There All Along

Description

This book provides the first comprehensive examination of how various “black” groups participated in the Church of the Nazarene (a predominantly white holiness body formed in 1908) before the 21st century and specifically between the years of 1914 through 1969. This will assist historians and scholars to understand that black groups have participated in the Church of the Nazarene since its earliest beginning in the the 20th century. African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Cape Verdeans—a black immigrant group from the West-African island of Cape Verde—actively helped to expand the mission and message of the Church of the Nazarene as it grew from 10,090 members in 1908 to 378,070 members in 1969. These groups remained committed to the mission of the Church of the Nazarene and it was precisely because of their commitment to the holiness experience and message of the denomination that persons of African descent— despite their different ethnic particularities, geographical locations, historical backgrounds, and racial experiences in the Church of the Nazarene—participated in the ecclesiastical governance, local congregational development, and evangelistic thrust of the Church of the Nazarene during the middle years of the 20th century. In the midst of this, black ministers and churches from various ethnic backgrounds, geographical regions, and ecclesiastical experiences sustained Nazarene ministries, contributed to denominational leadership, supported international missions, created outreach ministries, and at times, addressed social and racial issues in their communities. It is this story that this work explores and in the process, helps give voice to the past experiences and racial realities that shaped black Nazarene life and congregations throughout the United States.