Church celebrates anniversary

Odessa First Church of the Nazarene joins 18,000 other Nazarene church on Sunday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the denomination.

Established in 1908 in Pilot Point, Texas, the Church of the Nazarene draws from the roots of Methodism and the teachings of English evangelist John Wesley, with a mission is to make Christ-like disciples in the nations.

About 1.6 million members of the church worldwide will celebrate the anniversary with the same music, readings and a sermon preached on the same Scriptural text.

At First Church of the Nazarene in Odessa, located at North Grandview Boulevard and Lyndale Drive, the Sunday celebration will begin at 9:30 a.m. with small groups followed by a worship service at 10:30 a.m. Other Nazarene churches in the area will join for an ice cream fellowship at 5 p.m. Sunday.

"Our congregation is excited to celebrate this anniversary with all of our Nazarene family around the world," the Rev. Terry Pierce said in a news release.

The denomination has been headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., since 1912 and includes several theological seminaries, liberal arts colleges, hospitals, radio broadcasts in 30 languages and printed materials in 103 languages. Odessa First Church of the Nazarene was founded in 1945.