Charlottesville First Church of the Nazarene
Keswick VA

Our Statement of Faith

"Our Message"- What We believe...

The Church of the Nazarene is a Bible believing 'body of believers'.

We believe in one Creator, God, who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Spirit.

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ; yes He is God!

We believe the Bible is God's inspired and relevant Word, that it's truths hold the key to a personal relationship with Him.

We believe everyone has done wrong or bad things and need God's grace and forgiveness, which does, and will, come through Jesus' death on the cross.

In other words, the rest of your days could be the best of your days.

We believe God draws us to Himself but the decision to respond is ours.

We believe an individual must turn from a lifestyle of doing bad things, sinning, and trust Christ for forgiveness and eternal life.

We believe that as Christians we are called to offer our whole lives to God, in a moment of surrender, followed by a lifetime and lifestyle of obedience to His Leading. In response to a willingness to offer ourselves to Him, God cleanses our hearts from the attitude of Sin (the Biblical word for this is sanctification). With our lives given to God, His Spirit can fully mold us into Christ-likeness, evidenced by His Love at work in our attitudes and actions.

We believe the Church is the Body of Christ, carrying on His purposes in the world. We believe God can bring healing; physical, emotional and spiritual.

We believe Jesus will one day return to take His followers home to heaven.

We practice the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, not to keep rituals, but to know and worship Christ-that's Relationship. "Love God, Love Others...Life Together, Light the World"

Our Mission- "Message in Action"

Loving God - Worship... Loving Others - Fellowship and Friendship...

Life Together - Discipleship - Growing in God, with Other Believers

Light the World - Serving God and Serving Others

 

http://www.cvillenaz.com  

 

3056 Louisa Road
Keswick,VA 22947
(where Rte 22 and Rte 250 intersect at Shadwell)  

"Our Story...and The Road to Keswick"

Charlottesville First Church of the Nazarene started with a tent meeting on the corner of Monticello and Elliott Avenues in Belmont, conducted by Dr. V.W. Littrell in 1951. Rev. C.H. Strong was the pastor. The property was purchased that year and a one-room sanctuary was constructed. The first service was held on January 20, 1952.

The church grew. Four additions were made to the original building adding classrooms, offices and additional sanctuary space between 1956 and 1974. In 1975 the neighboring house was purchased for use as a Youth Center and classrooms. The church grew some more. In 2002, the leadership of CFCN first began to discuss the need for a new church facility. The existing facility would not adequately handle the growth and expansion of the church as space and parking limitations were beginning to affect the church’s ministries.

A relocation committee was formed to explore all possibilities. In the Autumn of 2002, we met with the owners of the Edgehill Farm property here in Keswick. It was not to be…at least not at that time.

In the Spring of 2004, the Church Board decided to take the first of many God-led steps of faith to solve our space issues. With the property search stalled, both with the Edgehill Farm property, and with all other possibilities at the time, the church members voted in an outright statement of faith to sell the church facility of over 50 years in Belmont, and move into The Covenant School, located in the 5th Street area of Albemarle County.

The decision to move was indeed a step of faith. We did not have a buyer for our church facility in Belmont and did not know how long it would take to sell. However, God was at work. Following our open-house service in the summer of 2004, to introduce the congregation to the Covenant School facility, several buyers showed some interest in the Belmont facility.

Subsequently, we entered into a contract within one month and the sale was completed in November of that same year. We decided to once again approach the owners of the Edgehill Farm/Keswick Property for approximately 11 acres. They expressed interest in selling the property and we began to negotiate a contract. This went on for over a year. In the fall of 2005 our negotiations came to a sudden and unexpected end.

Once again our leaders sought God for direction. Much of 2006 was spent looking for a suitable tract of land and/or building/property for our church. In the fall of 2006 we considered a pre-existing building at Shadwell. The Edgehill Farm property stood directly across the street staring at our backs, as we studied this vacant building. After prayerful consideration, it was decided it would not be suitable for conversion to a church facility.

In a brief discussion as to why the first contract negotiation broke down, it occurred to us that the ownership of Edgehill Farm did not desire to sell as much land as we were asking for. The question was put forth, “can we do with less property”? The board revised the original purchase request from approximately 11 acres, to the acreage lying to the East of the tree line that divides the property.

The offer was accepted and in February of 2007 we entered into a contract to purchase an estimated 7 acres of the Edgehill Farm property. With the contract signed, we began a 10 month study period where we had the opportunity to determine the property’s suitability for building.

Again, this was a step of faith as we had to design the site before actually finalizing the purchase of the property. This meant that to obtain the Special Use Permit, we would be foregoing the usual and ‘safe’ process of purchasing the property first. We invested considerable funds to procure the Special Use Permit without knowing that the county would ever approve it. God showed us along the way, that this is where he wanted us to be. We were simply following Him.

We received the Special Use Permit in December of 2007, and in the subsequent years, we went through the design phase and review process by Albemarle County for final site plan approval. We broke ground in August of 2010. All the while, we were worshiping at the Covenant School. There we had been, and would remain, for a total of 7 years, until moving into our new facility in September of 2011.

It is difficult to condense 9 years into a few paragraphs. Words do not do justice to the experiences that we lived through during that time. God’s undeniable faithfulness and presence as we met and worshiped at Covenant School, and pursued the new facility challenged everyone and continually brought us back to His feet. God’s presence was with us at the corner of Monticello & Elliott. He was with us at the Covenant School, and He is with us now at Shadwell…and lives are being changed. And God said to Moses, “I will be with you”. Exodus 3:11 To Him be ALL the Glory!