
Sunday Services at 10:30 am EST
Who We Are
Welcome to Brantford Church of the Nazarene!
At BrantNaz we believe that church is three things...
Church is a Family: Being a part of BrantNaz is really about finding a family. We aren't perfect, but we do endeavour to encourage, support, love and pray for each other.
Church is a Training Centre: At BrantNaz our desire is to grow in our relationship with God. We seek to build our faith and devotion to Jesus as a community through teaching, worship, prayer, and small groups.
Church is a Mission: We are excited at BrantNaz to be a part of God’s plan to draw people to Himself and to make disciples. As part of the team we join together to serve, give, welcome and pray, and in doing so begin to discover God’s purpose for our lives.
And we believe that …
The church should be a place for everyone!
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The church should be a place for all generations: newborns to seniors and everyone in between.
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The church should be a place for people from every corner of the world: whether you were born in Canada or have just arrived here.
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The church should be a place for all walks of life: students, laborers, business people, professionals, or those finding their way.
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The church should be a place no matter your history: a privileged life or a difficult one, whether you are single or married, have family or not, whether you grew up in the church or this is your first time in a faith community.
At Brantford Church of the Nazarene we have all of the above!
God wants this to be a place where you feel you can belong!
Brantford Church of the Nazarene is also part of a wider church family.
The Church of the Nazarene is a world-wide evangelical church
Our Team

Andrew Brown
Lead Pastor
Andrew leads the charge at the Brantford Church of the Nazarene, helping us move forward in the goals and aspirations that we believe God has given us. He is responsible for facilitating new opportunities, empowering leaders and creating an environment of family, training and mission for everyone that God has called to our church. Passion: Andrew is passionate about creating a place where those “on the way to God” can explore and experience what it means to be a follower of Jesus. He loves seeing people come to faith and grow in their devotion and service to God. Personal: Andrew is grateful everyday for Paige, his partner in life and ministry. In his spare time, Andrew loves to play soccer (indoor and outdoor), workout at the gym, trail walk with Sadie (his Golden friend) and coach basketball. He is also a big fan of board games and takes every opportunity to get in a game when any of his 5 adult children come to visit. Fun Fact: Andrew was a physiotherapist and ran his own business for several years before entering into ministry on a part-time then full-time basis. His most regular advice now is “it looks fine, suck it up”, “ice it” or “if that makes it hurt, stop doing that”.

Pauline Wall
Executive Assistant
Pauline enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of our church by providing crucial administrative, organizational, and technical support to the Lead Pastor and ministry teams. She also takes the lead in various project management initiatives. Passion: Pauline is committed to nurturing the growth of our church community by implementing systems and processes that support God's work to reach our church family and the wider community. She loves to see people getting involved and broadening their faith walk. Personal: Since 2019, Pauline has embarked on a profound faith journey. Reflecting on her path, she is so thankful for God's guidance through diverse experiences, opening doors to great opportunities, and bringing significant people into her life. God's faithfulness is unwavering, always preparing Pauline for each step along the way including becoming a part of this beautiful church community. Fun Fact: Pauline loves outdoor activities and exploring God’s creations including hiking in the woods, bicycling on the trails, and kayaking down the river. Over a span of six years, she was an avid marathon runner, completing over 502 kilometers in races.

Sean Matheson
Associate Minister
Sean came on staff in July 2026 after completing a series of placements here at BrantNaz while working toward his Master of Divinity at McMaster Divinity College. While currently holding a Local Minister’s license, he is in the process of working toward becoming a fully ordained pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. In his current role, he assists the Lead Pastor in the task of making fully formed followers of Jesus by providing leadership over the church’s growing small group ministry as well as actively participating in the various preaching and teaching ministries of the church. Passion: Sean is passionate about introducing people to the life-changing message of Jesus! He loves “translating” the ancient teachings of Jesus into a 21st century context so that people can recognize the relevance of Jesus for their own time and place. Personal: Sean completed his MDiv at McMaster Divinity College after a very long journey of almost a decade in post-secondary education! And while he loves learning and has thoroughly enjoyed his time as a student (minus the student debt), he is extremely excited to begin the journey of pastoral ministry! In his free time he loves to hang out with friends and family, watch a good movie or TV show, and have his heart broken by the various southern Ontario sports teams that he has chosen to support. Fun Fact: While normally laid back and risk-averse, Sean loves a good thrill-seeker experience. Having once hung off the edge of the CN Tower, his bucket list includes wanting to ride the tallest rollercoaster in the world and jumping out of an airplane…with a parachute of course!

