ChCh

Our Story

A Fresh Encounter at The Well

The Well is a Wesleyan Church plant that will become the heart of a church multiplication movement across the entire South Island of New Zealand and beyond. As the Lord leads, we hope to be a catalyst for church multiplication throughout New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the South Pacific region.

The inspiration for the name “The Well” comes from John 4, the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. In this story, the sinful woman encounters Jesus and experiences His love firsthand. He transforms her life. In turn, she shares His love with her neighbors, and their lives are also transformed. From John 4 we learn:

    • The Well is a place where sinful people encounter Jesus.
    • The Well is a place where broken people are accepted and loved.
    • The Well is a place where transformation occurs.
    • The Well is a starting point. One life changed by Christ’s love leads to many lives changed.

By naming the church “The Well,” we acknowledge that we are not the Living Water but serve as a guide to point people toward Jesus, the true Living Water. Just like the well in John 4, we are committed to awakening the people of Christchurch to experience and express the depth of Jesus’ love because we are convinced that his love is the ultimate source of genuine transformation and hope.

Come experience a fresh encounter at the Well.

Our Vision

 

Our vision is seeing our city transformed through a community

of people devoted to loving God and loving others.

To see this vision become a reality, we will give of ourselves and our resources to awakening people to experience and express the depth of Christ’s love. 

This mission statement gives concrete direction to the ways in which we will work to make the vision become a reality while allowing freedom and variety for the ways in which Christ’s love is experienced and expressed. The natural outcome of an experience of Christ’s love is to give expression of that love to others. Experiencing and expressing are inseparably linked. The one fuels the other, and vice-versa. Anytime these are isolated from each other, a distortion of Christ’s call results. If the focus is solely on experiencing the love of Christ, the tendency is for a church to become inwardly focused on the needs of its members. On the other hand, if a church focuses solely on expressing the love of Christ, the tendency is for it to lose sight of the need for personal holiness, worship and transformation. Both are necessary for health and growth.

 

Our Mission

 

Our mission is awakening people to

experience & express the depth of Jesus’ love.

These terms (“experience” and “express”) parallel Christ’s commandment to love God and love others. Experiencing the love of Christ relates to loving God with all our hear, soul, mind and strength. Expressing the love of Christ to others relates to loving others as ourselves. Scripture further affirms the transforming power of Christ’s love and the call to express His love to the world:

    • Galatians 5:6b—“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
    • 1 Corinthians 16:14—“Do everything in love.”
    • John 13:34-35—“… the world will know that we are His disciples by our love.”
    • 1 John 4:19—“We love because he first loved us.”


The Team

Clint & Jamie Ussher

Both Clint and Jamie grew up in the Wesleyan Church, Clint in Australia and Jamie in the United States. They are both graduates of Indiana Wesleyan University, and Clint recently completed a Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary. Clint has 12 years of ministry experience serving in a variety of roles within the local church and has been an Itinerant Speaker with Kingdom Building Ministries for the past four years. Clint is a gifted communicator and a catalytic leader with a proven ability to develop, equip and unleash others in ministry.

Clint and Jamie have two daughters: Evee and Iris. As a family, they are on mission to help people experience and express the love of Christ. They are passionate about leading others to embrace Christ and the unique calling He has for their lives.

Logan & Emilie Hoffman

Logan and Emilie both grew up in the heartland of Indiana. They met while attending Indiana Wesleyan University, from which they both earned undergraduate degrees, Emilie in Nursing and Addictions Counseling, Logan in Religion and Philosophy. They were married on May 21, 2011. Emilie is working as a nurse while Logan finishes his Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and works part-time at a local church.

Logan and Emilie share a passion for seeing lives and communities transformed by the love and grace of God, and they desire to use their talents and passions to help see that transformation realized in others.

 

Get Involved

Pray with us

Join us as a prayer partner by subscribing to our newsletter. We’ll keep in touch and prayer for one another! Also, if you know of anyone else who might be encouraged to hear our stories, please let us know.

 

Online giving

We also invite you to partner with resources. Would you begin praying now to discern how God might be leading you to financially support The Well?

Ready to give? Click on the online giving button to enter the giving portal. First time partners should create an account by clicking on the “first time” link. All gifts are being received by Princeton Alliance Church and forwarded to The Well. Giving receipts will be provided by Princeton Alliance Church. Thank you!