Little Rock First Church of the Nazarene, known across central Arkansas simply as The Forge, has been a fixture of the capital city for more than a century. Its members describe the church's calling in three short phrases: Loving God, Loving Others, Loving Little Rock. Located on Old Forge Drive in the heart of Little Rock, the congregation moved into a brand-new worship and ministry building in December 2020 under the pastorate of Bobby Howard, who has led the church since 2013.
A New Home on Old Forge Drive
After half a century on North Mississippi Street, the church gathered for its first service in a new facility at 1309 Old Forge Drive on December 20, 2020. The move marked the latest chapter in a story that began in 1900, and it gave the congregation fresh space for the ministries that have defined it for generations: a vibrant Sunday School program, age-graded discipleship for children and students, worship arts productions throughout the year, and a busy midweek calendar that gathers adults, teens and kids under one roof. The Forge sits in an easily accessible pocket of Little Rock, and Sunday mornings carry the feel of a neighborhood church whose people come from across the city.
Sunday Mornings: Sunday School and Worship
The weekly rhythm begins at 9:00 a.m. with Sunday School classes for every age, from the Nursery (birth through age 1) and Toddlers (ages 2 through 4) all the way to senior adults. Children break into four graded groups: Kindergarten, Early Elementary (grades 1-3), Upper Elementary (grades 4-6), and a youth class for grades 7 through 12. The adult department includes five classes with a variety of studies to choose from: the Komjoynus class taught by Ron Graham, Think Like Jesus led by John Guess, and The Well Class, co-taught by Rita Powell, Adam Brown, and David Raath.
At 10:00 a.m. the whole church gathers for morning worship, a service that is also broadcast live on the church's Facebook page so members who are traveling or homebound can follow along. Inside the sanctuary, children from age 4 through 6th grade are invited to a high-energy Children's Church designed just for them, while older students and adults remain in the main service. The Forge's music ministry is built around the conviction that worship is meant to engage the whole person, blending adult and children's choirs, instrumental ensembles, and vocal teams into a multigenerational offering of song.
Children and Students
Children's Ministry at The Forge is led by Amy Howard, who joined the staff in January 2016 and has been active in children's work since her own teenage years. The nursery (birth through age 4) introduces little ones to Jesus through Bible stories, songs, crafts, and play. On Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m., kids gather for their own discipleship hour designed around fun, friendship, and a real knowledge of the love of Jesus. Each summer the children also attend Church Camp, a long-running tradition for many LRFCN families.
Teenagers meet as Project 180 Youth Ministries, described in the church's materials as "The Journey." Sunday mornings include the 9:00 a.m. Sunday School hour and worship with their families at 10:00 a.m.; Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. bring the group back together for youth meetings and activities. The student ministry is built around three convictions: that students are seeking a real faith, that they want to encounter God's presence in prayer and worship, and that they need the relevance of God's Word in everyday life. The teens have also taken their faith on the road, traveling each summer on a week-long mission trip, with recent summers spent serving communities such as Jacksonville, Florida.
Wednesday Nights
The Forge's Wednesday program is designed so that an entire family can be on site at the same time. At 6:00 p.m. children gather for Children's Quizzing, a structured study through the book of Acts. At 6:30 p.m. three groups run in parallel: the teen group meeting in its own space, the children's discipleship hour for younger kids, and Midweek in the Word, the church's adult Bible study, which meets at the church and is also livestreamed on Facebook Live for those who want to participate from home. Midweek in the Word is one of the chief ways adults at LRFCN dig into Scripture together outside Sunday morning.
Music, Drama, and the Worship Arts
If there is one thread that runs through every era of the church's life, it is music. The Forge points back to a long lineage of worship arts in the congregation. In the 1930s, when the church met at Ninth and Battery Streets, roughly 50 to 60 members contributed to a daily radio ministry on station KGJF, producing landmark programs such as Radio Sunday School of the Air, the Youth Hour, the Back Home Hour, Songs in the Night, the Faith Hour, the Promise Hour, and the Children's Hour. That same impulse still shapes the present-day Music Ministry, which oversees adult and children's choirs, instrumental ensembles, drama, and the church's well-known Living Nativity. Started in 1987 under Pastor Gavin Raath and associate pastor David Hintz, the Living Nativity drew nearly every member of the church and became recognized around the world for its scope and quality. Today the worship arts team produces summer, winter, and spring concerts for both the church family and the wider community.
