Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church

F or the glory of Christ and the good of his kingdom - that's why we're here. This means our highest duty and greatest joy is worshipping our Creator and Redeemer. Nothing we are or do takes precedence over this truth: that we were created and redeemed in order to worship God.

But why are we here - why this church in this city? We're here because we're convinced that the city and the people of West Lafayette belong to their Creator God and that Christ has much glory to gain from expanding His kingdom here. West Lafayette is a college town of close to 30,000, a number which more than doubles during the academic year. It is a city steeped in intellectual prowess and pride - a city that, more than most, has incredible opportunities to reach the whole world. But it's also a city that lacks a clear, Biblical witness for the doctrines of grace.

While sometimes frustrated with certain prevailing sins, we love West Lafayette and want to see it brought into the service and worship of our King. We trust there are many of God's elect here and we pray He will use us to gather them into the kingdom. We also believe there are many who are longing for a church that proclaims and practices the Word of God with warmth and clarity and conviction.

Like you, our name tells part of our story.

Immanuel

Immanuel is one of Jesus' names and means "God with us." This is the heart of IRPC: by faith we are united to Christ and through Him, we are with God. Our union with Christ informs and powers everything we do - it's why we can worship God, it's how we can worship God. It's why we are so bold to call others to be with us, not because we are any wiser or stronger or more attractive than others, but because Christ is with us.

Reformed

Reformed is both about our history and our beliefs. Because of what we believe the Bible teaches, we gladly line up with the reformers and reformation of the 16th century. Most simply, being reformed means that everything we are, do and believe must be founded in God's Word and done for His glory alone.

Presbyterian

Presbyterian is about the structure of our church. Practically, it means our church is guided and led by a group of elders and overseen by a larger group of churches called a presbytery. We hate church politics as much as the next guy but we do love being Presbyterian. It means we are freed to follow Christ rather than any one man. It means we are protected from tyranny our elders and the presbytery that oversees them. And though never perfect, the leadership and care of our elders is a regular reminder and picture of our Good Shepherd.

Church

Church is a wonderfully loaded term. We are the body of Christ, those called from darkness into light, a city set on a hill, and so on. Perhaps it's easiest to simply say that we have been made a family by God and we seek to live the gospel we preach.

Like you, our name doesn't tell the whole story. If you take the bold step of visiting, you'll find an imperfect group of people, struggling to walk by faith, struggling to love each other with Jesus' love, struggling to show others that same love. We don't mind being weak because it lets Jesus shine through. You'll find a lot of little kids, who are some of our greatest blessings from God. You'll find a church family centered on the Bible-reading, studying, memorizing, singing and preaching it.

Here are things you should know about what we believe:

We believe the Bible is totally true and fully authoritative because it is God's Word.

We believe the Nicene Creed teaches well what the Bible reveals about God and salvation.

We are a confessional church. This means we submit ourselves to the Bible as the ultimate standard and also to the summaries of the Bible's truth in our confession, catechisms (larger, shorter) and testimony.

As a reformed church, we believe that salvation...

Is by the grace of God alone, given through Jesus Christ
Is through faith alone, not through anything we do
Is only found in Jesus Christ
Is wonderfully designed to give God all the glory
Is found and understood only in the Bible.

Pastor: Jared Olivetti

Our pastor, Jared Olivetti, was born in Dayton, Ohio and raised mostly in Indianapolis. He was baptized as an infant at Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian in Dayton and grew in faith from an early age. His parents and the church faithfully taught him how to walk with Christ throughout his childhood. While training at Purdue University to be a special education teacher, Jared became involved in the Navigators and through them grew in his passion to see men and women raised up as laborers for Christ's kingdom.

While teaching in junior high, Jared began praying about God's call to become a pastor. After seeking counsel, he began an internship with Pastor Dave Long of the Lafayette RPC and then entered the RP seminary in Pittsburgh. Upon graduation in 2004, he became the associate pastor of the Lafayette RPC. Two years later, he was sent out and installed as the church planting pastor of IRPC.

Jared and Lisa have five young children.

Elders: David Carr and Ben Larson

The Bible calls Jesus the Chief Shepherd of His flock, the church. Part of the way Jesus cares for His flock is through the elders, who are often appropriately nicknamed "undershepherds." The role of elders is to watch over the souls of God's people and to care for those souls as shepherds care for sheep. The main duties of the elders are simple: to protect God's people through prayer and to feed them with His Word.

Deacons: Eric Bibby, Nate Pfeiffer, and Ben Brame

In the early church, the office of deacon was established because no one could or should do everything in the church. To do and be everything God wants the church to be, the church needs those who can lead in the ministry of mercy and service. That is the mission of our deacons: to lead the congregation in the ministry of mercy which flows from the gospel. They are also responsible for how we act as stewards of God's resources.

Worship begins at 10:00 a.m. and usually lasts 75-90 minutes.

Read more about the flow and content of our worship under approach.

On Sunday evenings, we gather for a time of prayer, singing and classes for all ages.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m., we spend time singing and praying with and for each other during a time of family worship. Afterwards, we split up into classes for all ages and afterward enjoy a time of fellowship.

A nursery is available during all classes and services for children under three.

The Lord has recently blessed us with a new church building (map).

Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church
1893 E 600 N
West Lafayette, IN 47906

Nothing is more important to the church than worship. Worship is the reason God draws us to Himself and is the central, defining characteristic of His people.

The Pattern

When you come and worship with us, you might notice our worship is patterned on the gospel. We hear God's invitation through the call to worship. We accept the invitation through praise. We hear the Word of God and respond by repenting of our sins. After hearing God's promise of reconciliation, we respond with thanksgiving. God then ministers His Word to us through preaching-sometimes rebuking us, always encouraging us. We respond in faith by singing and praying. God continues to minister to us through the sacraments of communion and baptism. He then sends us out into His world to glorify Christ's name. Here is a sample order of worship.

The Singing

The other thing you'll surely notice is our singing. At Immanuel, we sing exclusively from the Psalms of the Bible and we sing without any musical instruments. There are a lot of things to say about these unique practices and we'd be more than glad to give you the long version. For a website though, here's the short, short version.

Why only Psalms? First, we believe it's what God wants us to do. Second, we absolutely love it. When we sing Psalms, we're singing God's Word, we're memorizing His Word, we're singing the songs that Jesus and the apostles sang and we're singing the only hymnbook the whole church can agree on. What could be better than that?

Why sing without instruments? Although it seems unusual, most of the church throughout history has recognized that instruments were an important part of the sacrificial system of Old Testament Israel. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus has perfectly fulfilled every nook and cranny of that sacrificial system. Thus, to use instruments in worship "would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law." (John Calvin)

In case you're wondering, we do love music and only hang up our guitars during worship.

Call to worship
Psalm of praise	Psalm 98A
Invocation
Scripture reading	Leviticus 25
Psalm of confession	Psalm 31A
Promise of reconciliation	Romans 10:9
Psalm of thanksgiving	Psalm 121A
Scripture reading	Habakkuk 2:4
Sermon	Live by faith
Prayer of commitment
Psalm of faith	Psalm 25A
Prayer of supplication
Tithes and offerings
Psalm of celebration	Psalm 3B
Benediction
Doxology	Psalm 72F