August 22, 1944 – June 21, 1950 | Rev. Lewis I. Hudgins

June 1950 – September 1951 | Rev. Clark Lewis

September 1951 – 1956 | Rev. Lewis I. Hudgins

1956 – 1959 | Rev. Edgar Bibb

October 1, 1960 – June 8, 1963 | Rev. Orval L. Schmidt

1963 – 1969 | Rev. Eugene S. Morrell

May 31, 1969 – June 1, 1975 | Rev. Stephen R. Beals

February 3, 1975 – September 1, 1980 | Rev. Larry L. Hawn

September 1, 1980 – December 30, 1985 | Mr. Gary M. Thomas

January 5, 1986 – November 1, 1987 | Mr. Earl F. Brewer

October 4, 1987 – June 24, 2007 | Rev. Warren D. Johnson

June 1, 2007 – June 30, 2009 | Mr. Jeran Marchbanks

July 5, 2009 – June 29, 2014 | Rev. Bill Gartung

September 1, 2014 - May 26, 2024 | Rev. Dan Ward

June 16, 2024 – present | Revs. Keith & Bev Bateman

If you listen closely, you can still hear the call! GOLD!

Nome is the most famous gold rush town in Alaska and home of the last great gold stampede in the history of the American West.

Set at the tip of the Seward Peninsula, overlooking the Bering Sea, Nome is Alaska’s most exciting destination for independent adventurers. It’s about as far away as you can get in Alaska while still enjoying the conveniences of the modern world. It offers an incredible mix of Native culture, rugged Alaskan adventure, dramatic scenery, world-class sporting events, and rich history.

In the early 1900s, Nome drew people from all over the world to its shores. They are still coming today, especially in March for the finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and in late spring for the annual migration of dozens of bird species. Wildlife, like the muskoxen, can often be seen within minutes of picking up a rental car and fastening your seat belt.

The General Board of the Church of the Nazarene started mining in Nome, Alaska by sending the first missionaries to open the work in 1944. Rev. Lewis I. Hudgins arrived on August 22, 1944, and lived in the Wallace Hotel for thirteen days. Locating a lot on 3rd Street, he moved a 12x24 building onto it. Mrs. Hudgins and their daughter, Charlene, were welcomed home on September 11th. October 28, 1944, brought the purchase of the attached corner lot. Rev. Hudgins wrote, “This lot is centrally located, and we feel it is a direct answer to prayer.” This answer to prayer continues to serve as the ministry’s home today.

Prayer meetings were held in the home of Philip Asharuk until a miner’s cabin was moved into town in November 1944. The 16x20 building was remodeled into a suitable place of worship and the first service was held on Easter Sunday 1945 with 17 in attendance for Sunday School. The number gradually increased until the building was outgrown.

In August of 1945, an army mess hall was purchased. A 250-man was moved into town in sections. A 40-foot section of one end was pulled to town as the new church auditorium. Twenty feet from the other end was placed to the side and the buildings were leveled and blocked up for permanent use and joined together. Heavy step jacks were required to raise the building as the hydraulic jacks froze and would not operate in 20 degrees below zero weather and blowing wind. The remainder of the mess hall was taken apart in five-foot sections and hauled to town for the permanent parsonage building. The church building was completed, and the first service was the 1945 Christmas program. Dr. Hardy C. Powers organized the church on November 15, 1945.

During the construction of the present parsonage in 1946, Rev. Hudgins was seriously burned and required hospitalization for six weeks. Through the wonderful providence of God, the parsonage was enclosed before the first winter storm.

Then, in the winter of 1949-1950, a 24x60 Quonset was moved into town to serve as a fellowship hall. The first public gathering in the Quonset was a farewell party for the pastor and family. Rev. Hudgins postponed their leave for a year to coincide with Mrs. Hudgins’ sister, Dr. Orpha Speicher's furlough. On June 21, 1950, the Hudgins, including daughter Carolyn Mae and son Victor Lewis, left Nome for their furlough.

During the year of furlough, Rev. and Mrs. Clark Lewis, and their children Evelyn and John, came from Nazarene Theological Seminary to serve as pastor. They served well for fifteen months and were very appreciated.

