Who we are…
Transitional Pastor
Mark Atherton
Mark is our transitional pastor. He is here to help us through the transition from Pastor Kristi to whoever our new pastor will be. He has just retired after 30 years of full-time ministry, the last 14 years at Xenia Church of the Nazarene. Before Pastor Mark entered the ministry, he was a high school and college basketball coach for 15 years. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Asbury Theological Seminary.
Mark was saved on August 29, 1993, at the age of 34. He is married to Sue, and they have two sons, Christopher and Levi.
Youth Pastor
Matt Perdue
Matt serves as the Youth Director at St. Paris Community Church of the Nazarene, where he is passionate about guiding the next generation toward a vibrant, transformative relationship with Christ.
He and his wife, Emma, are blessed with a joyful son, Emmett. Matt’s own walk with Jesus began at the age of seven, when he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. From that young age, he trusted God to guide his steps—and that trust has continued to shape his life and calling.
Today, Matt leads students with the same heart of faith that first stirred in him as a child, inviting them to discover the hope, purpose, and identity found in Christ. He teaches that a life transformed by Jesus naturally shines in a way that draws others in—and that real change begins when we allow Christ to change us from within.
Matt currently leads our youth program which is called H&F YM (Hands and Feet Youth Ministries). The young people who participate in H&F YM represent the change that Christ has made in their lives by how they treat others everywhere they go.
What we believe…
We Are Christian
As members of the universal Church, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in affirming the historic creeds and beliefs of the Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. We proclaim salvation through faith in Christ alone.
We Are Holiness
We believe that God makes the freedom of a holy life possible through Christ, and calls everyone to live in it. This is a holiness of heart which translates into a holiness of life. We believe in the prevenient, saving and sanctifying grace of God, which transforms our lives and empowers us to live lives that are pleasing to Him.
We Are Missional
God has commissioned His church to spread the gospel to every person. We do this by engaging our community through proclaiming the Gospel, discipling believers, and serving others in ministry. We also actively support mission efforts regionally and across the world.
The Church of the Nazarene is a Protestant Christian church in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Organized in 1908, the denomination is now home to about 2.3 million members worshipping in more than 29,000 local congregations in 162 world areas.
We believe in one God–the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures, given by plenary inspiration, contain all truth necessary to faith and Christian living.
We believe that man is born with a fallen nature, and is, therefore, inclined to evil, and that continually.
We believe that the finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost.
We believe that the atonement through Jesus Christ is for the whole human race; and that whosoever repents and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is justified and regenerated and saved from the dominion of sin.
We believe that believers are to be sanctioned wholly, subsequent to regeneration, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the new birth, and also to the entire sanctification of believers.
We believe that our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place.