ABOUT

OUR MISSION

KNOW
GOD

We strive to Know God and love him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength - the greatest commandment and the foundation of our faith.

LOVE
PEOPLE

We endeavor to Love People as we love ourselves, the second greatest commandment.

LIVE
PURPOSEFULLY

We want to Live Purposefully, not on accident. We believe everyone has a purpose and should strive to live it out intentionally.

SERVE
PASSIONATELY

Finally, we Serve Passionately because we believe that serving is the greatest way to spark passion in life and find extreme joy, because God created us to want to make a difference.

Lead Pastor Johnathan & Erin Nazarian

Pastor Johnathan has a heart and mission for reaching people with the love and compassion of Jesus. He was born and raised in Gaithersburg, MD, where he served in many roles at his local church for 28 years. He has taught Bible studies and discipled people as far back as elementary school and served in various ministries. He faithfully served as a student pastor and youth leader for the greater part of 15 years, also serving as the founding director of Project 7 Bible Clubs for the UPCI. Pastor Johnathan graduated with a BA in Business Management and a Masters of Divinity in Leadership from Liberty University.

In 2005, he met his lovely wife, Erin, marrying a year later. She has a BA in Accounting, is naturally drawn to the needs of others, and finds fulfillment in caring for others. They have two girls, Lauren and Madisyn.

In 2017, while seeking God for direction, God placed the city of Nashville on the Nazarian’s hearts. The burden began to grow, and a year later, God brought the picture into clear focus. In a transformational moment, God spoke: “What I did through your pastor, I can do through you in Nashville.” God spoke through the preacher that night out of Joshua 1:5, “What I did through Moses, I will do through you.” The calling to East Nashville became crystal clear.

Our Beliefs

  • We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. It is accurate, authoritative, and applicable to everyday life. We accept the Scriptures as the final authority on all manners of faith and conduct

    2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26

  • We believe in one eternally existent God who created all things and who has revealed himself as our Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and as the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh. He is fully God and fully man.

    Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; Matthew 3:16-17; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; John 10:30

  • We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified on Calvary for our sins, and bodily rose from the dead; and that he has been exalted to the throne of God where he is the only mediator between God and man. He alone is Lord and Savior. We believe that through this death, burial, and resurrection we have personal salvation and power for victorious living.

    Colossians 1:15-18, 1 Timothy 3:16, John 1:1, John 1:14, John 14:6, John 20:28, Isaiah 9:6, Philippians 2:5-6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12, Revelation 1:8

  • Everyone has sinned and needs salvation. Salvation comes by grace through faith based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

    Romans 3:23-25, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9

    We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives. We believe that all people are called to repent - it is God’s will that no one perishes, but everyone comes to life-changing repentance. Repentance is a commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Jesus fully.

    Romans 6:3-4; I Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 2:4, 37-39, 17:30; Matthew 3:1-2; Isaiah 55:7

  • We believe that following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, new believers are commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ. Water baptism is an act of obedience which signifies our union with Jesus in death to sin, burial of the old nature, and resurrection to new life.

    Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:12, Acts 16:36-38, Acts 10:48, Acts 16:33, Acts 19:5, Acts 22:16, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12

  • We believe that the Holy Spirit is active in the world today and that the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial sign of speaking in other tongues is the privilege and promise of all believers.

    Mark 1:7-8, John 14:16-18, Acts 1:5, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 4:31, Acts 8:17, Acts 10:44-45, Acts 19:6

  • We believe that God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfill our role in the Church and serve the community in which we live.

    Mark 12:29-31

    We believe we should live a holy life inwardly and outwardly.

    II Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14

    We believe God changes people’s lives through the power of His Spirit. This includes physical and emotional healing, deliverance from addiction and restoration of relationships.

    I Corinthians 12:8-10

  • We believe in the power and significance of the Church and the necessity of believers to meet regularly together for worship, prayer, study, fellowship, and serving others.

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised.

    1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

    We believe that our eternal destination of either heaven or hell is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Revelation 20:11, 15

JOIN THE MISSION

Interested in joining the mission of Awaken Church? Let Pastor Johnathan know and begin a conversation about serving at Awaken!