the General Assembly adopted a name for the united body drawn from both organizations: The Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. A delegation of observers from the Holiness Church of Christ was present and participated in the assembly work.

During the following year, two other accessions occurred. In April 1908, P.F. Bresee organized a congregation of the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene at Peniel, Texas, which brought into the church leading figures in the Holiness Association of Texas and paved the way for other members to join. In September, the Pennsylvania Conference of the Holiness Christian Church, after receiving a release from its General Conference, dissolved itself and under the leadership of H.G. Trumbaur united with the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene.

The second General Assembly of the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene met in a joint session with the General Council of the Holiness Church of Christ from October 8 to 14, 1908, at Pilot Point, Texas. The year of uniting ended on Tuesday morning, October 13, when R.B. Mitchum moved and C.W. Ruth seconded the proposition: "That the union of the two churches be now consummated." Several spoke favorably on the motion and at 10:40 am, amid great enthusiasm, the motion to unite was adopted by a unanimous rising vote.

Denomination Change of Name. The General Assembly of 1919, in response to memorials from 35 district assemblies, officially changed the name of the organization to Church of the Nazarene because of new meanings that had become associated with the term "Pentecostal."

Up | Wesleyan Movement, 18th century | Holiness Movement, 19th century | Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, 1887 | Holiness Church of Christ, 1894 | Church of the Nazarene (CA), 1895 | Timeline