Encounter Youth Podcast

In this message, Tim shares how Jesus called individual disciples to be a part of a radical community. We read the story of Saul and Ananias and committed to being a community that welcomes everyone into an encounter with Jesus!

Imagine being your own boss and making pretty good money just out of highschool! On the outside, Kephas was doing great in life and even with Jesus: serving at church and youth group, living in a great family. But inwardly? None of it was satisfying him. Eventually his journey came to a place of complete surrender and that's when he discovered that only one thing can truly satisfy our deepest...

In this message, Tim shares the foundation of what it means to be a disciple, or "apprentice", of Jesus. A disciple is someone who sees Jesus, who listen to His words, and patterns their life after Him. It's a tall order and completely impossible in our own strength and wisdom. This calling should drive us to prayer and committed community! Thank you for listening and we hope you are...

This message was Jake's last message to share as our youth pastor. After leading for Encounter Youth for seven years, Jake is stepping into the lead pastor role at Encounter Church. We're sad to see him go but excited for this next season in his life! This message is full of powerful reminders to stay connected to Jesus no matter what! If you live in the Solanco area, we'd love to see...

Ever wondered why we do what we do? I mean, is it just about 'getting to heaven'? If there's more to it, why should we be faithful and choose the narrow road of holiness? Especially if it could get us killed or at least left out? For Christians, 'why' is really about 'who'. Our reason for everything we do, from reading our Bibles to serving our neighbors, must be rooted...

What a beautiful word from Nat about recognizing that God speaks to us and that we can respond with simple obedience! We want to be a community who prioritizes Jesus in every day life, a community committed to listening His instruction both through Scripture and through the Holy Spirit. We're glad you could listen in! See you next week!

In this episode, Tim sits down with Hannah Weaver, one of our amazing worship leaders and small group leaders. Hannah grew up in Georgia and has a incredible story of pursuing Jesus from a young age. Though she was raised in a Christian home, she faced significant challenges and discovered God's incredible grace. We hope you wisdom, grace, and wonder through this story.

How do we practice faithfulness to Jesus online? One of most difficult things you and I face in pursuing God is the constant onslaught of online distraction. Whether it’s the content itself or the way we use the content to neglect pray, processing emotions, and real relationships, we need to examine our relationship with entertainment.   We pray that God will empower you to make choices that help...

In part 2 of our series on how to follow Jesus in a post-Christian culture, Tim explores the letter found in Jeremiah 29 and the story of Daniel. Through fearless faithfulness, Daniel engaged with the people and culture of Babylon without compromising even his prayer routine at the threat of death! That’s absolutely crazy!  Our prayer as a community is to become the kind of people who follow this...

How do we follow Jesus in a post-Christian culture? Whether you go to public school, work with non-Christians, have extended family members who aren't following Jesus, or just enjoy listening to music and watching movies, you've bumped into the fact the being a committed Christian is... well, awkward. If we are to stay faithful to Christ, we need to recognize that it isn't cool to be a...

Following our first messages on Romans 12, Jake zeros in on the practical side of what it means to be a part of the 'Jesus Revolution'. There's one word that describes how we should live: Love. But what is Jesus-style love? Is it just supporting other people's choices? Making them feel good? Or is it more than that? We hope you're encouraged through this messages and invite the...

This episode has a bit of a different style and I hope it gets you thinking! As I prepare for the summer series that we'll be teaching this summer at Encounter Youth, I thought it may be helpful to give some extra information for any deep thinkers out there. The book I reference is called "Faith For Exiles" and it's by David Kinnaman & Mark Matlock. There's so many fascin...

This message is part 1 of a 2 part series examining Romans ch 12. We believe Jesus is calling us both as individuals and as a community to live counter culturally and this passage of Scripture spells it out. You may want to crack up your Bible if you are listening in! If you'd like to come out in person, join us at Encounter Church on Wednesdays at 6:45pm!

This message was shared a couple weeks after a tragedy rocked our community. Through the story of Thomas, we leaned into God's deep desire to encounter those struggling with doubt, crushing disappointment, and grief. Instead of responding in anger or withholding himself, Jesus brought Thomas into one of the most significant encounters ever recorded. Our desire at Encounter Youth is to be a com...

Josie attended Encounter Youth for two years and just graduated high school. She shares her story with deep honesty and in hope that others will avoid some of the mistakes she made and choose to the follow the way of Jesus. In the midst of her brokenness, God met Josie and healed her. We believe he can do that for anyone. In Josie's words, "Please stop trying to fix yourself." As you...

Our very own David Stoltzfus shares his story of finding his identity in Christ. While not many of us have grown up in the the same setting as David, most of us know what it feels like to be left out, excluded, and bullied. It becomes incredibly difficult to hold onto the truth that God says about us when that happens, namely that we are precious and extremely valuable to him. As you listen to thi...