Located at 510 Woodland Street on Nashville's east side, Nashville First Church of the Nazarene has long described itself as an urban ministry center for spiritual and social transformation. Walking onto the campus on a Sunday morning, a visitor encounters something unusual for a single address: not one worship gathering, but several congregations, each with its own language, music, and flavor of community, all sharing the same family of believers. NFCN's mission is to know the transforming Christ and be found faithful in its generation, and its vision is to extend God's love, teach biblical truth, and share lives together. Those three commitments - worship, connect, serve - form the framework of the church's weekly rhythm.
One Building, Three Languages, Four Sunday Services
On any given Sunday at NFCN, English, Spanish, and Swahili all rise in worship within the same building. The Celebration service fills the Main Sanctuary at 10:15am with the Celebration Choir and Orchestra leading a blended musical style that pairs traditional hymns with newer songs, while Senior Pastor Grant Miller brings the morning message. Down the hall, the Hispanic Congregation gathers in the Wise Chapel at 10:15am under the pastoral leadership of Hilda Hernandez, with an informal style that invites newcomers to come just as they are. In the Fellowship Hall, the African Congregation worships in Swahili with a preaching rotation led by Pastor Petronie Karaj, drawing members from the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African nations.
Each of these congregations also holds its own Sunday School at 9:00am before the joint worship hour, allowing children, youth, and adults to learn in their first language while sharing the larger life of the church. The Hispanic Sunday School meets in Room 112, and the African Congregation's Sunday School gathers before the 10:15am service in the Fellowship Hall. When evening comes, the Fellowship Hall opens again at 5:00pm for Emmaus.
Emmaus: Worship Around a Shared Meal
Emmaus is a worship service in the context of a fellowship meal, open to all people. It is described as an opportunity to worship through both serving and being served, where people longing for both physical and spiritual food may be satisfied together. Pastor Letitia Washington leads the gathering, and volunteers from the Emmaus Fellowship serve warm meals, offer showers, and provide a place of belonging. The setting is intentionally intergenerational and hospitable, and the service welcomes anyone who walks through the door.
NFCN Kids: Birth Through Fifth Grade
NFCN Kids is built around three age groups: Infant Care from birth through age 2, Preschool for ages 3 through kindergarten, and Elementary covering first through fifth grade. The children's ministry sees itself as a partner with parents, who the church calls the spiritual leaders of each home. The philosophy is that children are a vital part of the community of faith, and that helping them fall in love with Jesus and learn biblical truth is the central priority. Mentoring children as they grow in their understanding of God's love, sharing in loving relationships within the community, and including children in ministry opportunities at a young age are all intentional emphases.
The weekly rhythm for children begins with Children's Sunday School at 9:00am, where small groups study the Bible, memorize scripture, and learn life skills for Christian living. At 10:15am, Children's Church begins with music led by the worship team, followed by an engaging lesson taught through drama, group discussion, and age-appropriate activities. On Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm, Kid's Connection opens with games and fellowship, then moves into Bible stories, crafts, snacks, and reflection.
Lisa Spruill serves as the Interim Children's Ministry Director, with Lauren Duke as Associate Children's Ministry Director. The team operates under a structured safety system called Nazarene Safe, which includes awareness raising, volunteer screening, written policies, accountability, and reporting. Every worker with children submits to a criminal background check and works in teams, never alone. A computerized check-in system prints labels for each child, and parents or guardians must present the matching label for pickup. Children's areas are under digital video surveillance with monitors at Kid Central and the elementary check-in desks.
NEOS: Youth and College Under One Banner
The youth ministry goes by the name NEOS Youth Ministries, a branch of NEOS Collective that gathers sixth through twelfth graders along with adult leaders. NEOS aims to give students the tools to live a clean, holy life in the world, extending God's love, teaching biblical truth, and sharing lives together.
Sunday mornings begin at 9:00am in the NEOS Cafe with fellowship and announcements before students break into classes. Each class discusses the morning's sermon and digs into biblical truth and discipleship with their teachers. Students then flow into the 10:15am Celebration Worship in the Main Sanctuary.
Wednesday nights are the main gathering, running 5:00pm to 7:30pm. The gym opens at 5:00 for games and fellowship, then at 6:30 the group transitions into the NEOS Big Room for worship and teaching. At 7:10, small groups split up by gender with adult facilitators who walk students through discussion. Daniel Parker serves as the Interim Youth Ministries Director.
NEOS College & Crossroads extends the same vision to 18-to-20-somethings. College students meet for Sunday School at 9:00am in Jubilee 108, then move to Celebration Worship at 10:15am. After the service, the group gathers for lunch at locations shared on social media. Wednesday nights mirror the youth schedule, with games at 5:00pm, worship and teaching at 6:30pm, and gender-specific small groups at 7:10pm, followed by a home-cooked Late Night meal. Nicole Deppen serves as the NEOS College & Crossroads Pastor.
SALT: Midweek Discipleship That Names the Basics
On Wednesday evenings, SALT offers midweek discipleship opportunities built around four words: Shine, Abide, Live, Teach. Each movement anchors in a passage of Scripture. Shine points to 1 John 1:7, walking in the light and having fellowship with one another. Abide draws from John 15:5, remaining in Christ as branches remain in the vine. Live echoes John 10:10, the abundant life Christ came to give. Teach rests on 2 Timothy 3:14-17, where Scripture is shown to be profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. SALT exists to help ordinary Christians live as salt and light throughout the week, and current midweek opportunities are posted on the church calendar.
Adults: Life Groups, Men, Women, and Senior Adults
The adult ministry at NFCN is structured around Life Groups, small gatherings that meet in homes across Nashville and the surrounding areas. Life Groups are designed to be places where people can feel belonging, share life, grow spiritually, and experience life together. Beyond Life Groups, the church offers SALT, a Young Adults ministry, a Women's Ministry, a Men's Ministry called C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.S., and a Senior Adult ministry.
