WHO WE ARE
OUR HISTORY
Our Story in Canada
The story of the Church of the Nazarene in Canada began in the Maritimes at the beginning of the twentieth century, even before the Church of the Nazarene as we know it today was fully formed.
In 1901, L. J. King, a converted Roman Catholic priest, held revival meetings in Springhill and Oxford, Nova Scotia. From these meetings came groups of believers drawn to the Wesleyan-Holiness message. Dr. Hiram F. Reynolds was invited to help organize these believers into churches connected with the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, one of the holiness bodies that would later become part of the Church of the Nazarene.
In October 1902, a congregation was organized in Springhill as the Wesley Pentecostal Church. The following month, another congregation was organized in Oxford, Nova Scotia, with Rev. George Noble arriving later that year as its first pastor. The Oxford congregation continues today and has a remarkable connection to these earliest years of Nazarene ministry in Canada. Its church building, originally erected in 1876, has long been associated with the denomination's early Canadian history.
Oxford Church of the Nazarene, Nova Scotia
Part of the earliest Nazarene movement in Canada, dating to 1902
Canada was part of the Nazarene story from the beginning
These first Canadian congregations actually predate the denomination's official 1908 anniversary.
In 1907, the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America—which by then extended from Nova Scotia to Iowa—united with the Church of the Nazarene at the First General Assembly in Chicago. Hiram F. Reynolds, who had helped organize the work in Canada, was elected as one of the general superintendents of the united church. Another major union followed in 1908, helping form the denomination that would become today's Church of the Nazarene.
This makes Canada's place in Nazarene history especially significant. The Church of the Nazarene did not simply expand into Canada after the denomination was established; Canadian congregations were already part of one of the movements that came together to form it.
From the Maritimes across Canada
From those early beginnings in Nova Scotia, the Nazarene movement began reaching other parts of the country. Early congregations developed elsewhere in the Maritimes, and Canadian Nazarene families and holiness workers carried the movement west. Historical accounts connect members of the Oxford congregation who moved west in 1907 with the emerging holiness movement in Calgary.
Over the decades that followed, the Church of the Nazarene established ministry throughout Western Canada, the Prairies, British Columbia, Central Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Québec. The development of the church did not follow one single path: new congregations were planted, holiness churches joined the denomination, districts were organized and reorganized, and generations of pastors and laypeople carried the Nazarene message into new communities. The denomination's official Canadian history, From East to Western Sea, documents these distinct developments across the country.
Christian higher education also became an important part of the Canadian story through Canadian Nazarene College, which prepared generations of pastors and Christian leaders for ministry in Canada and beyond. Its educational legacy continues as part of Ambrose University in Calgary. From East to Western Sea, published in 1971, was itself produced as a project celebrating the first 50 years of Canadian Nazarene College.
One Church. Across Canada.
What began among small groups of believers in Nova Scotia grew into a national church serving communities from coast to coast.
Today, the Church of the Nazarene Canada is organized into five districts—Atlantic, Québec, Central, Canada West and Pacific. While our communities, languages and contexts are diverse, Canadian Nazarenes remain part of one global Church of the Nazarene and share the same mission:
To make Christlike disciples in the nations.
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
These are the beliefs Nazarenes hold to be true:
We believe in one God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures, given by plenary inspiration, contain all truth necessary to faith and Christian living.
We believe that man is born with a fallen nature, and is, therefore, inclined to evil, and that continually.
We believe that the finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost.
We believe that the atonement through Jesus Christ is for the whole human race; and that whosoever repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is justified and regenerated and saved from the dominion of sin.
We believe that believers are to be sanctified wholly, subsequent to regeneration, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the new birth, and also to the entire sanctification of believers.
We believe that our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place.
MISSION
The mission of the Church of the Nazarene is:
To make Christlike disciples in the nations.
DOCTRINE
The Church of the Nazarene is a Wesleyan-Holiness Christian denomination rooted in the historic Christian faith. We affirm the lordship of Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the transforming work of God's grace through the Holy Spirit.
Central to our faith is the call to holiness of heart and life. We believe God's grace not only forgives and reconciles us to God, but also transforms us into the likeness of Christ. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, believers are called to love God with their whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love their neighbours as themselves.
As Nazarenes, we understand our identity through three core values:
We are a Christian People
We join with believers throughout the world in proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and affirming the historic Christian faith.
We are a Holiness People
God calls us to a life of holiness. We believe the Holy Spirit works within us, transforming us into the character and likeness of Christ.
We are a Missional People
We are a sent people, called to share the good news of Jesus Christ and participate in God's mission through evangelism, discipleship, compassion and service.