Our History...
The guiding scripture of The Encounter has been and is today:
“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord…”
Hosea 6:3
The light of revival shines through the years. In the Fall of 1941, Brother Herbert H. Tocklin had a premonition of revival for the yet unformed Lakeshore Tabernacle. He dreamt of an oil fire blazing with fierce intensity in the auditorium of the
Foursquare church. The fire was symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Attempts to put the fire out with water (symbolic of salvation) only caused the fire to spread and burn brighter. “I believe God is on the verge of a mighty revival in this church”, he stated. The fulfillment of this premonition occurred in 1950 and Lakeshore Tabernacle was birthed from this outpouring.
Lakeshore Tabernacle was formally organized on May 2, 1950, with a membership of about 300 people. Dr. and Mrs. Orville F. Broker were founding pastors. Under their leadership, the congregation purchased the old Lincoln Theater at 6923 14th Avenue. They built a two-story annex and remodeled the building.
In 1963, Dr. Broker purchased property east of 39th Avenue at 89th Street. There was sufficient land to build a home and a new church.
Just four months after the Brokers moved into their new home on July 17, 1964, The Lord suddenly called Dr. Broker home. He was 51 years old, Pastor of the church, President of Front Line Missions and Kenosha Bible Institute. He lived a full life, dedicated to God.
Dr. Broker’s vision for the church was, “God wants to have a church that is free in the Spirit; that believes in the whole Word of God, and the integrity of the Word, with the joy of the Holy Ghost moving upon us; singing a little, shouting a little, even jumping and dancing a little. We are going to march, and we are going to sing, and we are going to rejoice because a revival is coming this way. Praise the Lord, we are going to do what God wants us to do.”
In a vision, he saw a large tree that was budding. As a bud burst open it began to flower. He saw a word written above it and it said “LOVE”. The Lord said, “That’s the fruit, as love is manifested there shall be another one that shall burst open.” Some others that burst open were “Joy” and “Peace”.
As surely as love is manifesting in the lives of His people, the joy of the spirit will burst forth and the peace of God will burst forth in full bloom and there will be great rejoicing. “There is going to be revival when love bursts forth. They will not be able to contain the love and the joy that is there when they abide in Him: and out of the vine, and through the branches shall flow rivers of livıng water -to those round about who are needy – till the thirsty shall come to know Him who is the fountain of Life, and the weary shall find refreshing streams in the desert, and the sick shall bathe in the healing waters which flow for them.”
Mrs. Broker succeeded her husband as Pastor of the church, and as President of Front line Missions and Kenosha Bible Institute.
In 1966 the church completed construction of Broker Memorial Hall. This hall housed Kenosha Bible Institute and provided a social building for the church. Shortly thereafter, the church began to build a sanctuary. The building was ready for occupancy in November, 1967. Reverend J. Andrew Freeborn was called to serve as Pastor in June of 1972 and pastored for three years.
In 1971, a prophecy by Betty Botts , stated “If thou would look at the land that I have given thee. Is it not a place that thou would park thy car upon, is it a place to toss a ball to and fro, but I have given you this land that thou would expand”, saith the Lord, “on, this day, this night, was given unto thee that thou might expand for me” saith the Lord… “My ways are higher than thy ways and I would say unto thee, if this people would fall upon their faces and repent I would give them strength, I would give them the heathen for their inheritance. Yea I will give you this city”, saith the Lord. “I will give ye the plan, it will not be thy plans, it will not be your program, but it will be my way”, saith the Lord. “But I say unto thee that this land that thou doest stand”
In 1975, Reverend Nelson E. Clair, came to Lakeshore Tabernacle. Under the guidance of Pastor Clair the expansion of Lakeshore began as prophesied. Ground breaking for a multipurpose building was held in April of 1978. The building was completed debt-free and dedicated October 19, 1980. The fall of 1982 marked the ground breaking ceremony of our present sanctuary.