Adult Discipleship, Men, and the P.T. Cruisers
Beyond Sunday School and Midweek in the Word, adults at The Forge find fellowship through a small network of discipleship opportunities. Rita Powell, the Discipleship Pastor, leads the church's Bible studies, small groups, and personal devotion ministry. She also directs The Well Class, one of the adult Sunday School classes, and supports the broader work of discipleship throughout the body.
Men's Ministry at LRFCN gathers regularly for fellowship and service. Activities include Travelers baseball outings, Monday Night Football gatherings, and a softball league, along with workday projects that maintain the church facility. The men also partner with other local congregations for community service projects around Little Rock.
For those 55 and older, the P.T. Cruisers meet monthly for fellowship, prayer, and ministry. The group has become a meaningful point of connection for the church's senior adults, many of whom have been part of the LRFCN family for decades.
A Heart for Guatemala
The Forge takes seriously the call to carry the gospel beyond its own walls, and the centerpiece of that work is the church's partnership with the Iglesia del Nazareno in Tactic and the mountain village of Pambach in the highlands of Guatemala. In October 2017 a team of about a dozen LRFCN adults traveled from Little Rock to Guatemala City, then on to the mountains above Tactic, to assist with the construction of a two-room classroom for older children. The team worked alongside the local Nazarene congregation, mixing and pouring concrete, digging foundations, and hauling blocks, while Pastor Bobby and Amy Howard entertained village children in clown costumes (Pastor Bobby became "Chipilin" and Amy became "Estrellita" for the week). Each evening the group gathered the community for showings of the Jesus Film and the Mary Magdalena Film, translated into the local Pokomchi language, and several children and mothers came forward to follow Christ. The Forge continues to invest in these relationships through prayer, financial support, and ongoing trip planning.
What Nazarenes Believe
The Forge is part of the Church of the Nazarene, the largest denomination in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. The teaching that distinguishes Nazarenes from most other Christian traditions is the doctrine of entire sanctification: the belief that after conversion, God calls believers to a definite experience in which the heart is cleansed from original sin and filled with love for God and neighbor. This is followed by a lifelong pursuit of holy living through the grace of God, not by works. The congregation has summarized its identity around three core values. CHRISTIAN: a Christ-centered community united with all believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. HOLINESS: a life shaped by the work of grace, beginning at conversion and continuing in the power of the Holy Spirit. MISSIONAL: a sending community that begins in worship, ministers in the world through evangelism and compassion, and encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship.
A Century of Arkansas Ministry
The Forge's story stretches back more than a hundred years. It began in 1900 in a small frame building at the corner of Ninth and High Streets. Six years later, in 1906, the church was officially organized with 20 members at 14th and Johnson. By 1928 the congregation had grown to about 200 members and moved to Ninth and Battery Streets, where it began a remarkable season of radio ministry on KGJF under the leadership of Rev. Borders and T.W. Sharp. On May 24, 1931, a London Rally Service drew 4,157 people to the church, one of the largest gatherings in its history.
In October 1931 the church welcomed one of the most consequential leaders in its story, Rev. Agnes White Diffie, who became the first woman accepted into the Ministerial Alliance of Little Rock and was later named "Woman of the Year" in Arkansas. Under her leadership the radio ministry continued to expand and the congregation grew steadily. In 1964, under Dr. Thomas Hermon, the church purchased land at 1200 North Mississippi and began building a new facility. The first service at that location was held on June 26, 1966, with more than 700 in attendance.
On July 10, 2016, the congregation celebrated fifty years at the North Mississippi location. Four years later, in December 2020, The Forge moved into its current home at 1309 Old Forge Drive, the same address that gave the church its new name, and the next step in a story that is still being written.