ABOUT US

Welcome to Clear River Church! We are a Bible based, non-denominational Christian Church in Lafayette, Indiana. We are multi-ethnic and multi-generational, made up of college students, young professionals, singles, married couples and families. Our Sunday service is casual and friendly with meaningful worship music, applicable teaching from the Bible, and a fun kids’ program.

Our Story

Clear River Church was first planted in 2006 by Tony Ranvestel along with a team of 13 people all from Champaign, IL. Tony had been pursuing a career as a Tropical Biologist but felt God asking him to give that up in 2002 and move to Lafayette, Indiana to start a new church.

Our first Sunday services began that October in the Morton Community Center in West Lafayette. In 2009, the overseers of Clear River located a more permanent home in Lafayette on 3rd Street a few blocks north of the courthouse, leasing and renovating an old auto body shop and office space. The church continued to grow into a diverse, vibrant group of people from all over the greater Lafayette area. In 2014, following the lead of the overseers, the church gave an offering to purchase a city block and build a new facility to make room for more people who want to learn about and follow Jesus, as well as making plans to begin planting other local churches, starting with Muncie, IN in 2015.

In 2015, Tony began to feel God asking him to once again plant a new church. In 2016, after much prayer and counsel, and with the support and affirmation of the overseers, Tony began the journey of planting a new church and former staff pastor Zach Miller was appointed the new lead pastor of Clear River. A team of around 45 adults and their children felt called with Tony to start Vida Springs Church in Gainesville, Florida. 

And then…

In only a few years, God began to move and make clear to both Zach Miller and the network overseers that another church would be planted from Clear River Church and that Zach Miller was to lead it. After much prayer and some time, it became evident to the overseers that the new church would be planted in the summer of 2020 in Blacksburg, Virginia, and that Jimmy Yo was being called by God to lead Clear River. Zach and a team of 35 adults ultimately moved to plant Ascent Church. 

It is difficult to continue to give away our dear friends and family, but we are excited and honored that God would allow us to be a part of planting new churches–that more people would know the love and saving grace of his son Jesus Christ.

WHY WE ARE CALLED CLEAR RIVER?

The Wabash River is a natural feature that has profoundly shaped these cities. It’s also known for how murky and brown it tends to be due to sediment in the water. While considering these things, Tony had these verses from the book of Revelation come to his mind...

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever...

Where these cities have a murky river, heaven will have a clear river (rendered “clear as crystal” in the NIV) where there’s regular fruitfulness, leaves that will be for the healing of the nations, and God’s presence will be satisfying and sufficient for all!

We named the church Clear River because this is the hope for all who follow Jesus!