Cornerstone Christian Fellowship members in Bloomington, Indiana, are facing decisions about board term limits and other organizational changes amid a dispute over which meetings and rules govern those decisions. Jo Fipps, a church whistleblower, questions whether two meetings recorded as approving bylaw changes actually took place. Pastor David Wigington, who founded the church in 1997, has lost his ministerial credentials; his attorney says Wigington is no longer in church leadership.
Questions About the Meetings and the Member Votes
Fipps alleged that Cornerstone leadership created minutes for two congregational meetings that may not have happened, according to The Roys Report. Minutes dated April 3, 2022, would have removed term limits for board members, the outlet reported. Fipps said he reviewed church bulletins and service videos from March 20, March 27 and April 3 and found no mention of a business meeting.
The purported April 2022 minutes also proposed removing a requirement that an Indiana District Assemblies of God official attend discussions about leaving the denomination, the report said. By contrast, Cornerstone announced a congregational business meeting for May 2022 at which Wigington said members would hear a financial update and elect board members; the announcement did not mention bylaw changes, according to the outlet.
A Second Disputed Meeting
Fipps also challenged minutes dated June 30, 2024, that were distributed to some members. He said that on the same date Wigington announced from the pulpit that about 25 congregants, mostly church leaders or core members, were traveling to Rwanda for a missions trip, and that Wigington would go to the airport after the service to join them. Fipps said he believed church leaders were trying to persuade congregants that potentially unpopular bylaw changes had already passed. In his view, the changes appeared intended to enable a quick departure from the district so Wigington could continue as pastor and would give the board and leadership unchecked power.
Cornerstone's bylaws require two weeks' advance notice for congregational meetings. Fipps also said that church service recordings from before September 2024 had been removed and that links to earlier bulletins were unavailable as of October 26, according to the same report.
The District's Response
Wigington's attorney, William Riley, told the outlet that the Indiana District asked Cornerstone to nullify the April 2022 and June 2024 meetings because proper notice had not been given. Riley said the church then reverted to the constitution and bylaws the district had on file.
What Denominational Rules Establish
The Indiana District Assemblies of God's Executive Presbytery adopted district-affiliated-church bylaws on April 25, 2022, according to the district document. Its existence does not establish that Cornerstone adopted those bylaws. The Assemblies of God's 2005 constitution says a pastor or board should invite district officers to a specially called meeting when an affiliated assembly considers ending its affiliation, so the officers can present the case for remaining affiliated, according to the Assemblies of God General Council. That provision does not establish which rules governed Cornerstone or the full rules for ministerial credentials.
Wigington's Credentials and Church Role
The Indiana District revoked Wigington's ministerial credentials in mid-October, making him ineligible to pastor an Assemblies of God church. He was still listed as Cornerstone's lead pastor on the church website as of November 12. Riley told the outlet that Wigington was no longer in church leadership as of the morning of November 13, and his name had since been removed from the site.
On October 25, David L. Wigington announced that the board had asked him to serve as interim pastor until a November 1 business meeting. The meeting was later delayed to November 15. Members were scheduled to elect board members and vote on changing board term limits, as well as on shortening the church's name—a request Cornerstone said came from its bank. An online church announcement said constitutional amendments and questions about denominational affiliation would be addressed at a later meeting. The Indiana Secretary of State had approved a change removing “Assemblies of God” from the church's official name on June 9, after Wigington filed the paperwork that month. Leaving the denomination could potentially allow Wigington to return to the pulpit, since the revoked credentials bar him from pastoring within the Assemblies of God.
Other Allegations and Fipps's Case
The governance dispute follows an earlier controversy involving Wigington. In a separate report from the same outlet published September 28, Cornerstone board member Gregory Lamar called accusations against Wigington “false allegations.” Lamar said the board had asked David and Shana Wigington to take time away from the church, emphasizing that “this is not a suspension or discipline.” Wigington has described the allegations as malicious lies and fabrications, according to the reporting.
Fipps himself now faces legal exposure tied to his whistleblowing: the Monroe County prosecutor charged him with computer trespass, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, and court records show he accepted a pretrial diversion agreement under which the case will be dismissed if he meets its conditions. The Assemblies of God national office directed the outlet to send questions about the matter to the Indiana District, which did not respond to the outlet's questions. The reporting on the phantom-meetings allegations, the credential revocation and the pending November 15 vote was authored by Ann Marie Shambaugh.
