 | The History of Our Church In 1916 a hand full of members of the Lansing First Church of the Nazarene who were living in the Potterville area had a vision of starting a new church in Potterville. With the leadership and help of their pastor, they were able to rent a empty building in down-town Potterville. With a great deal of clean-up they were able to turn it in to a place to worship. And in 1918, Potterville Church of the Nazarene was organized by the District Assembly. Soon a nucleus was gathered, and the group secured the use of the present building. The building's early history is vague - - erected by the United Brethren in 1884 (as the cornerstone attests). The building went unused for a number of years and needed a great deal of cleaning and some repairs.
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Kitchen chairs were collected and held in rows by a board fastened under the seats. There was a large heating stove with a long stovepipe to the chimney supported from the ceiling by wire slings.
Used pews were secured in the early 1920's, a parsonage was built in 1931, and the church was remodeled in 1972. A fellowship and Sunday School annex were added in 1955.
It is our privilege to pay tribute to our predecessors who were people of commitment, vision, and persistence ... their sacrifices to maintain the witness in this community is measured only in God's accounting system! Much has been said about the "ripple effect" of a witness. This has been the experience here as Potterville church has "dropped a pebble" and the waves created have reached around the world.
Our Denomination
The Christian Church, as we know it today, came into being in the first half of the first century, following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and subsequent to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
In the last half of the 19th century there was a widespread holiness revival not only in Methodism itself, but also among most Protestant denominations. Out of this revival many "holiness associations" were formed. But the movement was by no means popular, and opposition to the message once more arose. This forced these various groups to band together in loose organizations for mutual encouragement and support. It was out of this movement that the Church of the Nazarene was born.
The first Church of the Nazarene was a single congregation organized in 1895, in Los Angeles, under the inspired leadership of Dr. Phineas F. Bresee. His background as pastor, educator, evangelist, and presiding elder in the Methodist Church gave him the needed experience to guide the new group. In 10 years time, dozens of churches had been organized under the Nazarene banner, not only on the West Coast but far into the heartland of' the United States. Dr. Bresee's burning passion was to "spread scriptural holiness" around the world. This has continued to be the motivation behind the church throughout its history.
As time went by, numbers of these independent Wesleyan groups began to talk of a larger and more structured fellowship in which they could unite their forces. Thus, in 1907, Bresee's group united with an association from the East Coast to officially form a new denomination. This meeting was held in Chicago. The following year at a meeting in Pilot Point, Texas, a large group from the South joined them. This latter event marks the official date of the formation of the Church of the Nazarene- October 13, 1908. Subsequently, other like groups have chosen to come under the Nazarene banner, not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world.
Beginning with 228 churches and 10,500 members in 1908, the Church of the Nazarene is now represented in more than 139 world areas and has a membership of well over 1 million with a wider constituency of perhaps 2 1/2 million.