Countryside Church of the Nazarene sits along Deerfield Road in Lebanon, Ohio, where three connected campuses now serve as home to the congregation, Lebanon Christian School, and a busy calendar of ministries that draws families from across Warren County. The church's working name around the building is CNAZ, and its stated mission is simple and direct: Live Love. Everything from the coffee station in the lobby to the dinners served before youth group flows out of that phrase, and the welcome extended to first-time guests is built around it as well.
From Oak Street to Three Campuses on Deerfield Road
The congregation began in 1952 as Lebanon Church of the Nazarene. Six years later, in 1958, members built a sanctuary on Oak Street in Lebanon, and that building served as the home of the church for two decades. In 1973 the church started Lebanon Christian School, a Christ-centered educational ministry that has operated alongside the congregation ever since. By 1998 the church and school had outgrown the Oak Street site and moved together to the current Deerfield Road property. Today the church owns three campuses on the grounds to provide classroom and gathering space for the school.
Many of the families who walked the halls of Lebanon Christian School as students now call Countryside their home church, and the close partnership between the two ministries remains one of the defining features of the congregation. The school's stated purpose is that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, and its vision is to equip students with a quality education based on Christian morals and ethics, in an atmosphere that promotes love and responsibility for a life of servitude to Christ and their community.
Sunday Mornings at 9:30 and 11
Two identical Sunday services are held at 9:30 am and 11:00 am in the main sanctuary. Both follow the same pattern: a time of worship, prayer, and a message from the pastoral team. When guests walk in, a hospitality team greets them, and most continue straight into the sanctuary. A coffee station near the entrance offers a complimentary cup, and a children's check-in desk sits just to the right of the sanctuary doors, with restrooms to the left.
The dress code is intentionally casual. Visitors are encouraged to come comfortable. Both services are livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, so anyone who is traveling, homebound, or simply wants to catch up on a missed Sunday can watch live at 9:30 or 11 am or revisit the stream later in the week.
CKidz and Countryside Student Ministries
Children's programming, called CKidz, runs during both Sunday services. The goal is to partner with every home to help families spiritually develop their kids by creating irresistible environments and experiences where they learn to live like Jesus. Children are checked in at the lobby desk, receive matching name tags with their parents, and are sent to classrooms by age:
- Nursery: birth through age 2
- Pre-K: ages 3 to 5
- CKidz: kindergarten through second grade
- Elevate Intermediate: third through fifth grade
For students in grades 6 through 12, Countryside Student Ministries (CSM) meets on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the sanctuary. The night is intentionally shaped around community: a shared dinner, games, a time of worship, a speaker, and small groups that dig into Scripture together. A permission and emergency medical form is on file for every student, and parents can pick up the slip from the church office or download it from the church's event pages.
Sunday Morning Small Groups at 9:30
Before the second service, an adult education hour runs at 9:30 am with classes for every age, from nursery through adult electives. The current slate of adult classes covers the Book of Matthew, Financial Peace, a study called Prodigals in Our Lives, and Experiencing God, and they meet in designated rooms across the building. CNAZKids uses the Pre-K Room and Kaboom Room during the same hour, so the entire family can be in study at the same time.
Wednesday Nights: Bible Study, Basketball, and Brotherhood
Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm are a hub of the church's ministry week. In the Kaboom Room, a Women's Bible Study gathers for prayer, conversation, and teaching. In the modular building on the north side of the property, two men's groups meet side by side: a Bible study led by Dave Jayne and a Men's Fellowship and Bible Discussion Group led by Jeff Morhous. Across the parking lot, the Countryside Gym hosts Men's Basketball every winter from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, open to guys aged 16 and up. Together these midweek offerings create a rhythm that pulls people out of the building's main sanctuary and into smaller, more conversational settings.
Connect Groups and In-Home Community
Connect Groups extend the small-group model into homes around the community. Groups meet primarily during the spring and fall seasons and are built around a shared meal, catching up on the week, fellowship, spiritual discussion, and prayer. The pattern is simple: people open their living rooms, others bring food, and a few hours later everyone has had a longer conversation than is possible on a Sunday morning. Anyone interested in joining or hosting can sign up through the church office, and the staff helps place newcomers in a group that fits their schedule and stage of life.
Women's Ministry Across the Calendar
The Women's Ministry exists to bring women of all ages together to lift one another up and Live Love in the community. The calendar is layered to meet women where they are. The Wednesday night Bible Study anchors the week, a hiking group meets on the first Saturday of each month at a rotating outdoor location, and a lunch group gathers monthly, typically at 11 am on the first Tuesday, with occasional adjustments to the schedule. The ministry also runs one-off events such as a pottery outing at Mad Potter and seasonal gatherings promoted through the church's events page.
