This is our Story

Inside a dimly lit room with four stained glass windows and rows of empty red cushioned chairs.

Founded in 1905,

First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena has been a place of worship, community, and service for more than a century. Rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition of the Church of the Nazarene, our story is closely connected to the early growth of both Pasadena and the Nazarene denomination itself. Through generations of faithful leadership and ministry, God has continually used this church to share the hope of Jesus Christ with our city and beyond.

Over the years, PazNaz has remained committed to caring for people in practical and spiritual ways through worship, discipleship, missions, outreach, and compassionate service. From supporting global missionaries to serving local families, students, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those in need of care and encouragement, we seek to reflect the love of Christ in our community and around the world.

Today, PazNaz is a diverse and welcoming congregation where people of all ages and backgrounds can grow in faith, build meaningful relationships, and discover their place in God's story. While much has changed since 1905, our mission remains the same: to love God, love others, and help people become devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

For a deeper look into our history…

Created for our centennial celebration in 2005, this video reflects on 100 years of God’s faithfulness and the rich history of our church.

A historic building with a large dome, surrounded by palm trees and other tall trees, under a cloudy sky.
A choir of people in robes standing on risers in front of a large pipe organ inside a church or auditorium.
Collection of old torn newspaper clippings with headlines about church services and Christmas celebrations.
A large black and white group photograph taken outdoors in front of a building, featuring many adults and children seated and standing, with a caption at the bottom reading 'Dr. J.W. Ellis Day, May 30, 1964'.
A historical poster for a Kentucky Race-Horse event at the First Nazarene Church in Kentucky, featuring Reverend John Fleming and Reverend Bona Fleming, with a central illustration of a man on a horse and a young boy holding the horse's bridle. The e
A church bulletin cover with the title 'For What the Church Stands' and a paragraph about the church's beliefs. It features a black and white photograph of the church building, and the event 'Re-opening and Dedication' on May 20, 1906, at the First C
A scanned page from a religious book with handwritten notes and underlined text. The page contains the title 'From the Bible of Earl G. Lee, Pastor,' and includes a passage that is a poetic description of the cycle of victorious living, citing Psalm
A black-and-white photo of the interior of a church with an altar decorated with flowers, with a large pipe organ in the background, and pews arranged in rows facing the altar.
Historical handwritten document titled "Minutes - Meeting of the Congregation First Church of the Nazarene, Los Angeles, Oct. 30, 1895." The text discusses their mission to serve the community through city missions, evangelical services, house visits
A newspaper announcement celebrating the opening of Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene on July 6, 1980, at 3700 Sierra Madre Boulevard, with a photo of the church building and a portrait of Pastor Earl G. Lee.

Meet Our Team

Our pastoral and staff team leads the daily operations and ministries of PazNaz through discipleship, prayer, and care while equipping our church to live in community and on mission.

A black and white portrait of a man smiling, wearing glasses and a light-colored collared shirt, against a dark background.
A black and white photo of a man with glasses, a beard, and short hair, smiling, wearing a coat over a shirt, against a dark background.
Black and white photo of a smiling man wearing a light textured hoodie, against a dark background.
All Staff

Who We Are & What We Believe

  • 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 human beings are born with a fallen nature, and are, 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.

  • We are a Great Commission church. As a global community of faith, WE ARE COMMISSIONED TO TAKE THE GOOD NEWS OF LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST TO PEOPLE EVERYWHERE
    and to spread the message of scriptural holiness across the lands.

    THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE BONDS TOGETHER INDIVIDUALS who have made Jesus Christ Lord of their lives, sharing in Christian fellowship, and seeking to strengthen each other in faith development through worship, preaching, training, and service to others.

    We strive to express the compassion of Jesus Christ to all persons along with our personal commitment to Christlike living. While the primary motive of the church is to glorify God, WE ALSO ARE CALLED TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN HIS MISSION – RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF. 

    The statement of mission contains historical essentials of our mission: EVANGELISM, SANCTIFICATION, DISCIPLESHIP, COMPASSION. The essence of holiness is Christlikeness. Nazarenes are becoming a sent people-into homes, work places, communities, and villages as well as other cities and countries. Missionaries are now sent from all regions of the world. GOD CONTINUES CALLING ORDINARY PEOPLE TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS made possible by the person of the Holy Spirit.

  • A CHRISTIAN PEOPLE

    As members of the Church Universal, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in affirming the historic Trinitarian creeds and beliefs of the Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.


    We are united with all believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We believe that in divine love God offers to all people forgiveness of sins and restored relationship. In being reconciled to God, we believe that we are also to be reconciled to one another, loving each other as we have been loved by God and forgiving each other as we have been forgiven by God. We believe that our life together is to exemplify the character of Christ. We look to Scripture as the primary source of spiritual truth confirmed by reason, tradition, and experience.


    Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Church, which, as the Nicene Creed tells us, is one, holy, universal, and apostolic. In Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God the Father offers forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to all the world. Those who respond to God’s offer in faith become the people of God. Having been forgiven and reconciled in Christ, we forgive and are reconciled to one another. In this way, we are Christ’s Church and Body and reveal the unity of that Body. As the one Body of Christ, we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” We affirm the unity of Christ’s Church and strive in all things to preserve it.

    A HOLINESS PEOPLE

    God, who is holy, calls us to a life of holiness. We believe that the Holy Spirit seeks to do in us a second work of grace, called by various terms including “entire sanctification” and “baptism with the Holy Spirit”-cleansing us from all sin, renewing us in the image of God, empowering us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and producing in us the character of Christ. Holiness in the life of believers is most clearly understood as Christlikeness.



    Because we are called by Scripture and drawn by grace to worship God and to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, we commit ourselves fully and completely to God, believing that we can be “sanctified wholly,” as a second crisis experience. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts, cleanses, fills, and empowers us as the grace of God transforms us day by day into a people of love, spiritual discipline, ethical and moral purity, compassion, and justice. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that restores us in the image of God and produces in us the character of Christ.

    We believe in God the Father, the Creator, who calls into being what does not exist. We once were not, but God called us into being, made us for himself, and fashioned us in His own image. We have been commissioned to bear the image of God: “I am the LORD . . . your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy”

    A MISSIONAL PEOPLE

    We are a sent people, responding to the call of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go into all the world, witnessing to the Lordship of Christ and participating with God in the building of the Church and the extension of His kingdom
    (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:1).

    Our mission begins in worship, ministers to the world in evangelism and compassion, encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship, and prepares women and men for Christian service through Christian higher education.

Articles of Faith Download
Core Values Download

Connect With Our Ministry Team

If there is anything you need support with, or want to know more about our church, reach out to us here.