What we believe and who we are

Adapted from Pastor Tim Isbell

A great way to understand the First Church of the Nazarene is to look through our theology, our membership covenant, and our collective conscience on social issues. These are the 3 primary elements of membership in our church. Our theology is captured in 16 Articles of Faith, which describe how we understand Scripture. Members agree to ensure that all our teaching is consistent with our theology.

We believe:
1. ...in one God, the creator of all things, who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Spirit.
2. ...in Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man at the same time, and who became like us to bring about our salvation.
3. ...in the Holy Spirit, who is active in the world, bringing us to salvation.
4. ...that the Bible is the Word of God, giving us all we need to know about how to be saved.
5. ...that we are all sinners by both nature and act and need God's forgiveness and cleansing.
6. ...that Jesus Christ died on the cross and that, by trusting in His death, we can be restored to a right relation to God.
7. ...that God enables us to turn to Him from sin, but that He does not force us to do so.
8. ...that each person must repent, turn away from their sins, and trust Christ to accept them.
9. ...that when we turn from sin and trust in Christ, the old record of sin is wiped clean, and we are born anew, thus becoming part of the family of God.
10. ...that after being born anew, we need the fullness of God's Spirit in our hearts. When we make a complete commitment to God, He cleanses our spirit, fills us with His perfect love, and gives us the power to live victoriously.
11. ...that the church is that community that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and which serves as His body in the present generation.
12. ...in baptism. We urge Christians to be baptized as believers.
13. ...in the Lord’s Supper.
14. ...that God can heal. We pray for healing. We also believe that God can work through medical science.
15. ...that Jesus Christ is coming again.
16. ...that everyone will face the judgment of God with its rewards and punishments.

(The above is a summary of the 16 articles of faith stated in layman’s terms without the extensive listing of scripture references.  If you would like the full, technical statement of our articles of faith with Scripture references, please contact the church office.  309-662-1915 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Our membership covenant means that we commit to each other that we will do our best at three things:

First, members commit to do what scripture teaches us to do. Scripture teaches us to love God with all our heart, show courtesy to all people, grow into contagious Christians, support Christian brothers and sisters, care for the needy, contribute tithes and offerings to support ministry in the local church and around the world, regularly attend public worship, and keep a Sabbath day each week.

Second, members commit to avoid what scripture teaches us to avoid. We understand scripture teaches us to avoid profane speech, sexual impurity, practices that are destructive to our bodies or minds, quarreling, gossiping, slandering, dishonest behavior, immodest or prideful dress, and entertainments that dishonor God.

Third, members commit to regularly participate in worship and other activities around the local church. Members encourage each other to keep this covenant. Our collective conscience on social issues informs our teaching around the local church and also guides us in Christian living outside the church. Our positions include favoring marriage over divorce while at the same time fully receiving those who have suffered divorce, opposing abortion for convenience, viewing homosexual behavior as one of many forms of sexual impurity that God offers to transform us from, and opposing alcohol use, tobacco use and gambling. These positions are not enforced legalistically but members agree to embrace them as our collective conscience and ensure that our teaching and practice is consistent with them.

Equally Important - How We Believe
“In Essentials, Unity.In Non-Essentials, Liberty.In All Things, Love.”

Phinneas F. Bresee (circa. 1908), one of the Church of the Nazarene’s founders, was very fond of this famous quote attributed originally to Augustine.

In Essentials, Unity.
“There is one body and one Spirit . . . There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all. . .”  Ephesians 4:4-6

In Non-Essentials, Liberty.
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters . . . Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To his own master he stands or falls . . . So then each of us will give an account of himself to God . . . So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.”  Romans 14:1,4,12,22

In All Things, Love.
“If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge, but also the very secrets of God, and if I have faith that can move mountains—but have no love, I amount to nothing at all.”  I Corinthians 13:2

Our sole authority in determining what is essential is the Bible.  We interpret scripture first according to other scripture in context.  We then interpret scripture according to 2000 years of Christian tradition, reason, and experience.