Jacob's Well Church gathers on West 42nd Street in Kansas City, Missouri, where two Sunday services at 9 and 11 a.m. anchor a congregation built around forming, living, and extending the life of God in Christ. From a sanctuary reached by a ramp and an elevator, the church welcomes neighbors from across the metro for worship, learning, and a long list of community partnerships that reach into the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, and a school community in Pokot, Kenya. The congregation's own shorthand - "a community of people following Jesus and learning to live in his ways" - shows up in the language of pastors, parents, and the elderly alike, and it shapes everything from an intergenerational fall choir to a monthly food distribution that volunteers lead alongside a Congolese farmer who sets up a stand in the parking lot on Sunday mornings.
Two Sunday Gatherings in the Sanctuary
Sunday is the center of life at Jacob's Well. Both the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. gatherings meet in the same sanctuary, and both are open to everyone. Preaching is shared by Senior Pastor Jessi Marcus and Teaching Pastor Tim Keel, and worship is led by Worship Pastor Mike Crawford, whose music is also recorded under the name Mike Crawford and His Secret Siblings and released on Apple Music and Spotify. The 9 a.m. gathering is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person; the recording remains available afterward with closed captioning, since the church does not yet provide ASL interpretation in the room.
At 11 a.m. the same kind of gathering meets a second time, and the youth programs join it. Middle School (grades 6 through 8) and the high school ministry, called "The Commons" (grades 9 through 12), both meet during the 11 a.m. gathering, giving families a single Sunday window to bring children, students, and adults together. Kids Community is offered at both hours, so a family with a kindergartener and a seventh grader can drop everyone off at 9 or 11 and share lunch after.
An intergenerational fall choir rehearses on Sundays between the two gatherings, from 10:20 to 11:00 a.m., and culminates in performances at both services in late November. The choir is open to adults, youth, and children in first grade and up, and no prior choral experience is required.
Kids Community, Birth through Fifth Grade
Kids Community serves children from birth through fifth grade at both Sunday gatherings, with check-in at kiosks on arrival. Each child receives a unique security sticker that helps volunteers direct families to the right classroom. The ministry organizes itself around three commitments: relationships that share God's love by knowing and caring for each child, God's Story that invites kids to imagine, wonder, and play in the biblical narrative, and spiritual practices that create space to pray, journal, serve, and worship.
Two weekly offerings extend the Sunday morning experience. Children's Choir is for first through fifth graders and meets on Sundays from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. in the 4th and 5th Grade room on the lower level, running from mid-September through Easter. Club 5.0 gathers 5th graders twice a month on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the 4th and 5th Grade room or out on the field near City Church when the weather allows. Vacation Bible School and a week of summer camp at Youthfront round out the year. A monthly family devotional called "Along the Way" is published to help parents carry the rhythms of Kids Community into the week.
Kids Community is led by Director Mimi Keel, with Lisa McLaughlin as Assistant Director, Jessica Cox coordinating the birth through age 3 classrooms, Jess Williams overseeing Pre-K and Kindergarten, and Laura Grable serving as Special Needs Coordinator.
Middle School and The Commons
Middle School ministry helps students navigate a season of rapid change through shared experiences, engaging dialogue, and an optional Confirmation class for eighth graders. The group meets every Sunday at 11 a.m. and on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Youth room. Fall and winter retreats are offered, along with a week of summer camp at Youthfront. Adam Cooper serves as Youth Pastor, with Kelly Garr as Middle School Coordinator.
High school students meet as "The Commons," a name that signals the ministry's commitment to connecting theology with the rhythms of ordinary life. The Commons gathers every Sunday at 11 a.m. and on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at City Church, one block east of Jacob's Well. Students practice the rhythms of communion with God, themselves, others, and the world around them. Fall and winter retreats anchor the school year, with an 11th and 12th grade spring retreat, Verge, and The Path as additional touch points. Dylan Aebersold serves as Pastor of High School and Young Adults, with Rylie Jackson as High School Girls Coordinator.
Young Adults, Ages 18 to 26
Jacob's Well describes young adulthood as "transition writ large," a season when worldviews, values, and the relationships that shape a life are still taking root. The Young Adult Community is offered as a courageous space to nurture beloved community and grow in a faith that is enfleshed in daily living. Through dialogue-centered discipleship, spiritual formation practices, and intergenerational mentorship, the group seeks to become more fully alive and transformed in Christ. The community meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Youth Room. Pastor Dylan Aebersold oversees the ministry.
Men, Women, and Small Groups
The Men's Ministry gathers online for Bible study every Tuesday morning from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., exploring key passages through a brief introduction, individual reading from select commentaries, small group discussion, and prayer. Every four to six weeks the men also gather in person for social and spiritual formation events, including bonfires, hikes, and museum field trips. Saturday morning Solitude Retreats are offered at the church once a quarter and are open to both men and women; Pastor Shayne Wessel leads them.
The Women's Ministry offers quarterly Bible studies, discussion groups, and book studies, with social events every six to eight weeks that range from game nights and brunches to museum field trips. A weekly time of prayerful reading and reflection called Women's Lectio Divina meets on Thursdays. Michelle Kratofil directs the ministry alongside her role as Hospitality Director.
Small Groups meet in homes throughout the Kansas City area from September through May, and members are asked to make a commitment to being an active participant in the life of their group. Shayne Wessel, Pastor of Prayer and Adult Ministries, oversees small groups.
Learning Together: Adult Sunday School, Institutes, and the Entwined Experience
Adult Sunday School meets every Sunday at 9 a.m. in the Youth room on the lower level. Each session opens with a brief introduction to the weekly passage, moves into individual time to read and reflect on a short commentary excerpt, and then gathers the group for discussion. No prior knowledge is required and no homework is assigned, so newcomers can drop in on any given Sunday.
