By 2023, Steve and Rosie Young already had over 60 years of ministry experience between them, including planting and pastoring a church in Maine for 16 years. Steve had preached meetings in several different countries. They moved to Tennessee in 2018, quite sure that they would strictly be doing traveling ministry from that point forward. They liked the mild winters and summers in Mountain City and were willing to drive to Johnson City to go to church. After attending another church, they began attending His Presence Church (which has since moved to Jonesboro) soon after it started in 2021. One Wednesday night, Pastor Rex at HPC had a word from God for Steve and Rosie - that they would have an opportunity to do ministry that they would think wasn't something they would do, but it would be God's will. They sought the Lord about it and within days they knew that God's mandate for them was to plant a Spirit-led signs-and-wonders church in Mountain City.'
Since they lived in Johnson County (where Mountain City is), they realized the need for a church to train people to go out and do the works of Jesus, laying hands on the sick, taking authority over evil spirits, and proclaiming the grace of God and God's goodness instead of just the Ten Commandments and legalism.
The Youngs made arrangements with the American Legion in April 2023 and services began as unincorporated gatherings on Thursday nights at 7pm. People were healed and baptized with the Holy Spirit and they experienced the presence of God in a tangible way. Encounter God Church was incorporated as a Tennessee nonprofit on August 8, 2023 and was then registered with Johnson County. A board meeting was called in October 2023 to ratify legal documents, after which Encounter God Church began operating as a normal church (from a legal perspective only!). EGC's first Sunday service was held on October 22, 2023 with 23 people present. The church as a whole preferred meeting in the afternoon instead of the morning so that everyone could sleep in on Sunday morning, and the gathering time on Sunday is still 4pm at this writing.
Gifts to EGC, a recognized Tennessee nonprofit church corporation, are tax-deductible under the U. S. tax code. Although EGC has not yet applied for explicit 501(c)(3) recognition from the IRS, its founding documents recognize it as formed for purposes stated in U. S. tax code section 501(c)(3).