OUR MISSION STATEMENT
We press Jesus deep in the hearts of students so the Gospel will take root in every corner of the world.
The Foundation
Encounter began in 1967 as a small group of students who had a desire to see God Move in a powerful way on ISU's campus.
With help from local churches, a campus minister was hired and a new parachurch ministry was born. In our early years, we were known as "Christian Collegians".
The college campus has proven to be a difficult place for churches to reach, and this new ministry served the unique purpose of living out the local church's mission to the college campus - an immense mission field sitting right in our backyard. In Bloomington-Normal alone, you'll find nearly 30,000 college students on three different campuses. What an incredible opportunity we have to influence our net generation of leaders!
Think of our ministry as a departure gate at an airport. We are a temporary place where students find themselves waiting, preparing for and anticipating what is coming next. In those few precious moments as they wait for their plane to leave, we have the opportunity to shape and deepen their faith and then send them on their way.
We want to plant and water seeds of faith during this crucial time of life as students are about to start new careers, begin new families, and grow their own areas of influence. These pivotal years are far too crucial for the Church to be absent. And our ministry is a tool shaped specifically to address that vacuum.
God Already Provided
In the spring of 2022, we reached out to the owners of the Campus Religious Center. The CRC is a building that faces one of the busiest streets through campus, is next to the largest residence halls, sits near the quad, library, student center, and Uptown Normal. This building is in the absolute heart of student life. There is truly no better location for college ministry in our town.
We found that the building was in a state of transition, through it wasn’t technically for sale. Several religious groups jointly owned the building and property. Some of those owners wanted to leave. Others wanted to stay. Over 14 months of conversation, we found a path that provided a positive way forward for all parties. This transition would require us trading our previous property and building, as well as paying nearly $400,000. In doing so, we would acquire a space over four times larger than our previous building, for a price tag below the property’s appraised value. This opportunity was a miraculous answer to prayer.
While this was an amazing opportunity, we did not have the funds available for such a large transition. God was faithful to answer. Through an expanding ministry offering from Eastview Christian Church which was then matched by a community donor, we were able to make this property transition 100% debt free! Our closing date was June 14, 2023. In one giant move, God erased one of our largest obstacles and gave us the space to make our prior dreams and prayers a reality.
With this incredible blessing also came some significant hurdles. The building at 210 W Mulberry has decades of deferred maintenance. Any remodeling requires asbestos abatement. The building was built without air-conditioning, and many of its spaces are not inviting for students to use in their current form. We knew for this to be a thriving ministry space, change was necessary.