In September 1951 the Hudgins returned for their second term. Rev. Hudgins wrote, “Before I got out of the car, I saw unfinished jobs awaiting me.” Later he reminisced “The past seven months seemed to deal out bodily misery [as the] most miserable months I have ever endured. In my meditation, I was reminded of the scripture, ‘The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Physically and spiritually, I was as with bonds and chains, held back because of a tired body.” Such is the toil and strain upon each succeeding missionary, as sooner or later it takes its toll in the Arctic. The Hudgins completed their second term of service, leaving monuments of property, a building, and adult and children’s work that remain today.

Rev. and Mrs. Edgar Bibb were the third missionaries, serving from 1956 through 1959. Rev. Bibb recorded many of those early days on film and remained a staunch supporter and help to the work in Nome. He delighted in the “glass house” end of the parsonage, growing all sorts of vegetables.

Unfortunately, the moisture from his glass house resulted in significant rot, and major remodeling was required in 1960. That end of the second story was remodeled into two bedrooms. Rev. and Mrs. Orval L. (Clara) Schmidt, and daughter Marilyn, served from October 1, 1960, through June 8, 1963.

For the next six years, Rev. and Mrs. Eugene S. (Merilee) Morrell, and their children LaGene, LeRoy, Lindon, Lorin, and Lorri made their home in Nome. These were good years for the church and Heaven’s population increased because of their labors. They also laid the plans and hopes for a new church building. The General Church received a gift of $10,000 as a seed for the building fund and in 1966 a new car was purchased with Approved Specials assistance. The parsonage received modern plumbing and a new kitchen and bathroom was added in 1967. In 1969, Merrilee Morrell was most honored to be chosen to write one of the Church of the Nazarene annual missionary reading books. It beautifully portrayed the Eskimo work. Nome Sweet Home was a whole book on Nome!

May 31, 1969, through June 1, 1975, brought Rev. and Mrs. Stephen R. (Carole) Beals, and their children Mark, Janell, and Dwayne, as the parsonage family. During these years the Lord blessed through upgrades to the church properties. The remainder of the parsonage was remodeled, an adjacent corner 50x90 lot was purchased, and a new sanctuary was constructed in 1969. Due to the cost, a planned fellowship hall and Sunday School rooms were not built. Rental properties present on the acquired lot guaranteed the loan payments.

Rev. and Mrs. Larry (Linda) Hahn pastored the church from 1975 until the summer of 1980. The people speak very highly of the Hahn’s and their ministry. Rev. Hahn rode with the police and ministered to people. Linda worked with the ladies and her ministry is still discussed. One Eskimo lady who was led to the Lord as a young girl by Mrs. Hahn remains a vital part of the church family. Others have moved on, but Heaven will reveal the fruits of the Hahn’s labors in Nome.

From the summer of 1980 until December of 1985, Rev. and Mrs. Gary (Carol) Thomas pastored. The Thomas’s were familiar with Alaska having lived in Kotzebue, Unalakleet, and on St. Lawrence Island in the village of Savoonga. Finances were tight during this time. The rental properties deteriorated, and it became increasingly difficult to rent to reliable tenants. The Thomas family was faithful, and people were won to the Lord. A good foundation was laid for the next pastor for Nome.

Warren and Betty Johnson met the Thomas family while attending Denver First Church of the Nazarene where they worked together with them in children’s church ministries. One Sunday the Thomas’s informed the Johnsons that they were moving to Savoonga, Alaska to teach school. At that time, Warren was working for Frontier Airlines, so he and his family visited them in March 1980. Shortly after that visit, the Thomas’s began their ministry in Nome and the Johnsons visited them many times over the next five years. Because of the Thomas’s work in Nome, the Johnsons were exposed to it and fell in love with it.

During the Johnsons’ visit in July 1984, Betty stated that she felt God wanted the Johnsons to move to Nome. Warren writes, “I was surprised since my wife was born and raised in Denver and I always considered her a ‘big city’ girl. We decided to pray about it since we both had good jobs and a new home in Aurora, Colorado.