Men's Ministry
Men's ministry at Countryside follows a similar shape, with two parallel Wednesday night groups in the modular and a handful of outdoor or competitive outlets. Dave Jayne's Bible study and Jeff Morhous's Fellowship and Bible Discussion Group both meet from 7:00 to roughly 8:15 pm and give men a regular place to talk about the issues they face day to day. In addition, a Men's Hiking Group heads out on the second Saturday of every month, a softball team joins the Lebanon Churches Softball League each summer, and basketball keeps men connected through the colder months.
Bridge Builders: A 50-Plus Community
Bridge Builders is the congregation's ministry for adults 50 and older, designed to enhance the lives of its members and the lives of others through fellowship and service. Gatherings always include prayer, a time for testimony, and encouragement to grow in the Lord. The group meets every Thursday morning at 8:30 am at the Cherry Street Cafe on South Cherry Street in Lebanon for breakfast, and service opportunities include ministering to others at local care facilities, helping with local food pantry distribution, mentoring, and supporting church events. Newcomers are welcome at any breakfast.
Marriage Ministry
The Marriage Ministry seeks to strengthen, encourage, and disciple couples through Christ-centered, Spirit-led teaching and practical tools, with the goal of empowering marriages to thrive as reflections of God's love. The ministry recommends the Prepare/Enrich assessment and the 5 Love Languages framework as companion resources, both of which are linked through the church's resources page. Couples who want to go deeper can sign up for a Prepare/Enrich workshop through the church's registration system.
Family Promise and Local Outreach
Countryside is a partner congregation with Family Promise of Warren County, the local response to family homelessness in the area. Volunteers from the church help host and support families as they work toward stable housing. The church also supports Redemption Ranch, a Christ-centered, equine-assisted mentorship program, and refers members to Community Services of Warren County for emergency assistance on energy or housing needs. Bridge Builders specifically commits to helping with food pantry distribution in the area.
Trail Life USA Troop OH-1436
The church hosts Trail Life USA Troop OH-1436, a Christ-centered outdoor adventure and character development program for boys starting at age 5. The troop meets on Monday evenings throughout the school year on the Countryside campus, with a stated mission of guiding generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure. Trail Life pairs naturally with the church's commitment to mentoring the next generation alongside Lebanon Christian School and CKidz.
What CNAZ Believes
Countryside is part of the global Church of the Nazarene. The congregation holds that God has called it to be His light and life in the community, takes the truth of God's Word to heart, encourages everyone to live in the full life of the Spirit, and shares the good news of Jesus with everyone. The full articles of faith, core values, and mission statement are available on the denominational beliefs page at nazarene.org. The Live Love motto is less a slogan than a working summary of how the church hopes to embody those beliefs in the Lebanon area.
Generosity, Stewardship, and the Annual Budget
Countryside shares its financial picture openly. For the 2025-'26 church year, total expenses came to $731,495, broken down across Local Ministries ($101,144), Operations and Facilities ($153,643), Missions and Benevolence ($98,398), and Staff ($378,309, covering 5 full-time and 7 part-time employees). The projected 2026-'27 budget is $780,967, with increases planned across each category. Members and guests can give online through the church's secure giving portal, drop a gift in the LIVE LOVE collection box at the back of the worship center, text a gift to 513-245-4656, or mail a check. Self-addressed giving envelopes are available on request from the church office. The church frames giving as an act of stewardship rooted in Malachi 3:10 and Matthew 6:21, treating generosity as a spiritual practice rather than a transaction.
Get Involved: Serving Across the Building
There are several standing teams where volunteers are regularly welcomed. The Safety Team keeps an eye on the campus during services and events. The Hospitality Team staffs the lobby and the coffee station, greeting guests and helping them find their way around. The Chair Team handles the physical setup of the worship center. The Tech Team runs sound, slides, and livestream. The Garden and Grounds Team cares for the outdoor spaces. Worship team members serve alongside Worship Pastor John Stone, and CKidz volunteers work with Children's Ministry Director Deborah Harvey on Sunday mornings.
The Pastoral Team and Office
The pastoral staff is led by Nick McDowell, who serves as Lead Pastor. John Stone is the Worship Pastor, Deborah Harvey is the Children's Ministry Director, and Jacob Glenn is the Youth Pastor. Ruth Apke serves as Office Administrator, and Rebekah Buck is the Media Director. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and on Sundays from 9:30 am to noon, and the office team fields calls, prayer requests, and giving questions throughout the week.
Visiting Countryside
First-time guests can plan a visit through the church's Start Here page, which explains what to expect and how to check children into CKidz. Sunday mornings offer two identical services at 9:30 and 11:00 am, with coffee, hospitality, and casual dress all part of the welcome. Children are checked in at the lobby desk to the right of the sanctuary doors, and matching name tags send families off to age-appropriate classrooms. Anyone who would rather worship from home can join the livestream on Facebook or YouTube, and recorded services remain available for catch-up viewing afterward.