Church History

“The spiritual vision of early Nazarenes was derived from the doctrinal core of John Wesley's preaching. These affirmations include justification by grace through faith, sanctification likewise by grace through faith, entire sanctification as an inheritance available to every Christian, and the witness of the Spirit to God's work in human lives. The holiness movement arose in the 1830s to promote these doctrines, especially entire sanctification. By 1900, however, the movement had splintered.”(3)

“Initially, the "Church of the Nazarene" was a single congregation. That church was organized in Los Angeles, California in 1895 under the leadership of Dr. Phineas F. Bresee. His experience as pastor, educator, evangelist, and presiding elder in the American Methodist church had prepared him well to guide the new group. Within a decade, dozens of churches in the U.S. had been organized under the Nazarene banner. While its initial beginnings were on the West Coast, that new movement soon began reaching toward the heartland of the United States and then to other countries. Dr. Bresee's burning passion was to "spread scriptural holiness" around the world, a passion that has continued to be a driving motivation for the Church of the Nazarene throughout its history.”(1)

“These independent Wesleyan groups, including Bresee's Nazarene group, began to talk about the need for a more structured and comprehensive fellowship that would unite their forces. Thus, in 1907, a meeting in Chicago between Bresee's group and a similar association from the East Coast led to a merger of the two groups. The following year, at a meeting in north Texas near Pilot Point, a large group from the South joined these other two groups. This latter event -- on October 13, 1908 -- is celebrated as the official formation of the Church of the Nazarene. Subsequently, other like groups have chosen to come under the Nazarene banner, not only in the United States, but in other parts of the world.”(1)

At its official beginning as a national denomination in 1908 the Church of the Nazarene had a little over 200 churches and 10,500 members scattered across the U.S. The Church of the Nazarene now includes congregations in about 150 countries of the world. The 13,500 Nazarene churches around the world now have a total membership of about 1.5 million.”(1)

There were seven denominations: the Central Evangelical Holiness Association (New England), the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America (Middle Atlantic States), New Testament Church of Christ (South), Independent Holiness Church (Southwest), the Church of the Nazarene (West Coast), the Pentecostal Church of Scotland, and the Pentecostal Mission (Southeast). Several mergers occurred regionally before regional churches, in turn, united together in 1907 and 1908 as the Church of the Nazarene.(3)

Around the same time in 1909 a group came together, organized by the Goode Family in Bloomfield Iowa and meet in their home, to organize the first Nazarene church in Davis County Iowa. October 10, 1910 the Church organized officially by Dr. T. H. Agnew with Twelve charter members. The first congregational service and meeting in a church building was in the Universalist Church in Bloomfield. Bloomfield hosted the Iowa District Assembly, with Dr. Phineas F. Bresee presiding at the Good house pictured below in 1912 and 1914.

In 1923 the church building was destroyed by fire and the congregation moved to the County Courthouse, moving from there in 1924 to use the Presbyterian Church. 1929 the congregation moved back to the Unversalist church which was owned at the time by Dr. Cronk, and in 1942 Dr. Cronk deed the church over to the congregation, which at that point the church was named "Cronk Memorial Church". The church was remodeled in 1950. 1957 church plans to rebuild the church, and in June 1957 the church was incorporated, and the church received clear title was obtained to the land in July 1957. September 1960 the old church building was taken down and January 14th, 1962 the new building was dedicated on 105 West Locust St. (pictured below).

The congregation decided to move and build a new church building and in October 2003 they purchased 5 acres southwest side of town on Highway 2. On April 18th, 2004 ground was broke at 1:30pm and the construction of the new building had began. The Church at 105 West Locust St. was sold to the Bank next to it and tore down.

In 2003 the Bloomfield Church of the Nazarene under the guidance of their then pastor Rick Rigney, decided to build a new church as the church on Locust St. had no parking for it's congregation, and needed much repairs and renovation. The congregation and Pastor Rigney decided on a new church name on the move to it's new location on Highway 2, and the church became known as "Grace Pointe Church of the Nazarene".

“The congregation of Grace Pointe Church of the Nazarene in Bloomfield, Iowa made a special journey on January 30. 2005. Members walked through the Iowa town carrying a cross that hung above the altar of their old church to their new building on the city’s southside. The cross was placed above the entrance to the church’s new sanctuary.(2) This was a 1 1/2 mile walk from the old church to the new church building. The new church building was dedicated on March 6th, 2005 at 3:00pm with former District Superintendent, Dr. Ronald D. Doolittle as special guest.

“I’m real excited, I’ve wanted a new church for a long, long time. We’ve needed it desperately. I have been going to this church for 30+ years, soon going to be 34 years and it has been a long time in coming,” church member Joyce Bogle.(2)

Pastor Rigney pastored the church from 2002 to 2006 and the church gained a new pastor, Pastor Dick Allen in 2006.

The church will celibate it's 100^th birthday in Oct. 2010.

Past pastors were: Rev. Overhoizer - 1910, Rev. W.D Merryman - 1912, Rev. F.C. Behner - 1913, Rev. M.C. Campbell - 1915, Rev. D.W. Dobson - 1921, Rev. O.L. Mossman - 1925, Rev. A.M. Irwin - 1926, Rev. Altabelle Heller - 1928, Rev. J.W. Peters - 1928 - 1930, Rev. F.K. Smith - 1929, Rev. J.W. Henry - 1931, Rev. Henry Hughs - 1932, Rev. Grant Barber - 1932, Rev. Charles King - 1933, Rev. Harold Thon - 1933, Rev. L.G. Channel - 1933, Rev. Lewie Waters - 1934, Rev. Gertrude Allman - 1934, Rev. Marie Coate - 1938, Rev. Lowell Yeatts - 1938, Rev. Elmer Davis - 1940 - 1946, Rev. Leo I. Best - 1941, Rev. A.O. Hawkins - 1944, Rev. Charles McCaull & Rev. Lois McCaull - 1944, Rev. C.H. Morton - 1952, Rev. John Damon - 1953, Rev. Jerry Garmon - 1962, Rev. R.V. Shultz - 1966, Rev. Davis Felter - 1967, Rev. Lauris Meek - 1970, Rev. Don Sanders - 1974, Rev. Leonard Miller - 1975, Rev. J.C. Leonard - 1979, Rev. Brant Freeburg - 1981, Rev. John Hulsizer - 1983, Rev. Larry Chandler - 1991 Rev. Paul Decker - 1996, Rev. S.T. Taylor - 1999, Rev. Rick Rigney - 2002, Rev. Dick Allen - 2006 to present.

The church will celibate it's 100^th birthday in Oct. 2010.

Please send corrections and additions to the church history and pictures you may have to the webmaster.

(1) http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/nhistory.htm

(2) From KTVO news article at the time.

(3) http://www.nazarene.org/ministries/administration/visitorcenter/history/display.aspx

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