Jacob's Well is a place where people gather, share the stuff of life, recognize that it is all a gift from God, and take it to their lives, their worlds. If that's what a church is, then we are a church.
We are a new church for a new generation of people who have given up on the church. We are a church with God at its center, Jesus in its heart, but not 'managed' or contained. Jacob's Well is meant to be the power of God unleashed in the lives of people. That's you! And me. When Jesus said his last words to his followers - at least that are recorded in the Bible - he said, "Go, make disciples of all nations." But that doesn't just mean go be a missionary in some far away place. Jesus just wants us to "Go." Take what we have received, and live it. That's Jacob's Well.
You may be thinking, "That's great, but Jacob's Well came from somewhere, and is part of something, isn't it?" And we did and we are - and proud to be. We begin in September of 2006 and are a Lutheran Church, part of the ELCA, in fact (www.elca.org - check 'em out, but you won't find us listed there yet.) We are a gift of Bethlehem Lutheran Church on 4100 Lyndale Ave S, right here in our own neighborhood (www.bethlehem-church.org). Bethlehem is a great church. Growing, vibrant, traditional.
That's where Jacob's Well comes in, Bethlehem is a traditional, established church. It is a reflection of how healthy they are that Bethlehem realized that they aren't and can't be the right kind of church for everyone. They share our vision of helping people discover lifegiving relationships with God, but know that some people need a different form of the church than they can offer. Bethlehem gave birth to Spirit Garage about 9 years ago (www.spiritgarage.org) a great avant garde congregation focused on the uptown crowd - and now they've birthed us. And maybe, you!
Here's the skinny. Jacob's Well is a new kind of church. One that wants to be all about the movement of God's grace that we see through Jesus' love in our world. We want to be about that, not the institution. That's why no building. We are willing to be portable and on the move when we need to be to make it clear to us, to you, and to God that it's not about the building, but about the people. Our theology is the grace-filled, inclusiveness that the ELCA (that's Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) embraces, but freed up from the traditions that have - I hate to say it, but here goes - become obstacles for more people than they have become bridges for. I like to say that we are part of the ELCA-U. That's the ELCA-Unleashed. I'm proud to be part of a church body that is doing as much good in the world as the Lutheran Church is, and that is willing to take risks like Jacob's Well in order to discover what the church of the 21st century might look like.
Our office is at 48th & Chicago across from Turtle Bread, and we worship Sunday mornings @ 10:30 a.m. & 6 p.m. at Field Middle School, 4645 4th Ave S.
We have incredible children's ministry because they are as important as anyone. The children's ministry (The Pond 6 months-2 years, Splashville 2 & 3 year olds, H2O for 4-10 years old) is at the time as the gathering for youth and adults (Children are welcome in the adult gathering, by the way) because we know they need to worship and learn in ways that are age appropriate for them. We also know that many parents simply can't worship when they are busy managing their small kids. We periodically worship 'all together' as well.