PazNaz Missions

Compassionate Ministries & Nazarene Missions International

About PazNaz Missions

The purpose of PazNaz Missions is to mobilize the church to pray, give, educate, engage youth, and serve the marginalized. We seek to proclaim the gospel in word and deed locally and globally.

PazNaz Missions consists of missional work locally through Compassionate Ministries and globally through Nazarene Missions International (NMI). We are devoted to loving, coming alongside, and building a relationship with the poor and marginalized.

This is a lay led ministry of PazNaz. If you’d like more information about any of the below programs or would like to volunteer, please see below and/or contact Jackie Kenoyer at jnanderson5@gmail.com.

As we enter the Fall, many of our volunteers have had changes in work schedules or have gone back to school. We especially need volunteers to serve with the Helping Hands Distribution Team. If you are willing, able, healthy, and want to serve, please sign up using the links below.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands is a community food bank and clothing assistance program that provides basic necessities and spiritual support to individuals and households in the San Gabriel Valley area. The food bank and clothing assistance program is located in the western section of the lower Sanctuary, next to Reed Hall.

Helping Hands is now open weekly on Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and, during the COVID-19 crisis, we are waiving the requirement of people coming every other week.

How Can I Serve?

You are invited to help with this ministry.  You can sign up to serve with either volunteer team using the links below, some restrictions may apply.

  • Distribution Team - Fill grocery bags, direct traffic, check in families, and load groceries into cars of community members as they drive by to pick up food.
    1. When: Wednesdays from 8:00 am–12:00 pm
    2. Location: PazNaz Helping Hands area
    3. Comments: Please meet in the Helping Hands area at start time.
    4. Sign Up: Click Here
  • Warehouse Team – The Warehouse Team unloads food boxes from the truck, transports them to the warehouse, and then stores food in an organized manner.  Volunteers must be able to lift at least 50lbs.
    1. When: Tuesdays from 8:30–11:30 am
    2. Location: PazNaz Helping Hands area
    3. Comments: Please meet in the Helping Hands area at start time.
    4. Sign Up: Click Here

Church in the Park

Church in the Park provides a hot breakfast and spiritual enrichment each week to people from Pasadena’s homeless community at Central Park, near Old Town Pasadena. Each Sunday, breakfast is served at 8:45 am and a short worship service follows in the park.

How Can I Serve?

You are invited to help with this ministry.  You can sign up to serve with either volunteer team using the link below.

  • Park Team - The Park team helps serve food, clean up, set up and break down. They also hang out, talk, and pray with congregants.
    1. When: Sundays from 8:20–9:45 am
    2. Location: Central Park, Pasadena
    3. Comments: We have a high need for volunteers on this team. Please meet at Central Park (southwest area) and wait for the CITP Trailer to arrive.
    4. Sign up: Click Here
  • Cooking Team - The Cooking team makes burritos, grits, and prepares other food at PazNaz before going to the park. This team is broken down into two smaller teams which either serve on all Sundays of the odd months (Team A) or all Sundays of the even months (Team B). Please feel free to sign up for a schedule that works for you.
    1. When: Sundays from 6:30–8:15 am
    2. Location: PazNaz Kitchen
    3. Comments: Please meet in the kitchen at PazNaz at start time.
    4. Sign up: Click Here

Door of Hope

Community Partner

We are partners with an organization in the community called Door of Hope.

Door of Hope’s mission is to equip families and children experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives. Unlike most homeless service organizations where families are separated, the Door of Hope program keeps the family unit together as they work towards their end goal of achieving permanent housing. Door of Hope has an 82% success rate with families who graduate from the program.

How Can I Serve?

The Meal Donor program is geared toward serving together with a small group or Sunday School class.  Please see below for more information on the Meal Donor program.

