our beliefs and values
Encounter Community Church is ultimately under the authority and direction of Jesus Christ. Through His lordship, we are governed by three levels of leadership. These levels strive to work together with one unified goal: to fulfill our God-given mission for this church. Members of our leadership team can be found right here.
OUR PASTORS & STAFF
Charged with casting and maintaining the vision by developing strategic planning that will help Encounter reach its full Kingdom potential. The Lead Pastor and staff serves as the executive leadership for the operations and function of Encounter as well as volunteer staff and leadership.
CHURCH BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
Encounter Community Church’s Board of Administration (CBA) exists to help keep the Lead Pastor accountable for the leadership of the Church. The CBA also exists to govern the church and to help the leadership fulfill its vision, mission, and direction with support & encouragement for each ministry leader and team.
MINISTRY LEADERSHIP TEAM
The Ministry Leadership Team (MLT) is comprised of all the ministry team leaders (paid and lay staff). They are responsible for creating, organizing and implementing all ministry team activities in coordination with the Lead Pastor and the mission and vision of Encounter.
Our Values
We Value:
Honest Conversation over Misleading Talk
We are a community that will value expressing the truth through trust, vulnerability, and being ok with our flaws. We believe that honesty coupled with truth is not misleading or manipulative.
Relational Accountability over Self-Righteousness
We are a community that will value an ongoing desire to want to learn more about God and the responsibility to constantly be praying about the next steps and opportunities God is awakening in ones life.
Intentional Positivity over Natural Negativity
We are a community that will value an outlook on life that is positive and uplifting which focuses on seeing God's grace even in the most difficult of situations
Biblical Truth over Personal Preference
We are a community that will lack excessive ego or personal status. We will value the contributions of others and share attention as well as emphasize the group over self; the collective over individual and the Bible as the final standard of truth.
Restorative GRace over Distorted Shame
We are a community that will value to heal and uplift, believing in the power of God’s forgiveness and redemption rather than condemnation.
Sacrificial Generosity over Individual Consumption
We are a community that will value a spirit and attitude of giving and resolve to help those in need when its within our capability.
Beliefs
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, only, infallible, inerrant, authoritative Word of God.
We believe in the One True God, the Sovereign, eternal Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternally existent in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
We believe God created mankind in His image. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own way. As a result, all of mankind became separated from God; the image of God in man was distorted; mankind became subject to the power of the devil; and the sinful nature was passed on to all their progeny. Because of original sin, unregenerate human beings are incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God. The only remedy for mankind's pitiful predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.
We believe that when a person exercises saving faith in Christ he passes, immediately, out of spiritual death into spiritual life and from the old creation into the new, a new nature and a new heart imparted; being justified freely by grace, he is accepted before the Father as Christ, His Son, is accepted and loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion linked to Christ and one with Christ—forever.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost—they who are saved unto the resurrection of life and they who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
To learn more about our in-depth beliefs regarding marriage, gender, sexuality, and culture, please click on our denomination link below.
We are affiliated with the Wesleyan Church and are located within the Great Lakes Region. To learn more about our denomination, including its mission, beliefs, and ministries, visit wesleyan.org.