In 2009, Zack & Rachelle Wechsler founded The Encounter Community Church in a small coffee shop just outside of Las Vegas, NV. It was the cry of their heart to see lives radically changed by the love of God. The Holy Spirit arrested the hearts of prodigals, pimps, prostitutes, homeless, and the broken because Zack and Rachelle answered the call. In the summer of 2011 Chris and Carley Ritchie packed up their family and moved to Las Vegas to join what God was doing at Encounter. They served faithfully as the worship pastors for nine years.

In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, Zack and Rachelle once again answered the call of God and accepted the role as senior leaders at New Hope Community Church, in Rochester, NY (now Encounter Church NY). In what was a natural fit, and God-ordained, Chris & Carley Ritchie became the senior leaders of Encounter Church Vegas in March of 2020. They carry the same heart to see sons and daughters raised up and released into their calling, and to see the captives set free through the love of Jesus.