Jesus was a Nazarene! (Matthew 2:23, Mark 14:67, Mark 16:6, Acts 24:5) He was from a city in Israel by the name of Nazareth. The city did not have the best of reputations at that time. Before he became a disciple of Jesus, Nathaniel said, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:46) One of the founders of the church (Dr. Widney) gives this explanation: "The word 'Nazarene' depicts the toiling, lowly mission of Christ. It was this name that links Him with the struggling, sorrowing heart of the world. It is Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, to whom the world in its misery and despair turns, that it may have hope." This describes the heart of the Church of the Nazarene today. We identify with the humble origins of our Savior, and humbly seek to reach all the struggling and sorrowing of this world with the hope of Jesus Christ...the Nazarene.