Church Of The Nazarene Colleges

First founded in 1895 in Los Angeles, CA, by Methodist Episcopal Church minister Phineas F. Bresee, and Dr. Joseph P. Widney (a Methodist layman and former President of the University of Southern California), today’s Church of the Nazarene, an international evangelical Christian denomination, is a result of many mergers that occurred during the early 20th century. Currently, global membership exceeds 2 million, with well over 600,000 in the United States (the largest of any single nation.) In 2008, the Church of the Nazarene opened its new headquarters, the Global Ministry Center (GMC), in Lenexa, Kansas.

Church of the Nazarene Higher Education Overview

With respect to the Church of the Nazarene and its view toward higher education, the Nazarene Manual states that "[t]he Church of the Nazarene, from its inception, has been committed to higher education. The church provides the college/university with students, administrative and faculty leadership, and financial and spiritual support... The church college/university, while not a local congregation, is an integral part of the church; it is an expression of the church." Adhering to this philosophy, the Church owns and operates several liberal arts schools, primarily in the western United States. The largest of these, Olivet Nazarene University (Bourbonnais, IL), was founded in 1907 and awards associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Nazarene educational institutions are overseen by the Nazarene International Board of Education (IBOE).