Hey Family!

As we continue to regather as a church family in this season (praise the Lord!) and enter back into some normality, we know it can feel strange, like we don’t know each other. One of the things that have made The Well unique is our intentional striving to fight for community. However, after being distant for a year, so much of what we fought for can feel lost. It can feel like you don’t know anyone in the church…like there’s a bunch of strangers! Less like family, more like going to a family reunion and wondering if you’ve ever met that cousin before.

To some extent, this is true. So many of our deeply loved members have sadly moved, or we’ve multiplied in some unique ways and have new people. But in a significant way, we just haven’t been able to practice community fully as we’ve come to know and love as a church.

So I want to encourage you—whether you’ve been at The Well for years or only recently—fight for community! Make yourself known to others and make The Well a place where others can come in, feel loved, and welcome. Remember to both maintain community (it is easy to lose) and extend it to others. We’re praying that in this next season, we re-gain this piece of our church again. It may take a little time, but it is worth fighting for.

—Tory Mayo

Reunited and It Feels So Good

One of the best things that happened to our church family this past quarter is regathering again on Sundays for worship, the teaching of the Word, communion, and so much more!

We started searching for a place large enough to fit our church body back in the winter of 2020 and kept hitting dead ends month after month. It wasn’t until we connected with Westover Hills Church of Christ early in 2021 that we finally began to gain some traction—and their willingness and hospitality was a game-changer for us!

What a blessing it has been to partner with them in sharing their space, encouraging their members, and advancing their mission as well. The leadership at Westover generously and graciously opened up their space to us to start gathering, and our first official relaunch was on April 11, 2021.

After over an entire year of not being together regularly, we had almost 700 people show up for that first official Sunday at Westover!!

It’s been encouraging to see, hear, and love on our church family and experience community and relationships with you all in “real life,” as believers are encouraged to do.

We know the last year or so has been a challenge for many of us. Still, we hope that you have not only found strength and healing in the presence of other believers since we’ve started regathering but also joy and motivation to keep fighting for community through the thick and thin.

Now that we’re back to regular gatherings, we are excited to see how God uses the gifts and talents within our church body to build up one another! We want to make eternal differences in others’ lives and serve the city of Austin in more significant ways—and you help make that possible!

It’s been great getting back in the rhythm of gathering with the people of God!

He is Risen!

On April 4th, we gathered together for our last time outdoors at Mt. Sinai (for now) to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday! Not only did we get to rejoice because of what He accomplished on Easter, but we also celebrated new life in Christ through 5 people getting baptized, corporate worship, 35 child dedications, and welcomed 50 new Covenant Community Members. It was such a great time to celebrate the things that God has continued to do in us and through us, and also close the season of outdoor-only gatherings on a high note.

We also had a local news station, KXAN, hear about our outdoor Easter gathering and come out to spread the word about local churches in Austin beginning to regather again.

A Shepherd in the Valley

Even in the excitement of regathering together again, we wanted to slow down and recover from various wounds that may have been in our lives. Our Staff and Elders thought it was essential to find healing from this past year and from things that may have wounded us. From COVID to the political climate to the social environment laced with racism and unrest (amongst many other injustices happening), we thought it was vital that we give our people time and space to slow down.

Even now, as we wrap up this series, we pray that you have felt shepherded by the church family at large, and most importantly, by the True Shepherd.

Throughout this sermon series, we have had Psalm 23 read in 16 different languages!

Story Time with the Gardenhires

We had a new Story at The Well to share with you all this past quarter—meet Cale and Jessie Gardenhire and their amazing daughters Wren, Ruby, and Corrie.

Their story focuses on the Lord’s constant grace over the Gardenhires through the ups and downs of life, whether during difficult seasons like Ruby’s brain tumor diagnosis, or some joyous seasons, like moving and finding a new community in Austin. Regardless of the situation, what they’ve learned the most is how faithful God is and how He works through His people.

Do You Want Some Q&A in Your Coffee?

In the busy world that we live in, with packed schedules and short attention spans, our College Ministry has wasted no time expanding its discipleship into the digital space of social media. They started Coffee Shop Q&A, a recurring IGTV series full of practical advice from post-grads. They covered topics from the importance of the local church to singleness and dating to tips for discerning truth.

It’s been exciting to see how short, simple videos like these have been shared across social media, hopefully influencing these young adults with biblical truth to their relevant questions. You can check out these Coffee Shop Q&A videos by following The Well’s College Ministry on Instagram—search for @thewellaustin_college.

Third Sunday’s a Charm
Now that we’ve been getting back in the rhythm of gathering again, we were so excited to restart an old tradition here at The Well. Before COVID, we invited everyone out after church on the third Sunday of the month to have lunch and hang out. That was on pause for over a year, but this past quarter we started it back up and kicked off what we’re calling Third Sundays—a time to meet and connect with others at The Well intentionally. Third Sundays will be a recurring event, happening on the third Sunday of different months throughout the year.

This quarter, we specifically invited our first and second-time guests and our Covenant Members to launch this Third Sunday event, and we had a great time playing games, meeting new friends, and sharing about how God had brought us to The Well. Stay tuned to the upcoming Third Sundays in the future at thewellaustin.com/events!

