Our Story
Our story is rooted in the groundbreaking exchange between the Samaritan woman and Jesus. Not only did they meet in the middle of the marketplace at a community well, they shattered gender norms and cultural expectations with one conversation — a conversation filled with honest, acceptance and vulnerable dialogue.
She went to the well to fetch drinking water. He went to the well to offer living water. She needed clarity on her past. He offered hope for her future. She longed to understand what could not be articulated. He provided a deep understanding beyond the spoken word. She had an evolving story. He had an eternal solution.
And then she shared her story with others.
We, too, have an evolving story. A story filled with hope, acceptance, grace and redemption. Our story invites the practice of belonging to foster worthiness, community to foster spiritual support, connection to foster collective inspiration, creativity to foster holy imagination and intercultural context to foster deepened impact.
We share this story, our story, with others.
Mission
A faith + wellness community designed to restore the mind, body, spirit and collective communal spaces through the power of living water.
We Dream
To know and to be known. To belong and to make room for belonging. When I know my name is etched in the fabric of the community.” This Here Flesh by Cole
We recognize high paced “rhythms” around us and offer counter cultural experiences (to) that we may relish sacred healing powers in communion, community and having all things in common.
With transparency, repentance and deep connection, we defy divisive conversations and destructive relational patterns. In exchange, we build intercultural tables for sharing and listening – every tongue, every tribe, every nation – to grow in spiritual maturity.
We journey to the foot of the cross to reflect and remember what the Holy One has done. We invite others to join this exploration of faith as we eagerly gather at the well to meet Jesus.
We thirst.
We long.
We sing.
We dance.
We submit.
We teach.
We pray.
We embrace diverse expressions and we worship.
Our dream has turned into reality. It’s time to get up and go ye therefore and teach all nations.
Join us.
Our Values
WE ARE
We are a faith and wellness community designed to restore mind, body, spirit and collective communal spaces through the power of living water.
WE BELIEVE
We believe our city yearns for a space that attends to their whole self, a body of people that meets them where they are, a way of life that integrates its complexities, with ease.
WE WANT
We want to demonstrate and prioritize the practice of holy listening, slowing down and offering the daily gift of presence to the sphere of influence.
WE PRAY
We pray to embody our Christian faith as reflected in our willingness and capacity to increase our love for God, self and others for the purpose of human flourishing.
WE HOPE
We hope to create anchors of eternal joy as we accept the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and implement this eternal vision of wholeness in Christ, at the foot of the cross, where everyone belongs..
Statement of
Faith
We believe in one God who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
We believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God (Matthew 3:16-17).
We believe Holy Spirit draws humankind into relationships with Jesus, offering a gift to every follower of Christ to guide, comfort, convict and welcome us into the family of God (John 4:16-18, Romans 8:14-16).
We believe the Old and New Testaments establish the Holy Scriptures and are the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Meet the Team
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Jimeka Jones Setzer, M.Div.
LEAD PASTOR
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Brian Rubin
TEACHING PASTOR
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Gabrielle Matlock
TEACHING PASTOR & UNITY DIRECTOR
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Kevin Loveridge
TEACHING PASTOR & COMMUNITY DIRECTOR
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Tarinna Olley
TEACHING PASTOR & WELLNESS DIRECTOR
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Christina Villalobos
GUEST EXPERIENCE LEADER
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Gene Setzer
MEDIA & STORYTELLING DIRECTOR
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Elizabeth Jackson
WORSHIP MINISTRY LEADER
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Ericka Symonette
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
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Princia Vas
PRAYER MINISTRY LEADER
Meet the
Founders
Gene and Jimeka were born in Washington, D.C., and reflect a familial heritage steeped in love, faith, music, and servant leadership. In the presence of family, friends, and a cloud of witnesses, they confirmed their union in 2004 and are the proud parents of a kind and creative daughter, Jahna Katherine.
About Gene
Media & Storytelling Director
Gene, a successful cinematographer, and storyteller is the owner of Reel Geneous Media. Gene also serves as the Media and Storytelling Director for Church at The Well. While this is his official title, he actually serves in a way that ensures what needs to be done.
While filmmaking is his passion, Gene’s first love is music. At the age of five, he started playing the drums in church and even performed with his father’s quartet group. Around the same age, Gene traveled with his maternal grandmother as she preached the gospel. One service, he recalls the moment she called him to the drums to play as she sang a hymn. Little did he know, the seeds of service were planted, and his grandmother’s prayers would hover over him for years to come.
About
Pastor Jimeka
Lead Pastor
Jimeka is a fourth generation preacher/pastor with her Great-Grandmother Lula Jones leading the way. She obtained her Master of Divinity degree from Howard University School as a third generation graduate, along with a Muslim-Christian Peacemaking Graduate Certificate from the Washington Theological Consortium. Jimeka remembers growing up in church and the role Elders played in her life. She witnessed their love for Christ and listened in awe as they proclaimed their faith during testimony service. They sang hymns without hymnals and prayed until words became moans and groans. One of her favorite quotes is by the late civil rights activist, Maya Angelou. “I come as one, but I stand as ten thousand.”
In 2022, Pastor Jimeka was officially commissioned as the pastor of the National Community Church Lincoln Campus, a historic milestone celebrated by the entire community. Later that year, the Lincoln Campus experienced a significant transformation, joining the National Community Church Dream Collective and leading to the creation of a new congregation, Church at the Well, which launched in 2023. This evolution underscores the dynamic and expanding nature of the church community and how the gospel continues to expand “to the ends of the earth.”
The Journey
Continues
As Gene and Pastor Jimeka prepare for what God has in store, they both recognize the need for more intentional spaces where faith + wellness exist together and a community where spiritual health and redemption thrive. Church at the Well is a solution to the dis-ease among us and within us and offers living water as an evangelistic tool to all who thirst.
