At 19201 N 7th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix First Church of the Nazarene is known for Sunday worship at 10:30 a.m. and a ministry life centered on discipleship, relationships and service. The church describes its mission as connecting the community to Jesus one relationship at a time, with gatherings for every age and a weekly grocery distribution.
A Sunday Rhythm of Learning, Fellowship and Worship
Sunday at Phoenix First follows a simple rhythm that makes room for different ages. Sunday school begins at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 10:00, with an inclusive program for children and adults. At 10:00, the church invites people to share a fellowship breakfast. Coffee, hot cocoa and donuts are available before the service, providing time for fellowship as the morning begins.
Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. and generally lasts about 90 minutes. Each gathering starts with worship and prayer, followed by a weekly message of about 30 minutes. The church describes the morning as a service in which people experience God's presence through meaningful, spirit-filled worship. Visitors may wear casual or more formal clothes; both are welcome. Spanish translation is available for those attending in person.
On the final Sunday of each month, the schedule becomes Family Communion Sunday. Children remain with the congregation for the entire service rather than being dismissed for children's church. This monthly gathering keeps the children of the church together for the whole worship service and provides a distinct rhythm within the larger Sunday pattern.
The church gathers both in person and through its Sunday worship livestream. People may participate from a living room, a car, a grandmother's house or anywhere else. The livestream opens the same 10:30 a.m. gathering to viewers who cannot be in the building.
Phoenix Kids and Mustard Seed Ministry
Phoenix First places particular emphasis on the next generation. Phoenix Kids is intended to equip children to become devoted followers of Jesus Christ, while Mustard Seed Ministry carries the phrase “Where big faith starts small.” The children's ministry covers ages six weeks through sixth grade. Preschool through sixth-grade children come into the sanctuary with their families, then join age-appropriate lessons, games or crafts in the children's wing for the remainder of the service.
Nursery care is available in the children's wing for children four years old and younger. Parents can drop off children before worship and collect them immediately afterward. For families with very young children, Nursery Director Kelly Tritschler and the nursery team care for the children while the adults worship.
Safety is a priority of Mustard Seed Ministry. Every teacher has completed a ministry safe course. Greeters assist first-time families and answer practical questions about where children and adults should go. About halfway through the morning message, the pastor dismisses children for their class, giving parents time to remain in worship. The regular exception is Family Communion Sunday, when children participate in the whole service.
Children's learning and family worship therefore work together within the Sunday morning rhythm. Families share the opening portion of the service, children move into age-specific learning, and the congregation comes back together for Family Communion once each month.
Dinner Before Discipleship on Wednesdays
Wednesday evenings have their own rhythm at Phoenix First. Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m., giving families and individuals time to arrive, eat and connect. At 6:30, participants break into groups for Bible study and discipleship. The regular mix includes a men's Bible study, a women's Bible study, a co-ed Bible study and children's ministry, with classes for children and adults of all ages.
The stated aim of these evenings is connection, growth and community. The smaller groups create room for Scripture and conversation, while the children's ministry continues the same age-appropriate discipleship pattern used during the Sunday schedule.
A second regular Bible study meets on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The Young Adult Bible Study begins with a shared meal and then moves into the Word, meaningful conversation and growth together in faith and community. The church describes this as a time to come hungry, bring a Bible and bring a friend.
Together, the Sunday and midweek gatherings create several regular ways to take part: a Sunday class before worship, family ministry during the service, groups over dinner on Wednesday and a Thursday evening focused on young adults.
A Group for the Season of Life
Phoenix First describes small groups as the place to find a community that fits a person's life and needs. Its group categories reach from children and teenagers to adults, older adults, men and women. Other categories include single men, single women, parents, prayer, Bible study, fellowship and outreach. Groups are also identified by interests such as education, the Holy Spirit, worship and Christian service.
