Started over 50 years ago with a vision to see all people come into a relationship with
Jesus Christ.
We celebrate our rich heritage in Christ and we look forward to an even brighter future with you!
Encounter Church began as The Wayside Mission on Queen Street in the mid-1930s. Started by Keith Rimmer, there was a strong culture of evangelism in the city streets, discipleship and mission work in Auckland and beyond. Rimmer was a returned missionary with a heart for spreadingthe love of God. A large number of people were sent out on short and long-term missions. Jean Taylor served in Sudan and Nigeria for 24 years. To this day Denise Christie carries on the work in Colombia started by her and her late husband, Lindsay. In more recent history, Alan and Lynda Stephenson, later joined by Joanna Wamala, have had significant impact in Christian education in Tanzania. Short-term groups have travelled to places like the Pacific Islands, Cambodia, Colombia and all over New Zealand.
A huge part of doing life at our church is experiencing the transforming power of God through the Holy Spirit. This began during the Charismatic movement of the 1970s under the leadership of Owen and Lois Wagener. As the church started to grow, meetings were moved to Epsom Normal Primary School. The church was renamed Epsom Christian Fellowship.
Brent and Patricia Douglas were prayed in as Senior Leaders on 10th May 1983. Under their leadership, the church learned to move in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. In 1992, as the church grew, it moved again to Auckland Normal Intermediate.
In 1993 God’s power hit at a youth camp as part of a movement that became known as the Toronto Blessing. This was a defining season for Epsom Christian Fellowship as the Holy Spirit poured out healing, empowerment and refreshing. To keep the move of God active, the youth camp became an annual youth conference. This is what we know today as Breakthrough. At this time the church name changed to reflect what God was doing. We became Encounter Christian Centre: ‘Bringing People into a Dynamic Encounter with Jesus Christ’.
Brent Douglas began to lead pastors’ days and conferences to train and support leaders around New Zealand with moving in the Holy Spirit. Another outcome of this time was an increased focus on producing and recording music that carried the anointing. Several albums were produced. Our heart for worship and being led by the Holy Spirit are still defining aspects of who we are and how we support the Body of Christ as a whole.
In 2002, after meeting at Unitec Sports Stadium for a number of years, it was the right season to find a permanent church home. This began with the purchase of a building in Morningside Drive where offices were set up and midweek meetings were held. A few years later, that property was sold, and we purchased 495 Rosebank Rd. This building fulfilled a prophecy received 23 years earlier at the induction of Brent and Patricia. After extensive refitting, our first meeting was held at Rosebank Rd on Sunday 23rd April 2006. Since then we’ve counted it a real honour to have a place to call home where we can meet every week, house our offices and serve our community.
And finally, there are several churches that have come out of Encounter. Two church plants that are directly affiliated with us are Encounter Bream Bay and Encounter Levin. We love that they carry the vision of Encounter into their communities.
