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I remember sitting in a small church office one afternoon, flipping through an old missions book.
The pages were yellowed, the photos black and white. But what struck me most wasn’t the images—it was the list. A list of countries, each marked with a year, each representing a bold step of faith by the Church of the Nazarene.
It felt like opening a treasure chest of stories, each nation a chapter in the unfolding mission of a church born out of holiness and passion.
From dusty roads in lelita in 1898 to the coastal breeze of Saint Lucia in 1972, the Church of the Nazarene was not just expanding—it was planting hope.
I imagined those first missionaries, unfamiliar with the language, uncertain of the culture, but sure of their calling.
That day, I decided to trace that journey—to see where the church first arrived and how far we’ve come.
Here’s a list of the first 50 countries where the Church of the Nazarene took root.
Each date is more than a number—it’s a reminder that we were, and still are, a global church with a global mission.
1972 — Saint Lucia (Mesoamerica)
1971 — Guam (Asia-Pacific)
1971 — The Bahamas (Mesoamerica)
1970 — Bermuda (USA/Canada)
1970 — Honduras (Mesoamerica)
1967 — Netherlands (Eurasia)
1966 — Jamaica (Mesoamerica)
1964 — Costa Rica(Mesoamerica)
1964 — El Salvador (Mesoamerica)
1964 — Samoa (Asia-Pacific)
1963 — Zimbabwe (Africa) — Entered when it was called Southern Rhodesia
1962 — Chile (South America)
1961 — Zambia (Africa) — Entered when it was called Northern Rhodesia
1960 — Denmark (Eurasia)
1958 — American Samoa (Asia-Pacific)
1958 — Brazil (South America)
1958 — Germany (Eurasia) — Entered what was then called West Germany
1957 — Malawi (Africa) — Entered when it was called Nyasaland
1956 — Taiwan (Asia-Pacific)
1955 — Papua New Guinea (Asia-Pacific)
1953 — Panama (Mesoamerica)
1952 — New Zealand (Asia-Pacific)
1950 — Haiti (Mesoamerica)
1950 — Jordan (Eurasia)
1950 — Lebanon (Eurasia)
1949 — Uruguay (South America)
1948 — Italy (Eurasia)
1948 — Korea, South (Asia-Pacific)
1946 — Australia (Asia-Pacific)
1946 — Guyana (Mesoamerica) — Entered when it was called British Guiana
1946 — Philippines (Asia-Pacific)
1945 — Bolivia (South America)
1944 — Puerto Rico (Mesoamerica)
1944 — Virgin Islands (Mesoamerica)
1937 — Nicaragua (Mesoamerica)
1934 — Belize (Mesoamerica) — Entered when it was called British Honduras
1926 — Barbados (Mesoamerica)
1926 — Trinidad (Mesoamerica)
1922 — Mozambique (Africa) — Entered when it was called Portuguese East Africa
1921 — Israel (Eurasia) — Entered when it was called Palestine
1920 — Syria (Eurasia)
1919 — South Africa (Africa)
1914 — Peru (South America)
1910 — Eswatini (Africa) — Entered when it was called Swaziland
1909 — Argentina (South America)
1909 — United Kingdom (Eurasia)
1905 — Japan (Asia-Pacific)
1904 — Guatemala (Mesoamerica)
1903 — Mexico (Mesoamerica)
1902 — Canada (USA/Canada)
1902 — Cuba (Mesoamerica)
1901 — Cabo Verde (Africa) — Entered when it was called Cape Verde
1898 — India (Eurasia)
1887 — United States (USA/Canada)
This information is compiled from Howard Culbertson’s comprehensive overview of the global expansion of the Church of the Nazarene. For more details, visit Nazarene Global Outreach This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