“It didn’t take much because on the following day, Sunday, following church, Gary Thomas took us to the airport to catch our flight back to Denver. As I stepped from the payment (no jetways) to the step of the plane, God clearly spoke to me saying, ‘You are leaving to prepare to return.’ At that moment, all ties to Denver were severed. Betty and I cried as if we were leaving home as the plane climbed over the Bering Sea, leaving the gold-rush city of Nome behind. From then on, there was never any doubt that God wanted us in Nome.”

The Johnsons arrived in Denver and began telling their friends they were moving to Nome the next summer. Their house was put up for sale, furniture and cars were sold, and they applied for a “one-way” pass to Nome. They rented a truck and drove to Seattle where their few belongings were loaded into a “seavan” for shipment to Nome. They boarded a flight and arrived in Nome on July 3, 1985.

The first few weeks were spent with the Thomas’ in the parsonage until they could rent a trailer for a couple of months. Shortly, they found a nice apartment and Warren began driving a school bus while Betty secured a teaching position in October.

In December of 1985, Rev. and Mrs. Thomas resigned as pastor, and Rev. and Mrs. Earle F. (Pearl) Brewer were appointed to serve as the next pastor. The Brewers had been living in Nome, so the transition was easy. During the next year and nine months, the church grew. Rev. Brewer had a ranch in Idaho and left in the spring to plant crops. Warren Johnson had the opportunity to fill in during Rev. Brewer’s absence. Then, in the fall of 1987, Pearl began to have health problems that forced them to resign.

Warren shares “As a 16-year-old boy, growing up in Clearwater, Florida, I felt God calling me into the ministry in Alaska. I didn’t know much about Alaska except what I read in the “Alaska Sportsman” (now “Alaska”) magazine. I said yes to God and attended Bethany Nazarene College where I met my wife, Betty. In September, following the resignation of the Brewers, Rev. Roger Wegner, our District Superintendent (DS), called and asked if I would accept the pastorate of the Nome church. I promptly said ‘NO’ and went on to explain that not only were we losing our pastor, but Earle was our song leader and Pearl played the piano. My wife and I both know very little about music. I explained that we needed a strong Nazarene couple with musical ability as our pastor.

“Rev. Wegner said, ‘Warren, not everyone can come to Nome, you are there, you like it, and the people like you. Will you at least pray about it?’ I agreed and as I began to pray, God reminded me that I had said ‘Yes’ to His call 22 years ago. Here I was living in Alaska, and the DS was offering me a church. Did I really mean ‘Yes’?

“Wanting to be sure, I told Rev. Wegner that he could bring my name up to the church and, although he could just appoint me, I would like the church to vote, and I would go by their vote. I received a call Sunday after the meeting and the result was a unanimous ‘Yes.’ That vote began a new chapter of our life.”

In October of 1987, Rev. and Mrs. (Betty) Johnson, and their eleven-year-old son moved into the parsonage. They had no idea how long they would be there, leaving that up to God. He had called them to Nome and He would be the one to release them from that call. Before that release arrived, their son graduated from high school, attended Olivet Nazarene University (ONU), and returned to Alaska. He taught school for one year in Nome and two years in Noorvik, above the Arctic Circle. He then married an ONU classmate and taught in Buckland, a small village of about 450 Eskimo people on the north side of the Seward Peninsula.

God continued to bless the Johnsons’ ministry in Nome and it became their “home.” The other churches in Nome experienced two to four pastoral changes during their time of service.

The need for Sunday School rooms, a nursery, a fellowship hall, and a pastor’s study led to an unexpected building program. A huge project that Rev. Johnson never thought he would go through, resulted in a reminder from God that “we can’t do it, but if He can take a city boy from Florida and bring him to Nome, Alaska to pastor this church, then He can bring the people to build the building and the finances to pay for it.” Rev. Johnson wrote, “We are reminded that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so finances are no problem for God when it comes to building His church. God showed my wife and me a scripture that we have stood on during these 31-plus years of marriage. Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The Karmun Christian Education Center is one of the fruits of his labor.

Conditions can be harsh with the long days of darkness and cold temperatures taking their toll on many who come to Nome. God gave peace to the Johnsons as they knew they were where He wanted them to be. The Johnsons served until June 24, 2007.