Leadership

leadership.jpgJacob's Well is a church governed by a community of elders and operated by a staff of people paid and unpaid.


Kelli Arrandale photo

Kelli Arrandale
Kelli is the Infant-2 Director as well as the administrator for the Kid's Community team. She is also working to implement security strategies to ensure our kids' safety. Kelli is married to Ted Arrandale and is the mother of Samuel (Sam I am) and Jack. She received a BA in Education from Kansas State University. Previously she has been a teacher, a swim coach and was on staff with Young Life for 4 years. Kelli loves to read, study, learn and communicate anything that comes her way, especially the ideas of grace and redemption in unlikely places and forms.

 

 

Ginger Broyles
Ginger is our administrator. She has a journalism degree from the Univ. of Tennessee in Knoxville and worked as an editor, copywriter and in sales before coming to work here in 2005. She oversees finances, human resources and the ongoing maintenance of the building. Ginger and husband, Mike, live in a beachy bungalow nearby and when they aren't watching movies or walking the dog, they are dreaming about Paris.

 

 

Mike Crawford photo
Mike Crawford
I'm the Worship/Arts Pastor here at Jacob's Well. I lead and arrange our musical worship teams and write many of the songs we sing here at Jacob's Well. I also facilitate the recording studio we have here at the church. We utilize the studio to record all sorts of bands and solo artists and to build relational bridges into the musical community that surrounds us in Westport. We also use the space to record some of the worship music we play here. You can check some of those songs out at myspace.com/mikecrawfordmusic. I have been playing music since I was in 5th grade and feel a deep sense of calling on my life to use music to connect people with God. I have been serving the Jacob's Well community since 2001.

I am married to Laura and together, we have 3 kids - Cole, Macyann and Georgia. My family is the joy of my life. I love spending time with all of them, hanging out at the pool, jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, taking nature hikes, going to the kids’ basketball games and piano recitals...

My personal interests are reading (poetry, fiction, theology), working out and (you guessed it) music. I love all kinds of music! Some of my favorites these days are...Thelonious Monk, Broken Social Scene, mewithoutyou, Hank Sr., Sigur Ros, The Beatles, Bobby Dylan, Spoon, The Smiths, Edith Piaf (or any 1940's WWII soundtrack music), Radiohead and on and on...



Laura Dondzila
Laura is the preschool director for the kids' community team. She joined the staff in 2008 and has also been responsible for administrative tasks as well. Laura is married to Andy and has two kids, Olivia and Gray. Laura has a Master's Degree in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis on Family Studies. She loves learning, reading, and hanging out with family and friends over delicious food.

 

 

Deth Im photo
Deth Im
I am the Pastor of Community Development, which means that I'm cultivating organic communities that live out our commitments of worship, creativity, learning, hospitality and justice. I do this by facilitating staff conversations and collaboration, by encouraging staff to engage their intuitive leadership and by resourcing staff as they gain new perspectives and tools.

I have a BA in Political Science and an MA in Theology and my professional experience has centered on organizational development, large and small group facilitation, instructional design, curriculum development and performance improvement strategies. Moreover, I'm passionate about issues that relate to diversity, urban social systems and youth development.

I am married to the love of my life, Mary and together we have three daughters, Imani, Verena, and Kairos.

I am the recipient of the meritorious COMIEL (Creating Opportunities for Multiple Intelligences and Experiential Learning) Award, which is a self awarded and self recognized honor that I annually bestow upon myself. Given the broad-based appeal and significance of this award, I am currently seeking to grow membership the COMIEL organization beyond one.

Tim Keel photo
Tim Keel
Tim is the founding pastor of Jacob's Well. He is married to Mimi and together they have three kids: Mabry, Annie, and Blaise. Tim received a BFA in Design from the University of Kansas and a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Tim is an avid reader and loves to learn, write, and teach. He is passionate about creating spaces for people to connect to God, themselves, others, and God's activity in the world. Tim is the author of Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Metaphor, Narrative, and Chaos.

 

Mimi Keel photo
Mimi Keel
Mimi is Director of the Kid's Community. She focuses on the spiritual formation of children and the development of resources that engage children holistically and creatively as they grow and learn to respond to God. Mimi is married to Tim and is the mother of Mabry, Annie, and Blaise. She received a Bachelors degree in Education from the University of Baylor. Previously, she has been a teacher and directed an urban tutoring ministry in Denver, CO, called Whiz Kids. Mimi loves being a mom and using her creativity and energy to help shape kids and families in the way of Jesus.

 

Philip Lesniewski photo
Philip Lesniewski
Philip is charged with directing social outreach and justice ministries. In this capacity, he leads teams to serve various people in need in our immediate and greater community. After graduating from Kansas State University with a degree in geography, Philip spent more than three years working as an environmental educator in Africa. He has also worked as a program manager in federal government and in the non-profit sector. He currently lives with his sporty wife Christine and their children in the historic Westside of Kansas City. He keeps in shape bicycling up and down Signal Hill in hopes of being called to represent the US National Cycling team at the next Olympics.

 

Charity Marrone photo
Charity Marrone
Charity's primary role on Children's Formation Staff is to create curriculum and prepare activities that guide each child's heart and mind by incorporating the multiple intelligences. She hopes the children of this community are inspired, to experience God's story in these sacred spaces which form the spirit from within. She earned her BS in Elementary Ed. and Health Ed. from Southwest Baptist University and completed a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on the Creative Arts in Learning through Lesley University.

