OUR PURPOSE

our vision                our mission

ECC began in 2003 in Southern Maryland as a dream planted by the calling of God in the heart of Dr. Wilson Morales. He was convinced that the Gospel can transform lives through an ENCOUNTER with God. A Spirit-Led Church with a community of believers committed to follow Jesus, bring forth the kingdom of God, and seek together the transformational power of the Holy Spirit.

Today we are blessed to see how lives are being changed and hearts are being compelled to love God and live a transformed life. Here is a basic summary of the Biblical beliefs that ECC upholds.

VISION

Our ministry is one that uses modern methods in order to reach a modern society that has redefined morality. Though our methods may be contemporary, we live by the unchanging principles found in the Bible, which we believe go beyond the influence of time and culture. Consequently, our vision statement reads as follows… “Encounter Christian Center is a 21st Century Church with a 1st Century message that gives purpose for living through an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ.”

CORE VALUES







Core values are truths we live by… They are the basis of our identity and culture as a local Church.

MISSION

The mission of Encounter Christian Center (ECC) is driven by a passion for transformational theology.  Our mission is to lead people into a relationship with God that will transform their mind and character to be centered in God not self, thus becoming a servant of others; therefore, we believe that Encounter Christian Center’s Missions is to…

Our   Beliefs

BIBLE

The Bible: We believe the Bible is Inspired by God, it declares His plan for humanity, and that it is written for today, as well as to those in the past (II Tim. 3:16:I Pet 2:2).

jesus christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary… that Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead.  That He ascended to heaven and lives eternally at the right hand of the Father as the Intercessor (John 3:16, Acts 4:12, 1 John 2:22,).

humanity

We believe humanity was created good and upright - for God said, "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness," "But man, by voluntary transgression fell and his only hope is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Gen. 1:26-31; 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-21).  Consequently, we believe in the “born-again” experience known as salvation (John 3:3-7, Acts 10:43) and that this experience is not earned but received by God’s grace through faith professed in the person of Jesus Christ and Him alone (John 14:6, Romans 5:15, 6:23).

future

We believe that in these uncertain times, the hope of the believer is found in the return of Jesus Christ for His Church as He promised in (1Thessalonians 4:15-18).

God

We believe in the one true God as revealed eternally existing in three persons; namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… otherwise known as the Trinity (Matthew 28:19, John 14; 16, 17).

holy spirit

We believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit and this infilling is the empowerment for service in the kingdom of Christ (Acts 2:4).  We believe that spiritual gifts are available to the body of Christ today and the practice of spiritual gifts is found in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12, Eph. 4, and Rom. 12).

church

We believe the Church is the body of Christ and that each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church (Eph. 1:22-23; 2:22; Heb. 12:23).  The Church has a five-fold purpose and calling according to the New Testament and that is to love the Lord completely, to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, to go and make disciples, to baptize them into the fellowship, and to teach them to obey (Matthew 22: 37-40, 28:19,20).

What We Practice

The Sacredness of Marriage
We believe that the institution of marriage was intended by God to be a permanent, lifelong relationship between a man and a woman, regardless of trials, sickness, financial reverses or emotional stresses that may ensue (Genesis 2:24).
The Culture of the Cross
We believe that the cross offers salvation to all people regardless of race, color, language, or national origin; hence, as a Church we believe in respecting all people and seeing them through the eyes of the Cross (Rev. 7:9).
The Church and Contemporary Society
We believe that God has ordained three basic institutions — the family, the church, and the government — for the benefit of all humankind. The family exists to propagate the race and to provide a safe and secure haven in which to nurture, teach and love the younger generation. The church exists to minister to individuals and families by sharing the love of God and the message of repentance and salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. The government exists to maintain cultural equilibrium and to provide a framework for social order (Romans 13:1-5).
The Sanctity of Life
We believe that human life is of inestimable worth and significance in all its dimensions, including the unborn, the aged, the widowed, the mentally handicapped, the physically challenged and every other condition in which humanness is expressed from conception to the grave (Jeremiah 1:5).
Stewardship of Life
We believe that the use of any substance that takes control of one’s life and eliminates the Lordship of Jesus Christ (e.g. an addiction) should be discouraged and avoided.  Consequently, we highly recommend abstinence of such in lieu of the potential negative influence and harm that it may render in one’s life (1 Cor. 6:19,20).
Stewardship of Resources
We believe that we are responsible for our life and how we live it… the Bible calls this Stewardship.  As stewards, we believe that we must manage our affairs properly and handle our finances in a responsible manner.  Consequently, we believe in tithing (10% of income) to the ministry of the Church (Matthew 23:23), we believe in seeking a debt-free lifestyle that gives freedom to respond in a benevolent fashion to those in need (Romans 13:8), and we believe that we are blessed by God in order to be a blessing to others.
The Role of Grace in Everyday Life
We believe that because all humans fail, sin, and make mistakes, that we are to be conduits of God’s grace in everything we do.  It is the active role of grace in everyday life that allows each of us to continue this walk of faith (2 Cor. 12:9).
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