It all began with an idea…
Encounter started as Windborne Church. A group of post-college students met with Pastor Merle Strangway for months, praying and planning and developing an idea of the type of community they were looking for.
What they had in common was a desire for missional communities. It began in the Spring of 2013 when 3 families got together to start a new church focused on loving God and loving our neighbors through serving them. We invited our friends and neighbors and soon had a group of 20 or more people involved in serving the needs of Whitehead Road Elementary School. We ate together in one another’s homes, discussed what the Bible had to say about our lives, and served our neighbors and the school. We provided meals for teachers, worked on playground improvements, and mentored children. We saw ourselves as a family on a mission to demonstrate the love of God.
Once the school developed a more active PTO, we moved on to serving the needs of international students and scholars at the University of Georgia. We found they loved to eat with us and they were eager to discuss the Bible. And we loved learning about their home culture and trying their food. Great friendships were developed. And over the next few years several of these students and scholars placed their faith in Jesus.
With the same desires for missional community, outreach, and encountering God’s presence, Pastor Mark picked up the mantle in January of 2024. With that transition, Windborne went through a re-visioning process and became Encounter Church in the summer of 2024. During that process, a Bible Study was started in Lavonia, GA and the desire soon developed for a church. A second campus for Encounter was added in Lavonia, GA which meets in the Hampton Inn and Suites.
While wanting to maintain our family and home connectional origins, the leadership team of the Athens campus also realized that we needed a more stable location in Athens that allowed for continued growth. So, Encounter moved into its new space in Athens in November of 2024. The space gives us improved access to the University of Georgia students and scholars while at the same time providing a coffee shop, children’s spaces, and a space for holding services to accommodate more growth.
Encounter is in the process of growing into all that God has called us to do and become. We are not perfect. We want to maintain our values and our intergenerational connections. We still have a lot to learn in the midst of change and transition, but we are excited about the journey that God is leading us on as we seek to encounter God and one another within community, and invite others to encounter God as well.