Missions of the Church of the Nazarene

Evangelical Protestantism re whollyy began with John Wesley, arguably maven of the most charismatic, thoughtful and persuasive of the impertinent brand of preacher appearing in the States in the 18th century. The Methodist movement was reinforced around an idea right away opposed to the Calvinist concept of pre-desti demesne. What Methodism centered on was the idea that anyone could be saved. But, as that concept was Arminian, that salvation is possible only through Grace, and that grace could not be earned through acts of kind-heartedity.John Wesley introduced and championed the idea that it was possible to elevate the human heart and mind, through communion, prayer and eldritch meditation, to a state of Christian Perfection. At the turn of the 20th century, in addition to all of the another(prenominal) fundamental changes in society including the industrial revolution, the rise of American power in the world, and the closedown of slavery and the pacification of the South, re ligion and religious belief had again turn over a central secern of American life.Into this flux, and in an effort to resolve the growing crisis of conflicting religious beliefs and an increasing splintering of Methodism, a consolidative theology appeared. Combining all of the Methodist Pentecostal denominations and the Holiness church building of Christ and five other denominations, the church of the Nazarene emerged under the combined umbrella of Harding and the Holiness Movement neither of which had been combined previously on such large scale. The new Church of the Nazarene, which combined churches in Europe, North and South America began expanding while simultaneously absorbing other holiness churches and upon very active missionary that continues today. It is the purpose of this study to present the state of the Church of the Nazarene and how its missionary history helped it to continue to grow and expand into the ordinal century.The Nazarene Church missions have, his torically, placed themselves directly in the center of crises. It is no coincidence that all of the denominations that came unneurotic to form the Church of the Nazarene were missionary churches. At the beginning, the Nazarenes had 52 churches with 3,827 members, while the Pentecostals numbered 47churches with 2,371 members. The union do a combined list of 99 churches and 6,198 members,1.Hardings message was that while immortal had chosen to damp every human being a certain quality of pure grace that could not be removed or augmented by human action, it was within our grasp to become closer to God through the rituals of faith.The Church of the Nazarene took up the Great Commission, that all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 123) and, in the final chapter of Matthew, Go and make disciples of all the nations of the world, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded to you, (Matthew 2818 -20). It then began to airing itself vigorously to every corner of the world seeking to fulfill that very mission2. Indeed, it would later become the urgency that all senior members of the church and, in particular, all ministers, complete missionary work.Nazarene Church missions have interpreted several different forms over the course of the past century. The first, clearly, was the outreach missionary work that followed the traditional lines of church work. The second, was the instauration of Nazarene Church colleges throughout the world. The third, was the combined efforts of all Nazarene churches and associations throughout the world under one charter and mission, to keep the Great Commission.The first Nazarene Church missions began taking place shortly later on the creation of the institution. As the main centers of the church, at the time of inception, were on the East and West coasts of the United States. From the eastern churches emerged Susan Fitkin and her partner Har rison F. Reynolds. Fitkin and Reynolds based their missions upon a divine revelation of Fitkins that she had been selected by God to spread His news throughout the world and that missionary work was the most powerful and significant of the works that any human could perform for God.Fitkin then stirred up the passions of the church for missions and, in particular, missions to traditionally non-Christian nations. Fitkins work directly influenced the direction of Nazarene missions then and today. It was because of Fitkin that the Nazarene Church made missionary work the centerpiece of the fashion of their faith.Following upon Fitkins example, Dorothy Fay Davis took up the leadership reins at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital and Nazarene Nursing teach in Bremersdorp, Swaziland in the 1950s3. Her missionary work, like Fitkins, began with a calling from God. Davis built churches, preached her sermon, and brought the Nazarene form of faith to Swaziland and to the whole of South Afri ca and, following also in the footsteps of Florence Nightingale, she began a movement of teaching Swazi women how to be Christian nurses4.Davis lived and worked in Swaziland as a eldritch leader, the college headmaster, and as a minister in her many an(prenominal) churches until the mid 1980s- a career that spanned four decades and her works continue to be influential in equipment casualty of the Nazarene missions.Missionaries were not the only Nazarene members making missions. One of the most influential Nazarene members was C. rabbit warren Jones. Jones had become one of the executives managing foreign missions in the mid 1940s. Under his leadership, the Nazarene Church raised much than one-million dollars to support their missions. His influence was felt throughout the world as the money raised became the foundation of non-finite churches, the travel and living expenses of missionaries, and the foundation of the Nazarene schools and colleges5.These people, and countless othe rs, worked together over the past one-hundred years of the Nazarene church have built a legacy of missionary work. What began with a small number of missions has become a sweeping program of ministry, education, health-care, social services, and all forms of community involvement both domestically and abroad. As a authentic world-wide organization, the Nazarene Church succeeds in bringing together Christians from nearly every nation into a singular network that has no national anchor.The missionary work now centers on simply the same mission as when the church started, To make (form and bring into being through transforming grace) Christlike (holy, righteous) disciples (continual, productive followers of Christ) in the nations (a sent, international church). A Church whose primary motive is to glorify God,6. To that end, the Nazarene Church also maintains radio and television programs, supports Christian film productions, operates publishing houses throughout the world, manages y outh-ministries, and health clinics7.The Nazarene Church began with a very clear intent to spread the Word of God throughout the world in following the Great Commission. In this, the Nazarenes have been exceptionally successful. Their work and their missionaries have demonstrated a true zeal for their pursuit and have demonstrated an unwavering conviction.Their Wesleyan / Holiness foundation made the Nazarene church uniquely ideologically and scripturally suited to the kind of missionary work they do now. By placing themselves in the places of greatest need in the world, they have also succeeded in walking the walk of the true spiritual guide to those in need. Each member has been tasked with one primary goal not to raise money, not to falsely inflate their sense of purpose, but to guide others to embrace God and Christ.BibliographyCorbett, C.T. Our Pioneeer Nazarenes. Kansas City, MO Holiness info Ministry, August 1997 Edition.Cowles, C.S. A Womans Place? Kansas City, KS Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2002Elliott, Susan. The Legacy of Dorothy Davis nominate. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, (2004), 132.Miller, Basil. Twelve Early Nazarenes, Kansas City, MO Holiness Data Ministry, April 1998 Edition.Nazarene military personnel Mission, GoInto All the World available from http//www.nazareneworldmission.org/regions.aspx. Internet, accessed 30 April 2007.