OUR STORY

Tallgrass at The Well began in May 2021 as a collaboration between two churches in Manhattan, KS: Tallgrass Community Church and The Well. Leading two smaller churches through the pandemic season had been exhausting and difficult for both leadership teams. So when Ben Deaver and Josh Siders (lead pastors of both churches) grabbed their semi-regular coffee together in late spring 2021, the question, "Could we be better together?", quickly became an idea: "Let's meet together for a couple Sunday mornings in May and see what God might do." Long story short, not only did we get a clear sense that God might be in this collaboration, but we continued to meet together through the summer. By fall 2021 we were ready to affirm that we definitely were better together and should get married/merged! On January 1, 2022, we officially approved our first joint budget and merged our financial systems. We and are eager to move forward through the fall of 2022 in a revisioning process as a church family. We'll discern together what our new unified vision and mission will be, including what we'd like to be called long-term. For now, Tallgrass at The Well conveys our unique identity as two churches that truly are better together! Why not join us for this exciting time as we discern the future together?

STAFF & ELDERS

Our Staff and Elders work together to lead the church and equip the saints (all believers!) for the works of ministry.  Tallgrass at The Well Staff are paid, enabling them to spend more time executing church operations and leadership development.  Our Elders serve similarly but for limited periods of time and are not paid.  Both Staff and Elders aspire to the qualifications for Elders listed in scripture.  Read more about Tallgrass's Elder Qualifications. Contact our Elder Team at any time at elders@tallgrassatthewell.church.

Ben Deaver

Co-Pastor, Elder

Josh Siders & Sarah Siders

Josh: Co-Pastor, Elder
Sarah: Outreach Pastor, Elder

Elisha Hillegeist

Family Pastor, Elder

Ron Goodman

Elder

Mike Salsbury

Elder

MISSION

"Tallgrass at The Well exists to build community together by inviting people into the Way of Jesus."

It all starts with God. With His initiative of love and redemption toward us. And everything we are and do flows out of that reality. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We love God and others, not in order to earn His love and acceptance, but because we already have it!  Because of the Good News that Jesus has already secured that for us through His work on the cross. So it's not about earning. It's about gratitude. It's not about religion. It's about relationship.

BELIEFS

Tallgrass at The Well is affiliated with The Wesleyan Church and affirms historic creeds like the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. We also affirm the 1974 Lausanne Covenant.

MEMBERSHIP

You don't have to be a member of Tallgrass at The Well to be a part of our church family. But we encourage those who want to plug in and call Tallgrass at The Well their home to become official members. This helps us get to know you better, communicate about our vision and ministry, and give you opportunities to speak in to church issues and develop and serve as a leader. As Tallgrass Church and The Well continue to work through our merger process, we'll be updating and clarifying this membership process.

In the meantime, for more about Tallgrass Church's view of and vision for membership, watch Ben Deaver's teaching on Membership in the Household of God. If you're interested in membership or want to ask questions, contact Ben at bendeaver@tallgrassatthewell.church. More information about Tallgrass leadership and membership can be found in the Constitution and Bylaws of Tallgrass Community Church.