About Us
Who We Are…
We seek to be known by our three core values: Christian. Holiness. Missional.
We are Christian. As members of the Church Universal, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in affirming the historic Trinitarian creeds and beliefs of the Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.
We are a Holiness Church. God, who is holy, calls us to a life of holiness. We believe that the Holy Spirit seeks to do in us a second work of grace, called by various terms including "entire sanctification" and "baptism with the Holy Spirit"-cleansing us from all sin, renewing us in the image of God, empowering us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and producing in us the character of Christ. Holiness in the life of believers is most clearly understood as Christlikeness.
We are Missional. We are a sent people, responding to the call of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go into all the world, witnessing to the Lordship of Christ and participating with God in the building of the Church and the extension of His kingdom (Mat. 28:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:1). Our mission (a) begins in worship, (b) ministers to the world in evangelism and compassion, (c) encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship, and (d) prepares women and men for Christian service through Christian higher education.
Our history…
Written by Dorothy Crites Frazier, 1983. Edited and Updated by Rev. Ian Hyde, 2019.
Cortez Church of the Nazarene was organized in September of 1939. Reverend and Mrs. J.E. Coe moved to Cortez in the early part of July, 1940. They began holding and advertising cottage prayer meetings. After six weeks, the district sent a tent for a revival that was held on the lot currently occupied by the Citizens State Bank parking lot. Evangelists Dorothy Tryon and Myrtle Huling preached and sang for three weeks, attracting members of the community from all walks of life and backgrounds. The Colorado District Superintendent, Rev. and Mrs. C.W. Davis came and preached for two more weeks.
Rev. Davis then organized the church with 17 charter members. They were: Rev. and Mrs. J.E. Coe, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Crites, Mr. and Mrs. Otis Baysinger, Mr. and Mrs. Overstreet, John and Rosie Fryover and their son, Clifford, Zane Frazier, Bob Frazier, Dorothy Crites Frazier, Mrs. Fulks, Mae Welch and Ernest Hubbs.
The pastor of the newly created church, Rev. Coe then preached for two more weeks, making a total of 7 weeks of revival to start this new work of the Holy Spirit in the Southwest corner of the state. Four more members were taken in at this time, making a total of 21 charter members.
From the tent, the congregation moved to a building owned by John McMillan, which is now the Cortez TV Shop. The building had been a livery stable, but was completely renovated by the congregation, making a comfortable house of worship. The hay loft was converted into a parsonage for the pastors. All of the work that was done on the building was applied toward rent. When the building was completed, 2 1/2 years of rent was paid for. All the material used were paid for as renovations progressed, so that the church incurred no new debts.
After several years of ministering to the community from this location, the need arose for a new building. The building which became the fellowship hall and is now the children’s wing, was moved to its present location on the corner of Chestnut St. and MacArthur Ave. in 1949. The four lots on the corner were purchased from Jake Frazier by the Colorado District for $2,400.
The present sanctuary was built in 1958 while Rev. Cogdill was the pastor. The other building then became the parsonage. At this time, there was an influx of people to the Four Corners area, making a shortage of school classrooms. Three of the Sunday School classrooms were used by the school district during the week.
Over the next several decades, new ground was broken and an updated kitchen, offices, fellowship hall, and youth room were added. Pastors have come and gone and brothers and sisters in Christ have gone to glory, but the mission of the church to love the people of Cortez and bring them the transforming power of the gospel remains unchanged.
Now as we celebrate 80 years and more of ministering to, worshiping with, and loving the community; we look forward with anticipation toward all the great things God has in store for Cortez Nazarene as we continue to grow more deeply in our relationship with Him in the years ahead.
Our Pastors…
JanElle Hoffman …………………………………08.14.2022 to present
Rev. Ian D.L. Hyde……………………………….12.09.2018 to 04.30.2022
Rev. Christopher Ludington………………..11.25.2012 to 06.17.2018
Rev. Anthony P. Maes……………………………01.09.2003 to 07.29.2012
Rev. Chris S. Curry……………………………….12.16.2001 to 12.02.2002
Rev. Guy A. VanDrunen, Jr……………………08.01.1999 to 08.08.2002
Rev. David A. Frees……………………………..07.01.1994 to 06.07.1999
Rev. Bill E. Vaughn, Jr…………………………..08.05.1990 to 04.24.1994
Rev. Don C. Farnsworth…………………………12.0.1985 to 03.20.1989
Rev. Martin W. Jagger…………………………..12.10.1979 to 10.10.1985
Rev. James B. Smith III…………………………06.13.1975 to 06.30.1980
Rev. Glendon B. Stroud………………………..06.10.1975 to 03.10.1976
Rev. Leon Bridgewater…………………………..07.09.1971 to 08.21.1975
Rev. Charles M. Jaques………………………..07.26.1968 to 07.09.1971
Rev. Gene Baldassare…………………………….07.23.1965 to 07.26.1968
Rev. James R. Thompson……………………..07.14.1967 to 07.26.1968
Rev. Kenneth O. Burton…………………………05.03.1964 to 05.01.1965
Rev. Howard E. Baldwin……………………….07.21.1962 to 08.20.1964
Rev. David R. Owen………………………………03.10.1961 to 07.01.1961
Rev. A.L. Cargill……………………………………….07.17.1959 to 07.22.1960
Rev. Oscar G. Cogdill……………………………07.11.1958 to 04.05.1959
Rev. M. Dale Brown…………………………………07.09.1953 to 07.08.1954
Rev. J.E. Coe & Mrs. Elnora M. Coe.……..05.24.1940 to 05.18.1941
Our Denomination…
Founded in 1908, the Church of the Nazarene is the largest denomination in the classical Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The doctrine that distinguishes the Church of the Nazarene and other Wesleyan denominations from most other Christian denominations is that of entire sanctification. Nazarenes believe that God calls Christians to a life of holy living that is marked by an act of God, cleansing the heart from original sin and filling the individual with the Holy Spirit as evidenced by love for God and humankind. This experience is marked by entire consecration of the believer to do God's will and is followed by a life of seeking to serve God through service to others. Like salvation, entire sanctification is an act of God's grace, not of works. Our pursuant service to God is an act of love whereby we show our appreciation for the grace that has been extended to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Helpful Links…
For more information on the Church of the Nazarene, please click here.
For a link to our local church’s policies and procedures, please click here.
To check out a searchable, electronic version of the current Church of the Nazarene Manual (which includes our Articles of Faith, Church Constitution, and Stances on Social and Theological Issues), click here.
Finally, for a brief overview of our core tenets as expressed in our Articles of Faith, we invite you to watch the videos below.