Institutes are short, four- to six-week courses that center on spiritual formation. Classes and workshops explore a range of topics, from practical life skills to art techniques, poetry and writing sessions, and family-focused activities. Workshops meet for one or two sessions at a time.
The Entwined Experience is a four-week institute that the church describes as "an essential step into the Jacob's Well story, our core beliefs and life-giving foundation of our community." It is offered twice a year, in the spring and the fall, with registration opening one month before each session.
The Argentine Neighborhood and Local Partnerships
Jacob's Well concentrates its local justice initiatives in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, working alongside neighbors and several long-standing partners.
The Monthly Food Distribution, run in partnership with Youthfront, takes place every second Wednesday of the month from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the Franklin Center. Volunteers sort thousands of pounds of fresh food into boxes, place the boxes in neighbors' car trunks, and help with cleanup. The food distribution is described by the church as one of the most important outreach events of the month, and volunteers can stay for the entire event or just part of the time.
On Sundays from May through October, the church parking lot hosts a farmers market run by local farmer Gasaya Musekura, the owner of Congolese Family Farms and a graduate of New Roots, a training program that supports refugees, immigrants, and English language learner farmers in developing sustainable local farm businesses.
The Youthfront Neighborhood After-School Program welcomes New Stanley Elementary students to a place to explore, play, study, and learn. Volunteers can choose one day per week to serve for a semester or lead a one-time workshop. The program runs during the school year from September through April.
Each December, a Christmas Store in the Argentine neighborhood is offered in partnership with Youthfront Neighborhood. Donated items are sold at heavily discounted prices, and parents shop with their own money and choose their own gifts, a model the church has designed to preserve the dignity of parents while providing gifts for children in need. More than fifty families are served each year.
On the second Saturday of every month, volunteers from Jacob's Well serve at Avenue of Life ministries in KCK, an organization that walks alongside people from hand-outs in crisis, to hand-ups for those ready to rise above their circumstances, to hand-offs into community development.
Emily Rietema serves as Justice Coordinator and oversees these partnerships.
A Long Partnership in Pokot, Kenya
What began as a project to bring fresh water wells to a drought-stricken area of western Kenya has grown into a deep, ongoing connection with a community in Pokot. Today the partnership centers on supporting area students with a Jesus-centered education and a vision for a bright future, including funding for school fees, classroom construction, and student sponsorship.
Five Commitments and the Apostles' Creed
The church's identity, in its own words, is "a community of people following Jesus and learning to live in his ways." Out of that identity flows a calling to form, live, and extend the life of God in Christ. Forming means shaping identity in the image of Christ. Living means adopting the habits and practices of Jesus and his disciples. Extending means joining the Spirit in the creative, redemptive, and restorative work of the gospel in the world.
Five commitments shape the church's life: Worship, understood as a holistic way of living in Christ. Creativity, rooted in the belief that creative expression mirrors God's own nature. Learning, pursued as a lifelong journey that moves beyond information into faithfulness of mind, spirit, and body. Hospitality, which reaches out to a diverse community and makes space for people to explore the gospel. Justice, which engages the neighborhood, the city, and the world humbly and prayerfully, seeking to love neighbors in ways that embody the love of God.
Jacob's Well holds to the truths of the historic Christian faith as expressed in the Apostles' Creed, affirming God the Father Almighty, Jesus Christ his only Son, the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. The church also names additional convictions: that Scripture is the authoritative Word of God with one unifying message that Jesus Christ is Lord; that the church is the Body of Christ formed and empowered by the Spirit; that the world is God's good creation marred by sin; and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together for the salvation and healing of all peoples.
The Building, Weddings, and Funerals
The sanctuary at Jacob's Well is described as traditional and is also the setting for weddings and funerals, although both are reserved for members and their immediate families at this time. The sanctuary is reached by an elevator from the lower level, with accessible parking spaces in the west parking lot at 42nd and Genessee, a one-way street heading north. Once inside, guests can use the ramp at the entrance, take the elevator to the second floor, and proceed to the sanctuary. Accessible seating is available upon entering the sanctuary and provides ample room for mobility devices and companion seating.
A second-floor atrium serves as the gathering place for the quarterly New Attender Coffee and Connect, where newcomers can meet congregants and staff over coffee and homemade pastries and learn ways to deepen their connection at Jacob's Well.
Ways to Give and Pastoral Care
Financial gifts to Jacob's Well can be made online, by cash or check deposited in a giving box on Sunday morning, or by mail to the church's address. A team of pastors is available for prayer and pastoral care, and anyone in need can request a time of prayer through the church's online form.
Leadership
Jacob's Well is governed by an Elder Board that oversees the pastoral staff, approves and monitors the budget, and sets the vision and direction of the church. The Senior Leadership Team, which participates in monthly elder meetings, includes Jessi Marcus, Mike Crawford, and Kristen McClain, with Jessi and Mike also serving as voting members of the board.
The pastoral team includes Jessi Marcus as Senior Pastor, Tim Keel as Teaching Pastor, Mike Crawford as Worship Pastor, Shayne Wessel as Pastor of Prayer and Adult Ministries, Adam Cooper as Youth Pastor, and Dylan Aebersold as Pastor of High School and Young Adults. Mimi Keel leads Kids Community, Michelle Kratofil oversees hospitality and women's ministry, Jannele Mastin directs the creative team, and Emily Rietema coordinates justice initiatives. The Kids Community team also includes Lisa McLaughlin, Jessica Cox, Jess Williams, and Laura Grable, who serves as Special Needs Coordinator. Rylie Jackson and Kelly Garr coordinate high school girls and middle school respectively.