Teen and Young Adult Ministry
Overcome Student Ministries provides Teen Ministry for middle and high school students, with an emphasis on a safe and encouraging environment. The Young Adult Ministry seeks to equip, motivate and empower young adults. In addition to the Thursday Bible study, young adults can find a place among the church's wider community of groups.
JOY and Widow Support
The JOY Group stands for Just Older Youth and is presented as a valued ministry with a long-standing legacy. The Widow Support Group gathers monthly and offers women a safe space to come together. These ministries extend the church's group structure beyond a single age or stage of life.
Men, Women and Discipleship
The Women's Ministry recognizes the significance of women in God's eyes and their invaluable role in the church. The Men's Ministry focuses on the vital role men play in advancing the church's mission and spreading the gospel. Both ministries are connected to the church's desire to prepare women and men for Christian service.
Sunday School Discipleship is an inclusive program for all ages and another central expression of the church's teaching life. Counseling Resources round out the listed ministries. The church describes this ministry as a way of caring for its family and making sure people are taken care of.
Group information distinguishes active groups and marks whether child care is available, whether children are welcome or when no child care is provided. Across these ministries, the common thread is a congregation that wants people known in relationship, formed through discipleship and able to serve in the life of the church.
Thursday Food Rescue and the Generous Future
Community response is part of the church's worship and discipleship life. The PFCN Food Pantry is one of the practical ministries of Phoenix First and is described as part of a two-program effort to help the community. The pantry and its associated outreach give the church a tangible expression of its call to love and serve others.
A recurring outreach named Grocery Rescue Distribution is held every Thursday from noon to 2:00 p.m. This food rescue work places service around a concrete need in Phoenix. It also connects with the church's teaching about faithful stewardship, in which tithes, offerings and gifts support ministry and outreach in the region and beyond.
Online giving is available, and the church also invites participation in the Generous Future. Tithes are described as giving one tenth, while offerings are gifts given above and beyond the tithe. The church's stated goal is 100 percent participation in giving to that fund, whether through a large gift or a smaller sacrificial choice made with a worshipful heart. The church connects this financial stewardship to accountability to its lead team and denomination.
With grocery rescue every Thursday and food pantry outreach among its ministries, service occupies a regular place in the church's schedule. Worship, discipleship, practical care and stewardship are presented as parts of one shared mission.
Rooted in Christian Holiness
Phoenix First's mission is to be a Great Commission community that glorifies God by living intentionally and loving unconditionally. That mission rests on three core values:
- Love means displaying Jesus' love toward others and taking seriously the commission to love and serve those God places in a person's path.
- Connect reflects the relational heart of Jesus and the early church. People are connected with God, with one another and with the community through intentional service.
- Transform describes God's work of restoring his image in believers and making them more like Jesus from the inside out as they grow in relationship with God and each other.
The church's core beliefs begin with the Holy Trinity, the Creator God who exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is affirmed as God's Word and Wisdom, fully human and fully divine, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. His crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension provide forgiveness for sin and reconciliation with God, overcoming sin and death so that people can live holy lives. The Holy Spirit is present and active in the church, transforming and sanctifying believers and guiding them into the way, truth and life of Jesus.
Holy Scripture is described as divinely inspired and the primary authority for faith and practice. The church understands the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments as inerrantly revealing God's will concerning people in all matters necessary for salvation. Human nature is fallen because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, which leaves people far from the relationship with God for which they were created. God's grace and love in Jesus Christ are freely given, and all who turn from sin are invited to trust Jesus for forgiveness and do good works that please God.
Holiness is central to the church's identity. It is God's work to change believers to be like Jesus, taking place through God's grace and the Holy Spirit in a process of spiritual growth and maturity called sanctification. Full devotion to God involves the Spirit's cleansing and empowering, is received through grace and faith, and also calls for conscious participation in church practices such as fellowship and the sacraments. This emphasis is part of the church's Wesleyan-Holiness heritage, which it relates to Scripture, reason, tradition and experience.
