Welcome to the Bayshore Church of the Nazarene's website. We pray it is a blessing to you.

Ⅰ. We Are 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.

Ⅱ. We Are 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.

Ⅲ. We Are 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 (a) begins in worship, (b) ministers to the world in evangelism and compassion, (c) encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship, and (d) prepares women and men for Christian service through Christian higher education.

 

15 March 2023

 

 

USA/Canada Region

 

United States of America
 

The work of the Church of the Nazarene began officially in the United States in 1887, though the formal organization of the denomination occurred in 1908 with the merger of several like-minded holiness groups. As in many parts of the world, there is an ever-increasing secularization of society, and in the post-COVID world, the United States finds itself fragmenting politically, socially, and economically with many Americans feeling isolated between extremes. There is a renewed emphasis on evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Whether congregational settings are large or small, people are looking for church communities committed to authenticity, open-hearted fellowship, and a sense of belonging. The message of Scriptural holiness is more relevant than ever. It expresses itself through missions, often to the marginalized and disenfranchised of society. As you'll read in the story that follows, dividing walls come down, and God makes each genuine effort to honor Him in ministry and mission bear fruit for the Kingdom.

 

 

567,633 Members 4,217 Fully Organized Churches; 726 Not Yet Organized Churches 2,177 District Licensed and 11,425 Ordained Ministers on 73 Districts

 

 

 

PRAYER
  • Pray for the ministry to the First Nations and other people groups across the USA/Canada Region.
  • Pray for the New Mexico District and the Southwest Native American District as they minister to their diverse communities.
  • Pray for a revival to break out in the churches in this region.
  • Pray for USA/Canada Region as they prepare to welcome Nazarenes from around the world to Indianapolis for the General Assembly and Conventions.

 

  

PRAISE
  • We praise God for the revival that is breaking out on our university campuses
  • We thank God for the heart of many of our churches to intentionally connect with the marginalized in their community.
  • We thank God that churches in this region believe we are better together and are partnering to transform lives.

 

 

Pastor Chris Davis and her white van are making a significant impact in the lives of the Navajo people in Gallup, New Mexico, and on the Navajo and Zuni Reservations.

 

Pastor Chris

 

Gallup is a town of around 22,000 people, primarily Native American from the Navajo Tribe that borders the Navajo and Zuni Reservations.

Pastor Davis has been pastoring the Gallup First Church of the Nazarene since 2011. It is a smaller congregation of about 20 to 25 people; half are white, and half are Navajo. With the generous support of Bethany First Church in Oklahoma, a 12-hour drive away, which sends ministry teams, supplies, and firewood through the McGrady Foundation, this small congregation is making a significant impact.

 

Delivery of fire wood from Bethany, Oklahoma First Church of the Nazarene

 

Pastor Chris’ compassionate heart led her to intentionally connect with the marginalized people in her community—the homeless population in downtown Gallup, who are mostly Native Americans struggling with alcohol and drug abuse. Each week, arriving in her white van, Pastor Chris brings sack lunches and the Word of God. Through this ministry, she has developed strong friendships and connections with this people group who recognize her van and have come to trust her.

From ministering to the downtown homeless, her ministry expanded into the Navajo Reservation. Several times a week, she drives her white van to deliver firewood, water, clothing, and Bluebird flour, which the Navajo use to make frybread for the elderly and other vulnerable individuals. The Navajo have a deep respect for the elderly, so watching Pastor Chris caring for this older generation has brought many on the reservation to, in turn, trust and respect her as well.

 

Distribution of clothing and supplies in the Gallup community

 

Along with ministering to the elderly, she holds Bible studies with the women on the reservation. Because of her connection and faithfulness in serving the women and elderly, she is now being invited by the men of the reservation to teach Bible studies in their men-only meeting lodges, often called “sweat lodges.”

Pastor Chris is a white woman in her sixties, driving a white van, who has gained such credibility and respect that she can go anywhere on the reservation without fear, often to places where non-Natives rarely have access. And while many don't attend church, they consider her their pastor. Through her powerful ministry to the marginalized Native Americans in her community and on the reservations, lives are being transformed, and God's Kingdom is expanding.

 

Could You Serve?

 

Is God calling you to participate in this or other ministries among the marginalized? For more information, contact Multicultural Ministries by writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

 

What You Need To Know

Worship Times

Worship Times

ADULT CLASS ‘ORGANIC OUTREACH’ – 9:30 in the Nursery.
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL – Sunday @ 9:30am
CHILDREN’S BIBLE QUIZZING (K-5th) – Sun. @ 9:30 am
MORNING WORSHIP – Sundays @ 10:30 am
CHILDREN’S CHURCH – Sunday @ 10:30am

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Special Events

Special Events:

 

See the Special Events page for more info

Special events for concerts and special guest speakers will be posted here.

 

Monthly Events: (None)

Check out our Bulletins for weekly event happenings.

You might find a group that you can share with.

 

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Weekly Events:

  • Avenue941
    • Bayshore Nazarene is a proud sponsor of Avenue941
    • Offers tutoring assistance to Manatee County Students
      • Grades K thru 12
      • Find more information on their web site.
    • Sessions will be held in the fellowship hall.
      • Tuesdays & Thursdays

 

  •  Sidewalk Ministry
    • We are having a great time BLESSING our community!
    • For details on how you can donate supplies, pray or volunteer, reach out to Joy M. or Yolanda R.

