Info & History
|Info & History| |Trustees & Supporting Churches| |Staff & Team| |Statement Of Faith|
About Us
Encounter is a movement for change in Eastbourne and Seaford. We believe that investing in the rising generation is the best way to secure the future. We believe the spiritual development of children and young people matters. We believe that children and young people have a natural spiritual awareness. Children are inquisitive, curious and open. Teenagers are questioning sceptically and searching. We want to give all the young people of Eastbourne and Seaford the opportunity to explore the ancient wisdom of Christianity that has so impacted our own culture and the world for centuries. We want each young person to understand clearly what Christianity is about, what being a Christian means and what Christian community is like. Our staff and volunteers are gifted at communicating with large groups, small groups and one to one. They bring enthusiasm, fun, thoughtfulness and commitment. We are welcomed in most of the secondary schools and many of the primary schools in the area. We are supported by and work closely with a range of churches in Eastbourne and Seaford.
Churches United
The heart of the work are local churches working in partnership, serving the schools of Eastbourne and Seaford. A church can become a partner by agreeing to the aims of Encounter and paying a minimum annual sum. Each partner church appoints one or two representatives onto a management committee who in turn appoint trustees. The trustees are also directors of the company responsible to the Charity Commission and Companies House for the affairs of Encounter. The registered name of the charity is ‘Scripture Union Schools Work, Eastbourne’. The charity number is 1104041. The working name is Encounter. Trustees meet with senior staff and with the management committee several times each year to oversee the work of Encounter. The Chair and Director keep in touch regularly. Encounter has paid staff, gap year volunteers and many local volunteers.
A brief history
Encounter began in the late eighties. Hard pressed teachers who ran voluntary Christian groups in Eastbourne secondary schools approached the churches of Eastbourne to ask if they could fund a worker to support them in their work. The response was positive. A local charity was set up and an association with Scripture Union was established. Scripture Union has a long and respected history of working with children and young people, especially in schools. The charity was first called ‘Scripture Union Schools Work, Eastbourne’ (‘SUSWE’). The first part time worker was appointed from 1990 – 1993. A foundation was laid not only to support voluntary school based Christian groups but also to contribute to Collective Worship, RE lessons and other curriculum areas, run house parties and camps and arrange out of school events. Volunteers were recruited from a variety of churches. Many churches began to employ youth workers who would partner with Encounter (SUSWE) in the schools. An important step was the forming of prayer groups, one for each school. Parents, teachers, grandparents and others would join together to pray about the needs of a school. Over the years the work has grown and continued to expand with the ambitious aim of ensuring that every young person under the age of 18 in the Eastbourne and Seaford area has the opportunity to hear and understand the Christian message and, should they wish, to learn to follow Jesus in their daily lives with the help and encouragement of a local Christian community. SUSWE changed its working name to ‘Encounter’ in 2004.
Encounter is a movement for change in Eastbourne and Seaford. We believe that investing in the rising generation is the best way to secure the future. We believe the spiritual development of children and young people matters. We believe that children and young people have a natural spiritual awareness. Children are inquisitive, curious and open. Teenagers are questioning sceptically and searching. We want to give all the young people of Eastbourne and Seaford the opportunity to explore the ancient wisdom of Christianity that has so impacted our own culture and the world for centuries. We want each young person to understand clearly what Christianity is about, what being a Christian means and what Christian community is like. Our staff and volunteers are gifted at communicating with large groups, small groups and one to one. They bring enthusiasm, fun, thoughtfulness and commitment. We are welcomed in most of the secondary schools and many of the primary schools in the area. We are supported by and work closely with a range of churches in Eastbourne and Seaford.
Churches United
The heart of the work are local churches working in partnership, serving the schools of Eastbourne and Seaford. A church can become a partner by agreeing to the aims of Encounter and paying a minimum annual sum. Each partner church appoints one or two representatives onto a management committee who in turn appoint trustees. The trustees are also directors of the company responsible to the Charity Commission and Companies House for the affairs of Encounter. The registered name of the charity is ‘Scripture Union Schools Work, Eastbourne’. The charity number is 1104041. The working name is Encounter. Trustees meet with senior staff and with the management committee several times each year to oversee the work of Encounter. The Chair and Director keep in touch regularly. Encounter has paid staff, gap year volunteers and many local volunteers.
A brief history
Encounter began in the late eighties. Hard pressed teachers who ran voluntary Christian groups in Eastbourne secondary schools approached the churches of Eastbourne to ask if they could fund a worker to support them in their work. The response was positive. A local charity was set up and an association with Scripture Union was established. Scripture Union has a long and respected history of working with children and young people, especially in schools. The charity was first called ‘Scripture Union Schools Work, Eastbourne’ (‘SUSWE’). The first part time worker was appointed from 1990 – 1993. A foundation was laid not only to support voluntary school based Christian groups but also to contribute to Collective Worship, RE lessons and other curriculum areas, run house parties and camps and arrange out of school events. Volunteers were recruited from a variety of churches. Many churches began to employ youth workers who would partner with Encounter (SUSWE) in the schools. An important step was the forming of prayer groups, one for each school. Parents, teachers, grandparents and others would join together to pray about the needs of a school. Over the years the work has grown and continued to expand with the ambitious aim of ensuring that every young person under the age of 18 in the Eastbourne and Seaford area has the opportunity to hear and understand the Christian message and, should they wish, to learn to follow Jesus in their daily lives with the help and encouragement of a local Christian community. SUSWE changed its working name to ‘Encounter’ in 2004.