Conduit of God’s Love
When the Well Community was founded 20 years ago, it came out of a church outreach to the southern Oak Cliff area. Joel Pulis, his family and his friends at Cliff Temple Baptist Church saw the crying needs of those in their neighborhood living with chronic and severe mental illnesses. They believed that each of these adults was loved by God and that they and others were called to love them in his name.
Recognizing these spiritual as well as nutritional needs, they began a weekly worship service with an evening meal. As they formalized the outreach, the founders registered the Well Community as a church—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
So, from the very, very beginning, the Well has been faith-based—based on the faith that all people are made in the image of God, with God-given dignity, worth and capacity to love and be loved.
As the Well expanded its services, it became more than a church. It became a place to belong. It evolved into an organization that addresses the needs of the whole person—spiritual, physical, emotional, practical.
While we exclude no one living with mental health disorders, we intentionally provide services to support those who have a spiritual hunger and a desire to know God better. We do this through our Thursday Night Life worship services, daily Bible studies and semiannual spiritual retreats. We do this through praying with and for our members and connecting them to local churches that have a welcoming environment.
So many of our members value the spiritual aspect of our work. “I have been to a number of organizations that help people, but this is the only one that offers church, prayer and Bible study,” one member says. “I love when my friends here at the Well pray for me,” says another.
It’s a privilege and joy to be a conduit of God’s love and an incredible blessing to be a recipient of that same love expressed through our members.