Cultivate 1, 2, 3
Well, it is good to be here with you this morning. If you are a guest, welcome to The Well Community Church. You have come at the perfect time if this is your first time with us. We are in the middle of a series called Cultivate, which is doing two things. First, it is reminding those of us who have been around here for any number of weeks, months, or years of who we are as a church and who God is calling us to be. But it is also an invitation and an on-ramp for those of you who are guests to be exposed to the type of movement we feel God calling us to be.
I sat up front earlier to make some space because it was crowded this morning, and sitting up here, I got to hear you worship. There is just something about the body being the body—proclaiming the gospel together—that is so life-giving. I am really encouraged to be with you.
Discerning the Moving Cloud
We are entering into a week where we want to give you some specific details regarding where we are heading. But before we get into the nitty-gritty, I want to remind us of what Scripture tells us: many are the plans of a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.
Proverbs 19:21 (NASB)
Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.
One of the difficulties as leaders and as followers of Jesus is trying to discern where God is leading and then joining Him in whatever He is doing. It was what feels like a year and a half ago now when we made some announcements to you that we were getting crowded—not just with adults, but with kids and students—and that we needed to make some changes.
Back then, we referred to Numbers chapter 9. In context, the people of God have been led by Moses out of captivity and slavery in Egypt, and they are now in the desert. As they are in the desert, they are trying to figure out how to trust God and how to follow God. So God does something incredible: He gives them His own divine GPS. It was a cloud by day, which provided shade, and a pillar of fire by night, kind of like an old-school nightlight. God, in His grace, almost paternally gave His people what they needed.
Scripture tells us that whenever the cloud lifted over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would set out. Simply put: when the shade started to move, follow the shade. In the place where the cloud settled, there the sons of Israel would camp. At the command of the Lord they set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they camped.
Numbers 9:17-23 (NASB)
Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. At the command of the LORD the sons of Israel would set out, and at the command of the LORD they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped. Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the sons of Israel would keep the LORD’S charge and not set out. If sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the tabernacle, according to the command of the LORD they remained camped. Then according to the command of the LORD they set out. If sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would move out; or [if it remained] in the daytime and at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they did set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out; they kept the LORD’S charge, according to the command of the LORD through Moses.
Is there any question who is running things in that passage? Who is in charge? The Lord is in charge. The people, coming out of slavery in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, were trying to learn how to trust God and follow God. When God moved, they had the responsibility of following Him.
I would suggest to you that this Cultivate season is, in some ways, like us feeling the shade move and realizing we have to go. We cannot stay here. If we stay here, we are being disobedient to what God is so clearly doing.
Cultivate is by far, hands down, the most intentional, thoughtful, well-prepared, and diligently executed thing we have ever done in the history of our church. Those of you who know us know that we typically operate on “ready, fire, aim.” But this has been very methodical. It started in earnest back in May when I began meeting with people one-on-one, saying, “We as elders are sensing God doing this. What do you see?” And we heard a collective “yes and amen” from individuals. Then we opened it up to twenty-five different meal gatherings and shared what we sensed God doing, and we heard an affirmative “yes and amen.” Then we opened it up to five backyard events, inviting hundreds of people, and heard the collective “yes and amen.”
We have been doing all-church vision events, and what we have heard all the way through is this affirming “yes and amen.” We are continuing to follow the cloud as the Lord moves. We want to invite you into looking at this process through the lens of God’s leading, not the lens of what we are doing. We are trying to sense God’s moving and join Him in what He is doing.
Strengthening This Generation and Growing the Next
What is driving this process is the vision we talked about last week: strengthening this generation and growing the next into a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. This entire Cultivate journey is driven by a heart for proclaiming the gospel, anchored in Psalm 71.
Psalms 71:17-18 (NASB)
O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when [I am] old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to [this] generation, Your power to all who are to come.
It is about proclaiming Christ and saying we have an opportunity—and I would argue, a responsibility—to join God in strengthening this generation, growing the next, and declaring His power.
With that in mind, there are three primary goals in Cultivate. But before I get into the nuts and bolts, the question we asked is: how do you lead a capital campaign in a way that feels like us? Because I do not know any better way to say it than to just call it what it is: it is a capital campaign. But how do we do it in a way that aligns with who we are?
How many of you have been a part of a church capital campaign in the past? How many of you needed therapy when it was done? Often, the campaign begins to shape the culture instead of the culture shaping the campaign. Messages begin to change, and suddenly every sermon—even when it has nothing to do with money—magically becomes about giving. Instead of grace being the motivator, you get financial drive-by guiltings every week. The Well has always been a little outside the box, with a bit of a chip on our shoulder saying, “We don’t want to do it like that.”
