Terms We Use

In the Old Testament God said, “If as one people they speak the same language…then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6). In the New Testament, God reversed the language challenge at Pentecost and how the gospel is global, unbounded by language (Acts 2:5-6).

We have many new leaders joining the CoRe movement who are unaware of the language and terms we use.  To better serve these new leaders, below are links to lists of terms you may hear people use. Thanks for your patience as we identify and define all of the terms we use.

If you have questions, feel free to contact us anytime.  We are here to serve you with excellence. If there is any way we can do that better, please let us know.

agenda harmony - we believe agenda harmony is created by the Holy Spirit. It happens in a church when the church development plan being followed is embraced by everyone

agenda of Jesus - the agenda of Jesus is created by the Holy Spirit. It is the plan of Jesus to unite believers in a local church to work together to achieve His mission

believing prayer - the practice of prayer, filled with faith, that expects God will answer

church – a group of people who are led together by the Holy Spirit, have an accountable lay or clergy leader, meet at a regular time to experience worship and community, and who are aligned with the church’s mission of disciple-making. We believe churches should operate with at least the four minimums of: 1) worship, 2) community, 3) accountability and 4) mission. Churches make great progress when they create a church development plan.

church, culturally-conditioned form - the understanding that the form the church takes may look different in different cultures and contexts, even with located in the same town or on the same district.

CoRe action plan - the plan of the church, created together by the pastor and church leaders, for the church to 1) operate in unity, 2) bless the community, 3) bring people to Jesus and 4) become Christlike disciples. Focused on these four CoRe habits of healthy churches, it is to be updated annually and shared with the district superintendent so he/she can celebrate the progress of the church.

church health - a condition that occurs when all four CoRe habits are effectively being practiced by the church and its members

church priorities - the decision of the pastor and church leaders to focus on some issues as more important than others within the life of the church. We believe the CoRe habits should be the foundation of our priorities. Church conflict is minimized greatly when the church has agreement on priorities.

church size - for purposes of resourcing Nazarene congregations, we define small as churches with 2-99 worshippers, intermediate as churches with 100-499 worshippers and large as churches with 500+ worshippers.

contagious church culture - a church with attitudes, customs and behaviors so healthy that members invite new people regularly

corporate sanctification - is a principle taught by Jesus; this is process of local churches and individual members giving up their own desires for moving the work of God forward. When this occurs, Jesus taught the kingdom expansion is huge (John 12:24).

cultivating healthy church soil - this principle is grounded in the teaching of Jesus (Mark 4:1-26); it is the biblical process we use in describing how we implement the four CoRe habits of a healthy church

district – an entity made up of interdependent Nazarene churches, organized to facilitate the mission of each church through mutual support, sharing resources and collaboration 

favor with God - is mentioned dozens of times in the Bible and is something we are to seek. In our journey of grace, it is God looking at us with high regard, kindness and good will.

favor with people - is mentioned dozens of times in the Bible and is something we also pray for as a gift from God. It is people looking at us with high regard, kindness and good will.

God moment - a spiritual step forward that a person takes in their relationship with God, in response to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. We believe the Holy Spirit can do more in a five-minute God moment than we can do in five years of organized church activity.

interdependent churches - churches that are organized to facilitate the mission of each church through mutual support, sharing resources and collaboration

intermediate church - a congregation that has 100-499 worshippers

large church - a congregation that has 500+ worshippers

lifelong learning - this is the habit of every pastor who longs to lead a healthy church. It is also the Nazarene standard for ordained ministers to maintain their credential in good standing; a total of 20 hours of annual learning is required

missionary thinking - developing the mindset in a local church that every member is a missionary reaching people in their world with the gospel and the church is a training center to support this

mission statement - a concise, memorable description of why the church exists. Ours is, “to make Christlike disciples in the nations.”

movement momentum - measured by the number of pastors and lay leaders who are committed to 1) operating in unity, 2) blessing the community, 3)bringing people to Jesus and 4) helping people become Christlike disciples.

small church - a local congregation with 2 to 99 worshippers