Our History
Santa Clara Church of the Nazarene was planted in 1966 and initially met downtown before moving into our existing space in 1976. Since our inception, we have been a community that works to help people know the love and grace of Jesus.
Over the last years, our congregation has grown smaller and we are now in a season of praying and seeking God’s direction. Like many smaller churches in the Bay Area, we want to find ways to be faithful to our history and faith, while also becoming a church that can thrive in our modern world. Rather than selling our space or closing, we believe that God has more for us.
Our Pastor
Pastor Danny Atkins is a Seattle-area native who, with his wife Taylor and daughter Iona, is hopeful and expectant for what God can do through the future of Santa Clara Church of the Nazarene.
After sensing a call to ministry in High School, Danny studied Christian Ministry at Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho. After graduating, Taylor and Danny moved to the Rhine-Main region of Germany and lead a German-speaking church and helped to start a community of Farsi-speaking followers of Jesus. During their time in Germany, they completed Masters in Theology at Nazarene Theological College in the UK.
Near the end of 2021, they handed off their ministry to their leadership team and moved home. Taylor worked at Northwest Nazarene and Danny worked as a Executive Pastor at Nampa College Church, while also working on his PhD (New Testament) and teaching as an Adjunct in the religion department.
After three years, Danny and Taylor sensed God leading them to live out their missionary calling in the Bay Area and they moved to Santa Clara in the summer of 2024.
Our Beliefs
What is a Nazarene?
Jesus grew up in a town called Nazareth. The Bible contains a story in the Gospel According to John about two friends - one named Philip and the other Nathanael. Philip had already decided to follow Jesus and was trying to convince Nathanael to follow him as well. In making his case Philip said, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph's son, from Nazareth.” Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?” (John 1:45-46 CEB)
In that day, Nazareth was "on the wrong side of the tracks." It was a place where the poor lived, the impoverished, diseased, outcasts - the not-good-enoughs. This is why Nathanael responded the way he did, because what he knew of Nazareth was that there wasn't a lot of good there.
However, Jesus had a way of turning the tables on our expectations -- even down to his humble hometown. Christ spent much of his ministry helping others see the "upside down" kingdom he claimed to be ushering in -- a kingdom in which the first shall be last and the last shall be first, a kingdom where leaders must become the servants of all.
This is where we get our name - Nazarene. The Church of the Nazarene began in inner city Los Angeles in 1908, reaching out to the poor, impoverished, diseased, and outcasts - the not-good-enoughs. We took seriously and continue to take seriously what Jesus the Nazarene taught when he said, "I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me. Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40 CEB)
Today, we are taking this call as seriously as ever. There is no one undeserving of the transforming love of Christ, and we believe the grace of God goes before us in our mission to share this love with the entire world. You should join us!
If you would like more information about the Church of the Nazarene and many of our core beliefs, click here.