So how do we do this authentically? The three goals of Cultivate show what that looks like.
Goal 1: First Fruits
The first goal of Cultivate is what we call First Fruits. Right off the bat, we are going to strategically reinvest $500,000 into gospel-centered initiatives in our community.
You might look at that and say, “Well, that doesn’t make any business sense at all. Why would you do a capital campaign and immediately give $500,000 away? That’s a terrible business decision.” To which I say: I agree! Good thing we are not a business. We exist to help people connect to God and to each other in every neighborhood. We are making a statement right off the bat: the first $500,000 that comes in will be strategically reinvested into ministry. If nothing beyond $500,000 comes in, this is what we would do.
We are committed to funding organizations over a three-year basis, including Safe Families, City Without Orphans, and the Central Valley Alliance for Orphans. We will support Made for Them, Breaking the Chains, and the Central Valley Justice Coalition in the fight against human trafficking. Just this last week, city representatives noted that human trafficking is an urgent crisis in Fresno, to the point where the city is announcing a dedicated task force. We have our pulse on the needs of our city.
On top of that, as a church, we take 10 percent of every regular tithe dollar and direct it toward missions. Over the three-year season of Cultivate, between the $500,000 First Fruits and our ongoing missions allocation of $1.5 million, we will make a total missions investment of $2,000,000 into our city and the world.
Some people have asked, “Wait a second—if you move down to fifty acres at the Smitcamp property, isn’t that like building a religious Disneyland? Shouldn’t those funds be stewarded in downtown or southwest Fresno where the needs are so profound?”
That is a fair question. In the short term, does a single dollar go further meeting acute relief needs in Southwest Fresno versus North Clovis? Absolutely. But we are playing the long game. By relocating and establishing a larger campus, we build a bigger ministry engine. The heart of helping people connect to God and to each other in every neighborhood is enhanced not just for three years, but for the next twenty years. Campuses are just facilities; you are the church. Where we meet has nothing to do with who we are, but a larger ministry engine allows us to be far more effective long-term in meeting the needs of our entire city.
Goal 2: Renovation of Fig Garden
The second goal is the renovation of our Fig Garden campus at Palm and Gettysburg. If you have never visited that campus, I want to ask you a favor: in the next couple of months, drive over there for a Sunday gathering. It is the same teaching, the same worship, the same church family—complete with pews, stained glass, and beautiful architecture. It is stunning.
We want to renovate that campus, specifically the children’s facility. Both the north and south kids’ wings are very dated. We are adding 7,000 square feet of kids’ space, which will nearly double the capacity we can minister to there.
This renovation is not about making things more comfortable for the people already attending. It is about reaching the surrounding neighborhood. There are approximately 7,500 kids living within a one-mile radius of that campus in the heart of Old Fig. The opportunity to reach those families is profound. We recently hired Alfonso Moreno as our Student Ministries Director there, alongside his wife Yasmin, to pour into those kids like never before.
We also want to expand our gospel impact to the Spanish-speaking community. Across our church, we hold ten gatherings a week—six at our current campus, and four at Fig Garden, including one in Español led by Pastor Joe Buitrago. In our community, Spanish speakers often encounter only charismatic or traditional cultural backgrounds, with very few Spanish-speaking, gospel-centered churches. Without advertising, nearly fifty people are gathering, and Joe is baptizing new believers.
Additionally, this renovation will expand our marital enrichment ministries like re:engage. My wife and I went through re:engage after being married for over twenty years. What I learned there is that if I draw a circle around myself and ask the Lord to change the mess inside that circle, that is where a healthy marriage begins. When we announced re:engage, it filled up instantly, creating a massive waiting list. The bottleneck is not leaders; it is square footage. Doubling our children’s space at Fig Garden gives us multi-use space to host more marriages, expanding re:engage capacity significantly.
Goal 3: Relocation to North Clovis
The third goal is relocation. We did not set out to acquire the Smitcamp property; it would have been arrogant to assume such a property was even available. God parted the Red Sea for us.
Rusty Carriker, Bill Smitcamp, and I were having lunch, looking over maps to see what land might exist in our area. Farmers know who owns what and who might sell one day. Rusty was pointing at various spots, and then he pointed straight at Bill’s family property and asked, “What about that?” I almost threw up from nervousness. I thought, Rusty, you’re going to get us killed! But Bill’s response was, “Boy, that’s interesting.”
