Stories at The Well
WELL STORIES
Where One Prayer Led
My wife and I became believers as teenagers, but not long after, we fell under the influence of a false prophet and spiritual mystic. For nearly nine years, we followed teachings that led us into fear, isolation, and spiritual confusion. When we finally began to see how far we had drifted from the truth, we prayed a simple prayer: “God, we thought we were serving You, but it’s clear we aren’t. How can we serve You?” We had no idea where that prayer would lead.
My wife and I became believers as teenagers but not long after, our lives took a sharp turn. We fell under the influence of a false prophet and spiritual mystic who preyed on young and immature believers. For nearly nine years, we followed false teachings that led us into fear, isolation, and spiritual confusion. Alongside a few other teenagers, we moved in with this woman where we were taught to prepare for a coming calamity by stockpiling food, water, and ammunition in order to one day build a compound in the Mojave Desert.
The goal was to separate from society and preserve ourselves from what we believed was coming. Over time, especially around the beginning of COVID, we started realizing how deeply misled we had been. The teachings became increasingly filled with conspiracy theories, syncretism, and spiritual manipulation. Through several painful events and growing conviction, we came to recognize that the spirit behind those teachings was not the Spirit of God and that we had gotten ourselves wrapped up in a cult.
In the middle of that confusion, we prayed a simple prayer:
“God, we thought we were serving You, but it’s clear we aren’t. How can we serve You?”
Not long after, we both felt the Lord leading us to leave Las Vegas. We had no plan, no destination, and no certainty about what came next. Still, we felt compelled to obey. We started selling furniture, boxing up our belongings, and preparing to leave before we even knew where we were going.
As we searched for possible places to move, we looked at cities across the Southwest before eventually landing on Austin. One thing had become clear to us: if we were going to start over, we needed to start with a healthy church. For nearly a decade, we had been isolated from biblical community, listening only to the teachings of one person. We knew we needed something different. There were financial obstacles too. At the time, I was working for the false prophet’s family business as a furniture mover, but I wasn’t receiving a paycheck. I was only allowed to keep tips while the rest of the money went into a “community chest” intended to fund the future compound.
But God began opening doors in unexpected ways.
Within a short period of time, I started getting paid. Clients gave unusually generous tips, and people we barely knew reached out saying they felt led to help us financially. Little by little, what once felt impossible suddenly felt attainable. God was making a way for us to leave Las Vegas behind.
When we finally settled on Austin, we started searching for churches and found The Well. The mission to exalt Jesus, disciple people, and send them out immediately stood out to us. After years of spiritual instability, it felt like fresh air. It felt like truth.
We didn’t have enough money to fully restart our lives. We only had enough to leave. So that’s what we did. We packed whatever could fit in our car, grabbed our dog, and drove to Austin. Three days later, we arrived on a Sunday morning, dropped our belongings at a motel, and headed straight to church.
From there, we were invited to the Domain Community Group. At the end of the gathering, prayer requests were shared, and we nervously explained our situation: “We just drove 1,200 miles to be part of this church. We have no family here, no friends, no jobs, and nowhere to live.” As we told our story, we broke down crying. For the first time, the weight of everything we had walked through finally caught up with us.
For the first time in our lives, we experienced a community where the name of Jesus was truly exalted and where people genuinely cared for one another. During our first few weeks in Austin, we lived out of a motel room while people from the church brought us food, water, encouragement, and prayer.
Within a week, we both had jobs. Within two weeks, we had a place to live. People helped furnish our apartment and provided clothes and other necessities. Through the kindness of the church, we saw the words of Matthew 25 come to life: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”
There was still healing to walk through, and therapy became an important part of that process. But the deepest transformation came through Jesus working through His people. Over the next five years, we were discipled in countless ordinary but meaningful ways through shared meals, coffee shop conversations, community groups, and simply doing life alongside faithful believers. God reshaped our understanding of Him, the Church, and what it means to follow Jesus.
God reshaped our understanding of Him, the Church, and what it means to follow Jesus.
In 2024, I was accepted into The Well’s residency program. During that season, I learned not only what ministry looks like, but also what it means to grow in faith and love. Staff members, friends, and church members invested deeply in both my wife and me, supporting us financially and continually encouraging us and pointing us back to Christ.
Now, after years of being poured into, we feel called to pour into others.
That is what has led us to join the core team for The Stone, a new church plant in Tampa. For the last four years, we have been praying about joining a church plant, and we believe this is where God is leading us. In many ways, it feels similar to when we first moved to Austin. Once again, the Lord is asking us to trust Him by stepping into an unfamiliar place with open hands and dependent hearts.
Tampa is a city filled with contrasts. It contains both great wealth and deep poverty, dense population and profound isolation. It is also incredibly diverse, home to many immigrants and people from a wide range of religious backgrounds.
The vision is for The Stone to be a bridge for the disconnected, a refuge for the hurting, and a place where people from every walk of life can encounter Jesus. A place where college students, professionals, families, skeptics, and seekers can all hear the same gospel and meet the same Savior.
As part of the core team, we’ll be helping lay the groundwork for the church before it officially launches. We’ll be serving, volunteering, building relationships, and helping establish the culture and mission of the church from the very beginning. The church is set to officially launch in 2027, and we’re excited to see what God will do in Tampa in the years ahead.
Looking back, it’s incredible to see how God has redeemed our story. Five years ago, we arrived in Austin broken, confused, and unsure of what came next. When we prayed a simple prayer asking God how we could serve him we never could have imagined where that prayer would lead us. What began as God rescuing us from deception became an invitation into His Church, His people, and ultimately His mission. We have seen the name of Jesus exalted. We have been discipled by faithful believers. And now, by God’s grace, we are being sent.
There were years when we felt trapped, confused, isolated, and unsure if things would ever change. There were moments when we didn’t know where we would live, how we would move forward, or what healing would even look like. But again and again, God proved Himself faithful through His people, His presence, and His grace.
Sometimes the Lord’s work in our lives happens slowly and quietly. Sometimes healing takes time. Sometimes obedience looks like taking one small step forward without knowing where the road leads. But God is faithful to meet us there. If you are walking through a hard season, don’t lose heart. Keep pressing into Jesus. Keep pursuing biblical community. Keep trusting that the God who began a good work in you will carry it to completion. No story is too broken for God to redeem.
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