CG x CG x CG = So Much Multiplication!
This past quarter, we’ve had a handful of new Community Groups (CGs) begin! Some multiplied out from other groups or formed on their own as believers from The Well bonded together during the pandemic to have Guided Gathering watch parties on Sundays so they didn’t feel so alone.

Since we’re a sending church with a heart to continually be sent out for the Kingdom, we see each new CG as one more way to prepare ourselves as a church body to send out church planters or missionaries in the future. It can be challenging for a group to multiply after growing so close over time. However, that’s a massive part of our DNA here at The Well and, we believe, the heartbeat of Christ for His people everywhere—to live on mission for others.

If you don’t have a Community Group to connect with and join in this mission, go to thewellaustin.com/community to find one.

Everyone, Meet Meg!
Since The Well and our Kid’s Ministry continues to grow, we were excited to hire a new Children’s Ministry Director this past quarter—Meg Southward! Meg has such a heart for introducing children to Jesus and we can’t wait to see how the Lord uses her to pour into the next generation.

We brought her and her husband, Ben, up on stage during a worship gathering to introduce them to the congregation, and you could tell it was a sweet time for them to be acknowledged and prayed over as they join the Staff Team.

You can learn more about her by checking out her bio on our leadership page at thewellaustin.com/team.

It’s Almost Planting Time!
Juhan and Christine Kim had their first meeting with the Core Team for their upcoming church plant, and they had a great time! If you ask Juhan, he’ll tell you it was led by the Spirit, very encouraging, and “freaking amazing!”—which is usually only language used when referring to his cooking skills.

It’s been exciting to see how God is hand-picking people to be sent out with the Kims as they go out beyond The Well to continue pushing back darkness in the city of Austin!

And this is just the beginning for them. Over the upcoming months, the Kims and their Core Team will begin preparing to be sent out to start the church plant in the new year. They already have finalized a location near the Domain, are working on culture statements and core values, and soon will have an official name!

We’re grateful to be a part of their story and partner with them to make much of Jesus, reproduce disciples, and impact the world—all for the glory of God!

Fostering a Heart for Others
Over the last few quarters, we have seen God grow the heart for foster care within several people at The Well! Some have held interest meetings, some have stepped up to become foster parents, and others have joined in to support these parents!

Children and families involved in the foster care system are experiencing the love of Jesus through our church community. A great example is Katie Rose, a single foster mom and one of our Covenant Members. She recently opened her home to a teenager in the foster care system, Jasmine, who then connected with Emily, who also attends The Well, from the CG Katie hosts in her home.

Through many different people showing intentionality and care, Jasmine decided to give her life to Jesus, and Emily got to baptize her! Because of the sacrifices of many at The Well, we have a new sister in Christ!

Disciple-Making 101
This past quarter, we’ve been able to see members at The Well dive into the deep end of disciple-making through our DMIs (Disciple-Making Intensives). These are two-and-a-half-month-long groups that have acted as learning grounds for sharing the gospel, introducing people to Christ, and providing a deeper and more missional-focused type of community.

If you’re interested in learning the importance of evangelism and how to make disciples in whatever area the Lord has you in, check out our upcoming fall DMIs starting in August at thewellaustin.com/events.

Short-Term Trip, Long-Term Impact
Due to COVID, it’s been a long time since we’ve sent out any mission trip teams, but we finally got to send out a short-term team to the Middle East! We see mission trips as some of the most critical steps toward our goal of planting 100 churches internationally in the first 50 years of our existence—so every trip matters! Not only can they be used by God to cast vision, expand calling, or reveal passions, but they are also a blessing to our local partner teams on the ground.

The team that we sent out to the Middle East came back, sharing incredible stories of evangelizing in the streets, praying with local church leaders, and even sharing a meal with a refugee family who has come to know Christ in a predominately Muslim nation.

We are hopeful as travel restrictions begin to open up because we want to send out even more people to push back darkness all around the world!

With the completion of the 3rd quarter of our church calendar year, it is encouraging to look back and see God’s amazing provision for The Well! We have been able to regather as a church through the generosity of Westover Hills, we have seen multiple people come to faith, experienced healing, celebrated new Covenant Members, welcomed new people to our staff team, and more!! As we sang during a recent worship service, God is so good!

We are also reminded of your faithful financial support. As highlighted in the financial update numbers on the next page, we had forecasted our giving to be $406,000, and the actual giving ended up totaling $426,000, representing an 18% increase over the same time period last year! This includes contributions of $28,000 made to the Acceleration Fund (designated fund to advance our vision), which now totals $169,000!

On the expense side, we had anticipated increased costs associated with regathering. While this did occur, with the ministry teams’ continued focus on faithful and mindful stewardship, the actual costs were 10% less than the budget ($386,792 budget vs. actuals of $347,578).

While this can be many numbers, they tell a powerful story of your trust and support to The Well. Through your financial partnership, we continue to be able to be generous with those who have reached out to us for help through our benevolence request form, increase the dollars to support our vision of church planting and missions, and further build reserves that will allow us to move quickly when we have the opportunity for a more permanent church home. All of this has taken place through your giving, trust in us as stewards of your finances, and obedience to the Lord!

We continue to be humbled by your faithfulness and know that this comes, at times, with making difficult decisions regarding your finances. As we finish the final quarter of our calendar year, we still have much work to do to advance our vision. We will need your continued prayers and partnership as we make much of Jesus and make Him known in Austin and around the world.