Stories at The Well
WELL STORIES
Planting With Purpose: The Way
Reaching Austin’s searching hearts with Christ’s steady way.
In the heart of Austin—a city buzzing with ambition, innovation, and constant change—Mitchell Johnson is doing something countercultural: slowing down, trusting God, and planting a church from the ground up.
After nearly a decade of college ministry and a journey marked by both hardship and calling, Mitchell is launching The Way Church in 2026 with a singular focus: to help every person find their way back to God. Though the path ahead is full of unknowns, his vision rests on a promise from Jesus:
“Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” — Matthew 6:26, 33
These verses from the Sermon on the Mount are more than comforting words to Mitchell—they are the very framework for everything he is building.
Mitchell’s call to church planting began as a whisper during his own college years at Texas Tech, and it never fully faded. After years of serving in ministry—and eventually moving to Austin in 2019 to lead a revitalization effort among college students—that quiet calling returned with urgency and clarity.
During a recent sabbatical, Mitchell sensed God stirring again. Not with a detailed strategy or a launch team, but with a fresh reminder of who provides. “The whole point of Matthew 6 is that we’re not in control,” Mitchell says. “That’s exactly how we’re approaching this plant—with open hands and a deep dependence on God’s provision.”
We’re planting The Way Church to reach people who may never walk into a traditional church building.
Austin is one of America’s fastest-growing cities, with more than 100 people moving in every day. It’s a hub for students, young professionals, and creatives—many of whom are spiritually open but disconnected from traditional church. But beneath the surface, Austin is also one of the loneliest cities in America. It’s a place of deep spiritual confusion and high rates of deconstruction.
Many feel burned out, lost in the constant pursuit of reinvention, trying to build the next big thing or chase the ideal version of themselves—only to end up exhausted and isolated. It’s a city full of questions—and ripe for a different kind of answer. Mitchell saw the gap—and the opportunity.
“We’re planting The Way Church to reach people who may never walk into a traditional building,” he says. “We’re bringing the church to them—into their dorms, their neighborhoods, their lives.”
Launching in Fall 2026, The Way will begin in Austin’s urban core, east of I-35, and aims to be a place of safety, spiritual formation, and authentic community. The name is a nod to the earliest followers of Jesus, who were known as “The Way” in the book of Acts. But it also points forward—to Jesus’ words in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” It is Mitchell's hope to see the name of Jesus brought to every high-rise, alleyway, and dorm room in Austin—and eventually to the ends of the earth.
The Way isn’t content to grow wide—it wants to grow deep and multiply. By 2030, the vision includes: 100 community groups scattered across the city, Domestic and international church planting teams, and a culture of discipleship where people are known, loved, and sent.
It's a church that is committed to forming saints, one life at a time.
But this kind of work doesn’t happen alone. The Way is looking for prayer partners, financial supporters, and core team members who are ready to plant themselves in the soil of Austin for the sake of the Gospel.
If you want to get involved, you can: Join the Luke 10:2 initiative by setting an alarm at 10:02 each day to ask the Lord to send laborers into the harvest.
Help sustain the early years of the church through financial generosity.
And if God is stirring your heart to reach students, artists, tech workers, or skeptics—this might be your moment to join the team.
Church planting is never easy. But as Mitchell Johnson steps into this new chapter, he does so with quiet confidence—not in himself, but in the One who clothes the lilies and feeds the birds.
And if Jesus can do that, He will surely provide all that’s needed to build The Way.