The Women's Ministry gathers around the desire to draw closer to God and grow in grace through fellowship, and has hosted events such as the Women's Ministry Tea Party. C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.S. connects men shoulder to shoulder. Senior Adults are deeply valued at NFCN, and the church emphasizes that they are not set aside but remain vital to building, equipping, and operating the church. Senior Adult Pastor Jimmy Blackman shepherds this community.
Adult Sunday School meets from 9:00am to 10:00am, with classes organized by age and stage of life. Young Adult classes include NEOS College & Crossroads in Jubilee 108, Drawing Close in Reed 300, and Common Ground in Jubilee 100. Middle Adult classes include Marathon (Greathouse 107), Sharing Faith (Greathouse 209), and Grace Fellowship in the Gymnasium. Mature Adult classes include Cornerstone, Journey, Kaleo, Koinonia (The Press), and New Life. Senior Adult classes include Ambassadors (Reed 106), Berean (Reed 100), Spirit (Greathouse 106), and Victory (Greathouse 105). Two additional Missional Congregation classes meet alongside the African Congregation in the Fellowship Hall with Pastor Petronie Karaj, and the Hispanic Congregation in Reed 112 with Pastor Hilda Hernandez.
Worship Arts: Choir, Orchestra, Media, and Beyond
Worship Ministries at NFCN sees its task as receiving, sharing, and extending the life of Christ to others through fellowship, prayer, preparation, and inspired expressions of art.
The Celebration Choir sings each week at the 10:15am Sunday service and prepares music for special performances throughout the year. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings from 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the choir room directly behind the sanctuary. The Celebration Orchestra and a rhythm section accompany the 10:15am service and other ensembles. The Media Team handles camera operation, lighting, sound, and video, with interviews required for all areas. Beyond traditional music, Worship Ministries include visual artists, graphic artists, web design, dance, and drama, with opportunities for outreach through these art forms. Tim Pitzer serves as the Worship Pastor.
510 Foundation: International Outreach in Kenya and Haiti
International outreach runs through the 510 Foundation, the missions arm closely tied to NFCN. Two flagship efforts take shape in Kenya and Haiti.
Team Kenya Outreach (TKO) partners with the New Scent Centre International, working to rescue girls from sexual abuse and sex trafficking while raising awareness about gender-based violence. The partnership operates under five pillars: training community institutions, providing counseling, integrated service delivery through the GBV Resource Center Wings of Hope, family reunification, and sustainable agriculture. Hope Farm, the Poultry Project, provides sustainable animal and egg protein to the food-desert community in Lodwar, Kenya. Since 2014, NFCN and the 510 Foundation have sent numerous teams to Kenya, partnering with the Lodwar Church of the Nazarene to build a community center, church building, and the Hope Farm. TKO also operates through the Nazarene Compassionate Organization of Kenya.
In Haiti, Reaching Beyond International (RBI) and NFCN are building the VanMullen Medical Clinic in Pernier II. The building is up and running, providing outpatient care for up to 100,000 people who otherwise would be hours from the nearest medical services. The clinic offers general consultations, natal care, minor surgical procedures, dental and nutrition care, a pharmacy, and a laboratory, along with education on sanitation, prevention of transmissible diseases, nutrition, perinatal, and dental health. Teams welcome both medical and non-medical volunteers.
Planning a First Visit
NFCN gathers every weekend with Sunday School at 9:00am and the main Celebration Worship at 10:15am. If checking in children, arriving at least 15 minutes before class or service helps everyone get familiar with Kid Central and the NazareneSafe system.
The main parking is the Woodland Street Parking Lot with entry at the Main Entrance. Accessible parking is available in smaller lots on both the 5th Street and Russell Street sides of the building.
NFCN's family-friendly environment welcomes anyone who walks in. Children from 6 weeks old through 5th grade are cared for by volunteers who have been background-checked and trained for ministry, and all children's areas are under video surveillance. Ministry opportunities abound - from the choir, orchestra, and tech teams to the Five Ten Cafe, greeters, parking attendants, the 510 Foundation outreach, and international partnerships.
Giving is available online, by text to 877-409-8235, by mail to 510 Woodland St, or in person. The Celebration service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and recordings of recent services can be found on the same channels. NFCN also maintains an active podcast on Spotify for catch-up listening.
What NFCN Believes
Nashville First Church of the Nazarene subscribes to the Articles of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene. The church affirms one eternal, infinite, triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and believes in the incarnation, virgin birth, atoning death, bodily resurrection, and present intercession of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is confessed as ever present and active in the Church, convincing of sin, regenerating repentant believers, sanctifying, and guiding into all truth.
The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are received as the plenary, inerrant Word of God. The church holds to original sin and personal sin, salvation by grace through faith in Christ's atoning work, justification, regeneration, and adoption, and the possibility of entire sanctification - a cleansed heart made possible by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, to be nurtured through growth in grace. Two sacraments are practiced: Christian baptism, which may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion; and the Lord's Supper, observed as a communion feast for those who have faith in Christ and love for the saints. The church also believes in divine healing, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, future judgment, and eternal life for the redeemed.
Getting Connected
A Welcome Breakfast is offered to newcomers on a recurring basis, providing a chance to meet others who are new to the church family and learn about the ministries of NFCN over a light meal. A Connect Card and prayer request form are available for those ready to take a next step, and a discipleship series is required in preparation for church membership. Baptisms are arranged after a class with a member of the pastoral staff, and Christian baptism may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. NFCN also runs open staff and internship listings on its careers page, from children's ministry leadership to facility management.