In April of 1983, Virgil Amundson gave a prophecy, stating “Now know that the spirit of the Lord doth move upon the land, by my mighty hand”, saith God. “I have called a mighty revival upon the land, I have called a revival upon the land, and yea, I will pour forth my spirit and it shall cause thee to know that the Lord thy God is thy chief God. He is thy chief God and there shall come no thought within thy heart to serve another for I the Lord thy God shall rule over thee. And my spirit shall move upon this area”, saith the Lord God, “and shall hover over this area, yea, I say prepare thyself, even prepare the granaries saith the Lord. “Even prepare the temple, for I shall come in as the King of Glory. And I shall establish my name”, saith the Lord, “and my name shall be a name of righteousness. Yea, it shall be name of holiness. My church shall be as one, the spirit of the Lord, yea, the spirit of the Lord doth move in this hour”
On April 20, 1986, we celebrated the “moving day” and thereafter held services in our new sanctuary. The dedication of our sanctuary was held on May 17, 1987. It was a glorious day of celebration and praise.
From 1995-2004, Reverend Everett Forner, Reverend Edward L. Day, and Reverend Craig Amos each served as senior Pastor to Lakeshore Tabernacle. Yet, a stirring prompted by a mighty outpouring of revival was occurring amongst the leadership. This was the beginning of our journey into the biblical eldership model. Each of the three senior pastors played a role in bringing this to fruition.
In 2004, a formal commitment was made by the elders to pursue this direction as means to guide the body at Lakeshore. Since that time, God has been revealing key scriptural elements to move the leadership into greater understanding of plurality, the five-fold ministry building the body for works of ministry, and relational authority.
In January of 2018, when bringing forward the possibility of a name change, the body cheered and applauded the title of “The Encounter”. As Lakeshore Tabernacle, The Encounter was birthed in revival, experienced a second wave of revival that brought revelation of plurality, and we are expecting the name change to reflect the next great move of God.
The guiding prophesy of The Encounter has been and is today: Know you not, “says the Lord your God, “that I have called you out of bondage and darkness, and I have set you even as a lighthouse: A light that will shine forth to a lost generation. As this light shines forth, I will cause other lights to break forth throughout the earth. I am going to call them from the North, the South, the East, and the West, and there will be a great in-gathering of souls because of the faithfulness of my people.
VISION FROM DOC BROKER
I saw a large tree and it was budding. I did not recognize the type of tree that I saw, but the buds looked like magnolia blooms in the spring.
I looked and all at once I saw one and it was bursting open. As it began to burst open and flower out, I saw the word written above it, it said “love”. The Lord said, “That’s the fruit and as sure as the fruit of love is manifested, there shall be another one that shall burst open shortly.”
As I looked, the bigger the one flower got, another bud began to split open. I could see the white of the flower begin to spring up. It had only come up a little way when I saw the word “Joy” written across the top of the flower. The Lord said, “As surely as love has been taught and as love has been demonstrated in the lives of the people, the joy of the Spirit is bursting forth in the midst of the congregation and being prepared, for it shall burst forth in full bloom and great shall be the rejoicing”.
I looked and saw another little flower, another magnolia bud. There is nothing sweeter than magnolia buds. You can smell their fragrance for blocks around. I believe people are going to be able to smell this tree too. It is going to give forth a sweet smell. I looked and I saw another bud begin to burst and do you know what word I saw written above it? Peace. PEACE. And I said, “Dear Lord, in all the years I have known you, I have never had the peace I have right here today. I have the greatest peace in my soul I have ever had.” I feel God on the face of the earth.
Then I saw some more buds, I saw one bursting -a big one- and the word on it said, “long-suffering”. Bless God, I feel more long-suffering that I ever did in my life. Let love cover over with silence.
There is going to be a real revival when that top flower is in full bloom – the flower of LOVE. There will be no revival until the love of God is manifested. Not until men realize that God is love. Not until they realize the greatest thing in the world – Love.
The top one seemed to govern all the others, the top one was LOVE. The more it opened, the more the others opened. Even as the flower of “love” is burst open, the flower of “joy” is going to open. When that happens some of God’s people are going to rejoice and receive the blessings and the anointing and the strength of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They will step out and do exploits for the Lord that will truly bring glory to His Wonderful Name.