Brianna Bahlmann
Administrative Assistant
Bri brings a creative spark to our church, designing most of our graphics and visual materials. Working closely with Pastor Andrew and Pauline, she helps bring ideas to life, such as our calendars and sermon media. In the summer months, she also leads the charge for our KidZone Camp. Passion: Having discovered her faith through camp ministry, she is passionate about passing that experience forward. She believes in developing Kingdom leaders and fostering new skills through both work and volunteer opportunities—especially in ministries that nurture the next generation of believers. Personal: Originally from Orillia, Brianna found her way to our church community through a camp friend and is grateful for that every day. She enjoys exploring the local trail systems and embracing the beauty of God’s creation. In her spare time, she loves board game and movie nights with friends, as well as documenting life’s moments through writing and junk journaling. Fun Fact: Beyond her church role, Brianna is a program facilitator and ropes course technician. Whether leading hiking classes to waterfalls, running leadership courses, or scaling treetop challenge elements, she thrives in outdoor and experiential education.

Dianne Rizzo
Community Connections
Coordinator
Dianne orchestrates opportunities for connection within the church and in the community. She intentionally fosters a welcoming and inclusive environment at the Brantford Church of the Nazarene. She strives to ensure that every individual who connects with our church feels genuinely welcomed and quickly finds a sense of belonging within our community. Passion: Dianne has a heart to see people feel seen and heard, whether it is their first time in church or they have been attending for many years. She has a God-given gift of recalling people’s names and details about their lives. Above all she desires to be used by God in whatever way He calls her to and to bring glory to His name. Personal: Dianne doesn’t like pina coladas or being caught in the rain. She married the love of her life Dave two weeks after her high school graduation. She is an early riser and her greatest feelings of satisfaction comes from checking a task off her ever-growing to-do list. Going for nature walks and feeding chickadees from her hand with a friend is one of her happy places. Dianne and Dave have four adult children and can sometimes be seen spying on her grandchildren in Alberta over their video monitors. Fun Fact: Dianne taught herself to play guitar at the age of 40. In high school her favourite genres of music were 50’s and worship choruses. She was in a short-lived band with Pastor Andrew in the 1990s called Aliens and Strangers.
What We Believe
We believe in One eternal, all-powerful, holy God the creator of the universe who reveals himself to humankind as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe the Bible is God’s Word to us, communicating God's saving message and is our reliable authority in all matters related to faith and Christian living.
We believe our new life in Jesus Christ is the gateway to Transformation. This transformation is a lifelong process enabled by the Holy Spirit which culminates in heaven when we are fully conformed to the image of the son.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified, died and buried and on the third day rose from the grave. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and one day he will return again.
We believe that all humankind is born into the consequences of original Sin. As humans we struggle with sin (disobedience to God) which ultimately leads to death and eternal separation from God. BUT …
We believe the Church (global and local) are those that have declared Jesus as Lord and whose mission it is to tell the world the good news about Jesus and to make disciples of every nation.
The Holy Spirit is present and continually active in the world. He convinces humans of their sin and guides people to the truth of Jesus. He indwells believers; gifting and empowering them for service, and guiding them in life & holiness.
We believe the love and Grace of God is extended to every person through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. By faith we are enabled to turn from our own selfishness to trusting Jesus, whereby we experience new and eternal life, being freed from the old patterns of disobedience called sin.
CLICK HERE for a fuller (and more technical) description of the Articles of Faith for the Church of the Nazarene.