We’re a people taking deliberate steps towards the kind of community we know we can all become: full of vision, dreaming and expectation. We aim to treat people according to their destiny, not their history. That means this is a great church for those who do not yet know God in Sheffield, or who aren’t confident to navigate the ‘right’ way to ‘do church’ on a Sunday. Instead, you’ll receive a genuinely warm welcome and some good coffee.

When we considered opening a new church in 2015, we were a small community of friends of mixed ages who had journeyed together for a few years. We sat and thought about creating the kind of church and daily-experience of life that people would really want to be a part of. We hoped it would be an incredibly loving experience, and for that to happen our people would need to know that they are loved. Loved people love people. And we thought about how we would love to engage with the existing communities of our city and for our approach as a church to be servant-hearted. But the only thing that would really mark us out as different to any other community group or organisation in Sheffield would be the presence of God. We were clear we wanted the local church and the lives of our people to be known for the presence and power of God. This is what defines us. We have learnt along this journey that when you engage with God’s living presence, people will be drawn to you and you will be drawn to people.

So the journey to Open The Well began with prayer, painting (as we did-up our historic building) and parties. YES, WE STRONGLY BELIEVE IN FUN! We launched the church with a free community party in September 2015 (200 attended) and we’ve had a lot of street parties since! We love the opportunity our location gives us to join in with the city, whether that’s with markets or marathons!

At The Well, we don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we do understand the questions and want to help you in your search for meaning and purpose. At every Sunday gathering and throughout the week, we welcome folk of all ages and background who may never have been to a church, or who’ve been put-off/away from church for many years. All are having fresh encounters with God. Our experience has been that today’s generation longs for genuine relationship. You are drawn to family and you hunger for a tangible experience of the power and presence of God. Real, authentic relationships with God and others are a great starting point. The life of a Christian is about learning to listen to Jesus and doing exactly what we believe He says… sometimes that’s hard work and it needs the help of community around us, yet often it becomes more than you have dared to dream, ask or imagine.