 

  • Kingdom Seekers w/ Corinna Decker and Wanda Jackson.
    • Fridays 6:30pm - 7:30-pm.
    • Men & Woman ages 12 to 112 are welcome.

 

  • Granny Squares 
    • Tuesdays 10am - 12pm.
    • Everyone is welcome and bring your knitting or crochet needles and be prepared to have a wonderful time of fellowship.
    • Bring your own lunch.

 

Articles of Faith

Click each article to expand it and get the details. (This section is a work in progress. Thank you for your patients.)
THE TRIUNE GOD
JESUS CHRIST

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man.
 

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith He ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us.
 

Matthew 1:20-25; 16:15-16; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1-18; Acts 2:22-36; Romans 8:3, 32-34; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:12-22; 1 Timothy 6:14-16; Hebrews 1:1-5; 7:22-28; 9:24-28; 1 John 1:1-3; 4:2-3, 15

THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
SIN, ORIGINAL AND PERSONAL

We believe that sin came into the world through the disobedience of our first parents, and death by sin. We believe that sin is of two kinds: original sin or depravity, and actual or personal sin.
 

We believe that original sin, or depravity, is that corruption of the nature of all the offspring of Adam by reason of which everyone is very far gone from original righteousness or the pure state of our first parents at the time of their creation, is averse to God, is without spiritual life, and inclined to evil, and that continually. We further believe that original sin continues to exist with the new life of the regenerate, until the heart is fully cleansed by the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
 

We believe that original sin differs from actual sin in that it constitutes an inherited propensity to actual sin for which no one is accountable until its divinely provided remedy is neglected or rejected.
 

We believe that actual or personal sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. It is therefore not to be confused with involuntary and inescapable shortcomings, infirmities, faults, mistakes, failures, or other deviations from a standard of perfect conduct that are the residual effects of the Fall. However, such innocent effects do not include attitudes or responses contrary to the spirit of Christ, which may properly be called sins of the spirit. We believe that personal sin is primarily and essentially a violation of the law of love; and that in relation to Christ sin may be defined as unbelief.
 

Original sin:

Genesis 3; 6:5; Job 15:14; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Mark7:21-23; Romans 1:18-25; 5:12-14; 7:1-8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 John 1:7-8
 

Personal sin:

Matthew 22:36-40 {with 1 John 3:4}; John 8:34-36; 16:8-9; Romans 3:23; 6:15-23; 8:18-24; 14:23; 1 John 1:9-2:4; 3:7-10

ATONEMENT

We believe that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin, and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation, and that it is sufficient for every individual of Adam’s race. The Atonement is graciously efficacious for the salvation of those incapable of moral responsibility and for the children in innocency but is efficacious for the salvation of those who reach the age of responsibility only when they repent and believe.

 

Isaiah 53:5-6, 11; Mark 10:45; Luke 24:46-48; John 1:29; 3:14-17; Acts 4:10-12; Romans 3:21-26; 4:17-25; 5:6-21; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Galatians 1:3-4; 3:13-14; Colossians 1:19-23; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:9; 9:11-14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:18- 21; 2:19-25; 1 John 2:1-2

PREVENIENT GRACE

We believe that the grace of God through Jesus Christ is freely bestowed upon all people, enabling all who will to turn from sin to righteousness, believe on Jesus Christ for pardon and cleansing from sin, and follow good works pleasing and acceptable in His sight. We also believe that the human race’s creation in Godlikeness included the ability to choose between right and wrong, and that thus human beings were made morally responsible; that through the fall of Adam they became depraved so that they cannot now turn and prepare themselves by their own natural strength and works to faith and calling upon God. 

 

Godlikeness and moral responsibility:

Genesis 1:26-27; 2:16-17; Deuteronomy 28:1-2; 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Psalm 8:3-5; Isaiah 1:8-10; Jeremiah 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:1-4; Micah 6:8; Romans 1:19-20; 2:1-16; 14:7-12; Galatians 6:7-8

 

Natural inability:

Job 14:4; 15:14; Psalms 14:1-4; 51:5; John 3:6a; Romans 3:10-12; 5:12-14, 20a; 7:14-25

 

Free grace and works of faith:

Ezekiel 18:25-26; John 1:12-13; 3:6b; Acts 5:31; Romans 5:6-8, 18; 6:15-16, 23; 10:6-8; 11:22; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14;10:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 4:10a; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 3:12-15; 6:4-6; 10:26-31; James 2:18-22; 2 Peter 1:10-11; 2:20-22

REPENTANCE

We believe the Spirit of God gives to all who will repent the gracious help of penitence of heart and hope of mercy, that they may believe unto pardon and spiritual life. Repentance, which is a sincere and thorough change of the mind in regard to sin, involving a sense of personal guilt and a voluntary turning away from sin, is demanded of all who have by act or purpose become sinners against God.

 

We believe that all persons may fall from grace and apostatize and, unless they repent of their sins, be hopelessly and eternally lost. We believe that regenerate persons need not return to sin but may live in unbroken fellowship with God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit who bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God.

 

2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalms 32:5-6; 51:1-17; Isaiah 55:6-7; Jeremiah 3:12-14; Ezekiel 18:30-32; 33:14-16; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 3:1-14; 13:1-5; 18:9-14; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 17:30-31; 26:16-18; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:8-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 3:9

NIV Copyright: Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.