Phoenix First understands the church as a community united by the Holy Spirit that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord. It worships through preaching and the sacraments of Baptism and Communion. Baptism signifies acceptance of what Christ has done and incorporation into the church; Communion proclaims Christ's life, death and resurrection and invites those with faith in Christ to participate reverently. The church's mission includes evangelism, education, compassion and justice, and it lives both as local congregations and as a universal body under God's rule in anticipation of Christ's return.
The return of Christ is central to the church's final affirmation of faith. Phoenix First expects Jesus to return in glory to establish God's kingdom fully, ending suffering, injustice, death and tears in a new creation where God dwells with believers. It affirms the resurrection of the dead and the final separation of those who reject faith in Christ from God's life-giving presence.
A Christian, Holiness and Missional People
The Church of the Nazarene identity is summarized in three descriptions. As a Christian people, the church joins with all true believers in proclaiming the lordship of Jesus Christ, affirms the historic Trinitarian creeds, values forgiveness and reconciliation, and seeks the unity of the one holy, universal and apostolic church. Scripture remains the primary source of spiritual truth, confirmed by reason, tradition and experience.
As a Holiness people, Phoenix First affirms the Holy Spirit's second work of grace, described in terms such as entire sanctification and baptism with the Holy Spirit. This work cleanses sin, renews the image of God, empowers believers to love God and their neighbors and produces the character of Christ. The resulting life includes spiritual discipline, ethical and moral purity, compassion and justice.
As a Missional people, the church describes itself as a people sent by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to witness to his lordship, participate in building the church and extend his kingdom. Its mission begins in worship, continues through evangelism and compassion, encourages Christian maturity through discipleship and prepares women and men for Christian service.
Accepting Christ
For someone asking how to receive Christ, the church gives a three-part response: acknowledge sin, confess sin and trust Jesus by faith for salvation. The accompanying prayer asks the Lord to come into the heart of someone who repents, confesses Jesus as Lord and believes he raised Jesus from the dead.
Pastors and Ministry Leaders
Phoenix First's leadership team pairs pastoral oversight with leaders for worship, discipleship, visitation and specific areas of ministry.
- Josh Jorgensen is Lead Pastor.
- Sean Gafford is Associate Pastor.
- James Williamson is Worship Pastor.
- Joe Ely is Visitation Pastor.
- Joey Norris is Discipleship Pastor.
- Moises Santos is Spanish Ministries Pastor.
- Kelly Tritschler is Nursery Director.
- Allison Gafford is Children's Director.
- Cheryl Kindell is Women's Ministry Director.
- Robyn Kindell is Family Life Director.
- Pat Zunigha is Widows Support Coordinator.
The sermon archive includes messages from Pastor Josh, Pastor Sean and Pastor Bob and can be searched by series, topic, speaker and Scripture.
A Church for Connection and Service
For people planning a first visit, the church says its team will share more about the service, connect visitors with people and answer questions. The recurring pattern is Sunday school at 9:00 a.m., breakfast at 10:00 and worship at 10:30. Nursery and Mustard Seed Ministry care for children through the service, Spanish translation is available in person and the worship gathering can also be watched through the livestream. Wednesday dinner and Bible-study groups, Thursday's Young Adult Bible Study and the Thursday grocery distribution extend that rhythm through the week.
The church also offers groups for adults, families, young adults, teens, older adults, widows, men and women. Sunday worship remains the center, with prayer, a weekly message and Communion once each month, while the sermon archive allows messages to be found by speaker, series or Scripture. Online giving, tithes and offerings support the church's ministry and outreach, and the food pantry keeps community service visible in the weekly schedule.
Phoenix First Church of the Nazarene is located at 19201 N 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85027. Its office telephone is 623-516-2111 and its office email is officeadmin@phfcnaz.org. The church's shared pattern is one of worship on Sunday, discipleship through the week, care for children and older adults, food rescue on Thursday and service shaped by love, connection and transformation.