How did the Church of the Nazarene get its name? 

J.P. Widney spent much of the night in prayer before the first congregational meeting of the new church.  He stated that the name "Church of the Nazarene" came to him during the night.  For him, it symbolized identification with the lowly Nazarene, whose missions was to uplift and save the suffering, toiling masses of the earth.

Where did the Church of the Nazarene originate?

The Church of the Nazarene originated in three different regions of the U. S. between 1887 and 1907.  It was created when three regional denominations, all formed out of the Wesleyan-holiness revival of the 19th century, merged in 1907 and 1908, creating the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene.  In 1919, the church name was shortened to Church of the Nazarene.

What was the Holiness Revival? 

The Holiness Revival emphasized entire sanctification as a second work of grace that follows conversion.  The movement originated in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1830s, spilled over into other Protestant denominations with different theological traditions, and eventually generated four distinct streams:  Wesleyan-holiness, Oberlin holiness, Keswick-holiness, and (in the 20th century) Penecostal holiness.  The Nazarenes were a direct product of the Wesleyan-holiness stream.

What were the leading ideas?

The Nazarene founders sought primarily a church in which the theology of entire sanctification could be expressed and propagated.  But the ideas that were central to Nazarene concerns included several core concepts:  the reality of sin and the need for forgiveness; justification by grace through faith; imparted (or transforming) grace which sanctifies human lives; sanctification by grace, likewise through faith; entire sanctification as a distinct work of divine grace; the assurance of the Spirit to conversion and to entire sanctification; and Christian lives rooted in accountable discipleship.  In short, early Nazarenes sought to affirm the heart of John Wesley's preaching.

What does our denomination look like today?

The Church of the Nazarene today has over 2 million people attending over 26,000 churches in over 155 world areas. Having a high commitment to education, it sponsors eight liberal arts colleges and one graduate seminary in the United States, plus two liberal arts colleges and forty-one Bible colleges in other parts of the world.