Charity appreciates truth revealed through the heart of a child, the beauty of the broken and discarded becoming restored into New Creations, & a front porch life that she is happy to be sharing with her husband Pete and daughters- Adelaine, Sylvia, and Gweneth.

 

Beth Mercer photo
Beth Mercer
Beth is the Kairos Director, which involves activities such as planning Sundays with the Kairos Team, composing liturgies for special services, managing an extensive (and wonderful!) team of volunteers, and running random errands. She also assists Tim with his calendar, assembles the bulletin, and other tasks as needed. First arrived at Jacob’s Well in 2002, she’s been on staff since 2006 and is constantly amazed by getting to work with and for such genuine, good-hearted people. She’s a K-Stater and has a BA in Creative Writing. Fascinations include: reading a good book or watching a good movie again, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Jane Austen, Ireland & the UK, wandering outdoors, writing poetry & film scripts, taking photographs (mostly 35mm film), Sigur Rós, the Bourne movies, Coldplay, Sufjan Stevens, Waterdeep, the word “gloaming”, trees.



Shana Puckett
Here at Jacob’s Well, I am considered the Catalyst for Missional Formation. Yes, we are ALL still trying to figure out what that means. Primarily, I get to spend my time creating spaces for people to engage more deeply in what it means to be fully human through formative experiences of contemplation, dialogue, justice and living out the upside-down kingdom of God.

I bring to this endeavor a background in middle school and high school science education, urban core community health outreach, racial justice dialogue, and nonprofit start-up experience. I earned a BA in Biological Sciences & Secondary Education and an MA in Nonprofit Management, and I am particularly passionate about racial justice, women’s issues, and fully embodied spiritual life.

I am blessed to journey with the great loves of my life, my husband Cory and our three children Elly, Ryn, and Solomon. Those who know me know that I am personally beholden to an unbridled sense of curiosity. You can often find me climbing trees, having invigorating conversation, seeking another expansive countryside view, or exploring K.C.’s best kept secrets. If you area headed out, let me know, I am also especially fond of dancing.


Mike Russo
Hi, I'm Mike Russo the Youth Pastor at Jacobs Well. I'm not exactly sure what needs to be in a public bio about me so I'll just list what I know about myself.

1) My job here is to try and provide a learning environment matched with a dialogue about Christ to all the Youth (the word Youth referred to as 7th-12th graders) within or near the Jacob's Well Community. 2) I went to school for awhile got some degrees and worked in New York for little bit. 3) My passions are being with young people and growing, and hopefully those two things combine at points. 4) I enjoy music, reading, playing games, and I use to write running in this type of thing but I would probably stick that in my next section which is desires. 5) I desire to run more, be a better neighbor to Kansas City, be a more reliable friend, live life among this community, read some comics, one day play a video game that is fun but also teaches you how to work on cars, listen to more NPR, and get emails from people I don't know. 6) I'm sorry you had to read this, and if you did maybe you should send me information about yourself so I could know about you.

 

Micah Thomas photo
Micah Thomas
Micah is our part-time worship leader here at Jacob's Well. He has been on staff since September 2007. In December 2007 he graduated from The University Of Kansas with a B.S. in Accounting. Shortly thereafter he relocated to midtown and also began working for YouthFront--a non-profit youth ministry organization just down the road from Jacob's Well. Micah loves Kansas City barbecue, creating and recording music, playing outside, and exploring new places.

 

 

Shayne Wessel photo
Shayne Wessel
Hey! I’m one of the pastors here at Jacob’s Well and my chief role is cultivating life in our community through pastoral guidance, creating opportunities for spiritual formation and fellowship, and providing spiritual oversight and support for our congregational lay ministers, including Community Group leaders and Jacob’s Well Institute facilitators. When I’m not indulging my passion to help form and unveil the image of Christ in the members of our congregation, you might stumble across me hiding somewhere reading theology with a cup of strong coffee, talking about the Kingdom of God with other obsessed Jesus fanatics, or seeking out the experience of pretty much anything (legal) in it’s raw unobscured essence.

I share a home with my wife, Suzanne, where we join our sweet, contemplative five-year old daughter, Aurielle (Golden Lion), in an ongoing desperate effort to manage the chaos of raising our three-year old, Aurora (Golden Dawn). Don’t let her irresistible cuteness fool you… when you leave and it’s just us, she’s a force of nature. (By the way, if you've seen names like theirs in a children's book or movie, that is not where we got the names...)

I love getting to know the passions and giftings of our people, so please introduce yourself to me sometime and tell me what makes you tick and why you think God brought you to Jacob’s Well! I’ll warn you in advance that I’m in an ongoing process of gaining more social grace, so in the meantime you’ll have to excuse my idiosyncratic, random musings when you first get to know me; that’s just my eccentric attempt at small talk while I’m looking for a chance to make the conversation intense and/or completely non sequitur, so brace yourself!

 

Elders
The Elder Team is responsible for overall direction and governance at Jacob's Well. They oversee the pastoral staff, approve and monitor budgets, deal with problems as they arise and seek to anticipate and avoid them whenever possible, and most important, are responsible for the vision and direction of our church and its mission and values. Members are selected for spiritual, personal, and relational maturity, along with special gifts or skills needed by the team. The current elders are: