As the new pastor at The Encounter Church in Bainbridge, Scott Gibbs has a clear mission. "I want to try and help people connect to the one and only true living God through Jesus Christ," he shared. "I want people to know there is a God, and He wants to know you."

Scott's wife, Fran, added, "We want to be God's hands and feet to reach everybody in our community. God loves us all, and we want people to know that."

Scott officially became the pastor of the church, located at 221 N. Front St., Bainbridge, in January. Scott, who is from New York state, graduated from Lancaster Bible College with a bachelor's degree in Bible. He was ordained through Lancaster County Bible Church. Fran graduated from Pinebrook Junior College with a liberal arts degree in Bible and medical secretary.

Fran is originally from Lancaster County, so the pair was excited to return to the area - after living in Fulton County for 12 years - to head up the growing Encounter Church.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we had been looking for this opportunity for a few years," Scott shared. "We came here and interviewed, and we just felt the Spirit of God with us. We are excited to hop on board and see what the Lord does."

For Fran, the church's outlook fits perfectly with the couple's viewpoints.

"We feel it's a prayerful church, and we are prayer warriors," she said. "We agree with the vision to reach the lost and to disciple those who do know Jesus."

The biggest challenge facing the couple is the lack of a church building. The Encounter Church is currently meeting in a converted warehouse, but Scott and Fran would like to grow the congregation and look for a bigger, more permanent home.

"We are in a very nice facility, but the church needs to grow," Fran said. "We want to attract families and people who are looking to see God in their lives. We are on a faith journey to grow the church and to connect with more people."

The Encounter Church is an independent, nondenominational church. Sunday services are held at 10 a.m., preceded by prayer time at 9:30 a.m. Men's and women's groups are held throughout the month, as well as an evening prayer meeting and youth group on Wednesdays.

"We are a Bible preaching church," Scott said. "We preach the entirety of God's Word."

The couple has a mission of taking God's Word and applying it to today's world, Fran shared. "We pray as a body, and if you don't know how to pray, we teach you to pray," she said. "We want to help people get to know God and walk with Him in a relationship. We want people to continue to grow in that relationship."

Scott noted that being a smaller church provides a unique opportunity.

"We have the capability to connect and love a lot quicker," he said. "There's a closeness and collectiveness here. We are a very welcoming church."

Scott and Fran are the parents of two sons. They have nine grandchildren.

"We consider this our greatest accomplishment, to pass our legacy of faith to our children and grandchildren," Scott said.

He and Fran hope anyone seeking to experience a new church will come to The Encounter Church.

"We desire to find like-minded individuals ... brothers and sisters in Christ, who desire to be equipped and grow spiritually, and to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus to go into all the world and make disciples," Scott said. "So, if you are looking for solid biblical preaching, want to learn more about God/Jesus ... come visit us at The Encounter. We can build a legacy of faith in Jesus together."

For more information, visit http://encounter-connect.org.