MEET OUR STAFF!
STEPHEN & KAITLYN MCGOUGH
LEAD PASTORS
Pastor Stephen & Kaitlyn McGough were installed as Encounter’s Lead Pastors on Sunday, March 13th, 2016.
Pastor Stephen grew up in Moline, Illinois.
He attended ISOM (Illinois School of Ministry) and is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God.
Stephen and Kaitlyn first met on a missions trip to El Salvador in 2010 and were married on May 31st, 2014. They have four children - Melody Joy, born in December 2017, Lily Joanna, born in February 2020, Samuel Judah born in May 2022, and Mercy Jubilee born in April 2024.
Stephen and Kaitlyn are passionate about seeing ALL Christians walk in the fullness of their calling. Their purpose is to teach and train the body of Christ to desire God above everything else in the world and to know His voice on a personal level.
Stephen and Kaitlyn LOVE to go on adventures – hiking, biking, tubing, anything fun and crazy – and eating ice cream. They love sitting outside as a family and watching their dog Minnie run SUPER fast.
Stephen loves playing and watching sports; the Fighting Illini, the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Cubs are his favorite teams! He also loves to eat cookies and McRibs.
Kaitlyn is a Nurse Practitioner. She loves dogs, music, the beach, baking, and traveling the world!
Melody loves Daniel Tiger, the water, playing outside, coloring, bacon and Oreos.
Lily loves Bluey, anything her sister is doing, and any sweets.
Samuel loves firetrucks, and wrestling whenever he is allowed.
Mercy loves being her with mommy.
TAMMIE MCDANIELS
Executive Assistant
Rick and Tammie have been married for 5 years and have been Jesus' followers for many years. They have 5 kids combined and 2 grandchildren. They have both led multiple ministries through the years at EC. Tammie this year started a new role being on staff with EC and overseeing multiple ministries and aspects of the church.
"Jesus has been such a friend to me, and I desire to share His light and love with those around me. I love to encourage other Christians to walk in their God-given callings. I desire women to see themselves for how God sees them and for them to grow into whom God has called them to be." - Tammie
SUE KATHAN
Church Secretary
