About Us

Purpose

The Greater Lafayette Gospel Association exists to build unity and trust among local ministries and ministry leaders to influence our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are motivated by the prayer of Jesus:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. — John 17:20-23 NIV

If our Lord desired his followers to be united, how can we not strive toward that goal!

If the unity of Christ’s followers is the testimony of Christ’s mission, how can we not strive for that goal!

We are building a unified body of Christ in Greater Lafayette.

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Methods

We live our purpose in this threefold commitment:

• We PRAY. We intentionally gather ministry leaders together in prayer. We gather church laypeople together in prayer. We coordinate countywide efforts focused on prayer. United in agreement, we call on God with one voice that his kingdom would come and his will would be done in Tippecanoe County as it is in heaven (1 Samuel 12:23, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 18:19).

• We ENCOURAGE. We intentionally build relationships among ministry leaders for mutual support and for uniting our hearts. Leaders need other leaders. The church is healthier and more effective when leaders build each other up (1 Kings 19:3-4, Acts 11:25).

• We WORK TOGETHER. We submit our agendas to each other preferring church work that unifies rather than divides, and we intentionally create opportunities for churches and ministries to cooperate. If God chooses to move radically in our community, he will involve more than one local ministry. If God moves radically, he will glorify his son through the unity of his disciples. We’re simply positioning ourselves for that moment (John 17:22-23, 1 Corinthians 1:10).

Internal Culture

• In the GLGA we believe the call to unity in Philippians 2:1-5 applies not only to individual Christians within a local congregation but also, as it originally did, to Christians throughout an entire city. A city-wide work of God will require a city-wide Church. Regardless of affiliation, this Christ-like attitude of heart is the glue that governs our relationship to one another. We are in this together as we advance the kingdom of Christ in Tippecanoe County.

• We do not view each other as competitors, but wherever possible, we seek to build a biblical consensus among our members in response to matters that concern our community, churches, ministries and relationship to one another.

• We are interdenominational. We may differ on points of doctrine outside our Statement of Faith and vary widely in our worship styles and methodology in ministry, yet we desire to bless and build-up one another in our individual endeavors to advance the kingdom of Christ in Tippecanoe County.

• We are nonpolitical. We do not adhere to any political platform or ideology of any particular political party. However, we occasionally address community-affecting issues, publically communicating biblical convictions with the love of Jesus Christ.

• Participation in GLGA is voluntary, deferential and relational. We refuse to use GLGA primarily as a vehicle to promote our personal agendas and events. We choose to participate because we want to be identified with the work of the gospel in this community for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Therefore, as members of GLGA we agree with the Statement of Unity. We offer our financial support, our prayer support through participation in the Greater Lafayette Prayer Watch, and our personal support through consistent attendance at meetings and events.

Outside Cooperation

The Christian life is lived in the tension of being separate from the world yet engaging the world. It is the tension between holiness and incarnation, between social justice and moral purity. However, the same Lord who admonishes us to avoid “yoking” ourselves to unbelievers also reminds us that if others do not defame our Lord, their good works can be seen as complementary to our own. Finally, we remember that the Samaritan, not the Priest or Levite, was commended for his neighborly love despite his religious errors (2 Corinthians 6:14; 6:17; 7:1, Mark 9:39-41, James 1:27).

It is in this light, that we adopt the following statements of cooperation with agencies outside of the GLGA.

• We will occasionally engage in partnerships with organizations that are morally positive (serving a just and righteous cause) and either spiritually compatible (agreeing to our statement of faith), spiritually supportive (supporting the expression of our convictions), or spiritually neutral (ambivalent toward any spiritual perspective).

• GLGA will evaluate all partnering opportunities on a case-by-case and project-by-project basis.

• GLGA will not cooperate in projects led primarily by organizations that directly oppose our convictions.

Simply put, we believe that people of good faith can work with people of good will.

Community Impact

As a body of religious leaders in Tippecanoe county, we collectively see it as our responsibility to voice a biblical response to certain issues facing our community. Though we do not exist as a political entity and nothing here should be construed as the endorsement of any political agenda, we desire to help people understand what the Bible teaches on key issues. There may be debate among various Christian groups, but we are committed to the authority of the Bible as God’s written word and have sought to achieve consensus on what it teaches and how that teaching should apply to Christians today. Therefore, we have written a few statements which can be viewed by using the menu links above.