As we dialogued with the family, we learned their heart has always been for that land to bless the community. When we shared the vision of using it for a church campus and community gathering space, they gave a collective thumbs-up.
We initially showed a fifty-acre master plan, which caused some people to panic that we were trying to build a mega-church overnight. The reality is, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Cultivate is Phase One, which focuses on developing fifteen acres at the corner of Clovis and Nees. We are keeping the historic home for community events, preserving the peaches along the perimeter, and keeping the cold storage facility.
Phase One will include two buildings designed around a central courtyard. Building A will be a multi-use double gymnasium facility seating 1,500 for weekend gatherings, while serving as a fantastic home for our student ministries throughout the week. Why build a multi-use space instead of an immediate sanctuary? Because when we moved into our current building, we grew by a thousand people in three weeks. We do not know how big a permanent sanctuary needs to be yet. Building multi-use space gets us moving without overbuilding or underbuilding. Building B will be a dedicated two-story kids’ building, giving us room to grow our children’s ministry.
Within a three-mile radius of that property, there are approximately 26,000 elementary, middle school, high school, and college students. The potential to reach the next generation is massive.
Furthermore, growing this engine allows us to invest deeper into underserved areas of Fresno. We recently brought on Brian King from Fresno Street Saints to serve as a neighborhood pastor on our staff. He will spend time with us while continuing his eighteen years of ministry in Southwest Fresno, serving as a bridge for our church to resource and serve that community.
This space will also serve community partners like FCA and Hume Lake. We are not building a private castle; we are building a tool for the kingdom across our entire city.
Right now, ministries like re:generation—our recovery and healing ministry—are bursting at the seams. We have nearly 400 people on Monday nights with twenty-five small groups. Our facility team was recently looking in the attic crawl space, wondering if they could put an EZ-Up tent on the roof by the air conditioners just to find room for another small group. When your toddler outgrows their clothes, you do not force them into a midriff; you buy new clothes. We have outgrown our clothes, and we need to make room.
Equal Sacrifice, Cheerful Generosity
To make this happen, we need to raise funds together. Scripture reminds us that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but He entrusts the stewardship of those resources to us.
Psalms 50:10 (NASB)
’For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.
The posture of our heart matters. The apostle Paul writes clearly about how we should approach giving.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NASB)
Each one [must do] just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
I want you to pray about your involvement in Cultivate and give whatever God puts on your heart. Whether that is a lot or a little, whether it is something or nothing, simply be obedient. The principle is not equal gifts; it is equal sacrifice. We do not expect anyone to put themselves into financial harm, but we are all invited to step out in faith and be stretched.
By God’s grace, our church is completely debt-free with strong financial health. Across our ten gatherings, we are setting a goal of $10 million over three years to fund First Fruits, the Fig Garden renovation, and Phase One relocation.
Mark your calendar for Sunday, October 21. We will not be gathering at our normal campuses. All ten gatherings are coming together for one unified outdoor gathering at the Fresno State Red Lot at Cedar and Barstow at 10:00 AM. We will worship, share a meal, have carnival games for the kids, and bring our commitments together.
Every person—kids, students, and adults—will bring their first financial gift and a three-year commitment above and beyond regular giving. Kids will bring baby bottles filled with coins and dollars because we want them empowered, not entitled. Students can babysit or mow lawns. We will step out together in faith.
Planting a Tamarisk Tree
Ultimately, we are trying to cultivate faithfulness, not just finances. We want to follow God where the cloud is leading.
Consider Genesis chapter 21. Abraham journeys to Beersheba, digs a well, and plants a tamarisk tree.
Genesis 21:33 (NASB)
[Abraham] planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
The tamarisk tree grows slowly in desert soil, producing dense shade and cooling the air. Abraham did not go down to a garden center to buy a full-grown tree to sit under that afternoon; he planted a seed.
Who did Abraham plant that tree for? He planted it for his children, his grandchildren, and generations he would never meet. He planted shade he would never sit under.
In this Cultivate season, we are inviting you to join us in planting our own tamarisk tree. Through First Fruits, renovation, and relocation, we are planting seeds of gospel faithfulness. We will enjoy some of the shade today, but the primary beneficiaries will be the kids, grandkids, and neighbors who come after us. By the grace of God, let us leave a legacy of gospel-centered influence for generations to come.
Let’s pray.
Father in heaven, we are grateful for the invitation to be part of this season in the life of our church. Lord, as we follow You, meet our apprehension with Your peace. Would You resource what You have called us to build? Would You surprise us beyond what we could ask or imagine? May everything we do through First Fruits, renovation, and relocation bring glory to Your name and draw people to Jesus. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.