  • Meal Donor Program – This is a wonderful way to serve and meet Door of Hope families. Our families eat dinner together every night at 6pm and rotate cooking responsibilities. To relieve stress on the parents, we often have volunteer groups bring dinner and eat with our families.  Meal donors come with a meal prepared to serve and share with our families. This can be done by yourself, with group, or with your family. It’s a great way to get your kids involved and interact with our families on a personal level.  Meal donors can serve at Door of Hope’s Villa House or their Los Robles House (see below).
      • When: Mondays – Thursdays, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
      • Locations:
        • Hope Villa House – 730 E. Villa St. Pasadena, Ca 91101 (8 residents + 1-2 staff members)
        • Los Robles House – 669 N. Los Robles Ave, Pasadena 91101 (23 residents + 1-2 staff members)
      • Comments: Someone will contact you prior to your serve date.
      • Sign Up: Click Here
  • Other Service Opportunities – There are many ways to volunteer with Door of Hope. Please note that volunteers (aside from Meal Donors) will need to complete the Onboarding Process in order to volunteer. Follow this link to view other opportunities: doorofhope.us/volunteer.
  • Onboarding Process for New Volunteers – Door of Hope’s onboarding process is required for all other service opportunities, and may vary a bit with groups of volunteers but this is the individual volunteer onboarding process:
    1. Application: Complete Door of Hope’s volunteer application.
    2. Phone Call: Someone from Door of Hope will reach out via email to schedule a phone screening.
    3. Background Check (kids/childcare volunteers only): If the volunteer is over the age of 18 and will be working with kids, they have to complete a background check before their start date.
    4. Orientation & Start Date: After the application, screening, and background check (only kids volunteers) are complete, they will schedule an in-person orientation and start date.

Urban Strategies

Community Partner

We are partners with an organization in the community called Urban Strategies.

Urban Strategies is a nonprofit that specializes in connecting, resourcing, and equipping organizations who serve vulnerable populations, including children and families that have immigrated to America.

How Can I Serve?

Specifically, we are teaming up with Urban Strategies to care for children through their Refugio program. The purpose of Refugio is to create an alternative solution for the care of unaccompanied children which includes housing, day care, wrap-around services, and support in the family reunification process.

Refugio is a foster day care program led and staffed by Urban Strategies, funded by the federal government, and hosted within PazNaz’s facilities. This program is strengthened through the partnership of a network of churches and other organizations in the area (e.g., David and Margaret Youth and Family Services, Lake Avenue Church, Northland Village, First Baptist Alhambra, Sacred Heart, All Saints Church, Immigration Resource Center, etc.).

  • Opportunities to Serve – You are invited to help with this ministry. Please see the two opportunities below.
      1. Foster Families – Foster Families provide loving homes for children while they await reunification with their family. Families interested in fostering go through the licensing process to become a “Resource Parent” with David and Margaret, the foster family agency.
      2. Back Up Caregivers – Back Up Caregivers provide respite care for foster families by taking care of children for a short period of time (a couple hours, overnight, or for the weekend).
      3. Foster Family Support Team – The Foster Family Support Team walks with families going through the foster licensing process by checking in with families on a regular basis, connecting them with resources, and providing support as needed.
  • Sign Up – If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Foster Family, a Back Up Caregiver, or being part of the Foster Family Support Team, please sign up here and someone will contact you with more information: Sign Up Here!
  • For more information on Urban Strategies and Refugio, please visit: https://www.refugio.urbanstrategies.us

Community Development

Community Development is the way that we intentionally build the capacities of others – working toward a healthy, just, and sustainable community.Compassionate Ministries participates in community development initiatives alongside the following strategic community partners:

Bresee Foundation
Central City Community Outreach / Church of the Nazarene
Elizabeth House
Foothills Pregnancy Resource Center
Harambee Ministries
Neighborhood Urban Family Center

Each year, PazNaz provides backpacks and school supplies to more than 400 children through “Blessing of the Backpacks,” a school-supply drive for children in need. Plus, each Christmas season, Compassionate Ministries sponsors a bundle of service opportunities called “Christmas of Compassion.” Through this initiative, the PazNaz family provides shoes and crisis care packages to the members of Church in the Park, serves hospitality and gifts to low-income families at the Helping Hands Christmas party, and provides gifts to needy children through the “Christmas for the Community Toy Drive.”

World Mission and International Development

PazNaz and the Nazarene Nicaragua Central District join efforts to send a team to Nicaragua each year.

Beginning in 2011, nearly 50 team members from PazNaz constructed a multi-purpose church and school; offered child development programming; and, hosted a medical clinic with nutritional screening for children in two villages. Research from this trip documented that nearly 40% percent of children in these villages suffer from moderate acute to chronic stages of malnutrition. We have furthered our efforts in the past two years by adding two more sites. Details on this years Nicaragua Trip will be up soon.

If you are interested in being a part of our Nicaragua team, please contact Compassionate Ministries.