John & Ann Kurish

Senior Pastors

Pastor John and his wife Ann began their ministry as members of outreach teams from a local church in Toronto, Ontario. Both of them were involved in missions; Ann went back to her homeland of England and John ministered in Africa.

Together they have pastored in a number of different churches in Ontario and in Alberta. Encountering the presence of Jesus is a deep desire of their hearts, inside the church as well as outside the walls of the church.

Ann enjoys long walks in nature, and meeting people in the marketplace where she follows Holy Spirit’s prompting to reach peophe He is touching.  John loves to golf, and is a Montreal Canadians fan with a love for the Liverpool football team.  He also has what he calls his “Snowblower and Lawnmower Ministry” where he loves to bless his neighbours. They have two grown sons, Jared and Joshua.

Looking for some weekly encouragement? Join Pastor John every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30am for Coffee with Pastor John where he shares his heart and insights from the Word of God.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Lorna McDougall

Worship & Creative Director

worship@encounterdurham.ca

Jerry Ordanis

Youth & Young Adults

youth@encounterdurham.ca

Danielle Layne

Children's Director

kids@encounterdurham.ca

Jonathan Layne

Men Speak

men@encounterdurham.ca

Christine Quinn

Administrator

ministries@encounterdurham.ca

Apostolic Oversight

 The Ripple Centre is an apostolic centre led by Kenn & Cheryl Gill from which the Ripple Network, Stream, Missions Mobilization and Schools of the Apostolic are launched. Encounter Durham is part of the Ripple Network. 

Kenn & Cheryl Gill

Kenn & Cheryl Gill have been serving in active ministry since 1973. They presently reside in Calgary, having pastored in both Eastern & Western Canada. Their passion is to see the ministry gifts of Ephesians 4:11 restored to the New Testament church, powerfully expressing and advancing the kingdom of God.  They have mobilized scores of teams to many nations and function as an apostolic voice both locally and globally for the poor, the orphan, the widow, the refugee & the prisoner. They long to see the restoration of an Apostolic Christianity in the earth. 

"The way we know God is through relationship and the way we communicate God is through relationship. God sent His Son as a relational gift - that was the expression of Himself. How is it that we started in a relationship and ended up in a system? We need to contend for godly relationships. This is the antidote for an offence free church. This is to bring healing to a relationally sick society."