Radically Changed Lives In San Diego
Many of you may be aware there have been a group of men from San Diego who have been attending Men’s Encounters in Reno, Nevada this year with the intention of bringing the ministry to churches in their community.
Led by Ron Flores, these men have been focused on understanding what makes Encounter Ministry weekends so powerful, with the hopes of providing similar events in San Diego.
As part of this, a special Men’s Encounter was hosted the weekend of September 19-21 and by all accounts it was a one-of-a-kind Encounter Ministry event.
“We’ve done quite a few Men’s Encounters through the years,” Richard Wenschlag says, “and I heard from the guys it’s one of the best we’ve ever done.” Wenschlag is co-founder and CEO of Encounter Ministry.
What made this particular Encounter so unique?
“These men had already laid everything in their lives down to follow the Lord and to change their ways,” Mike Conway says. He is the Director of the Adult Teen Challenge center in San Diego where the September Encounter was held. Although the ministry is called Teen Challenge, the charter has expanded and this particular facility caters to men 18 years and older. Some of the men are in their 50’s.
Teen Challenge is a ministry focused on redeeming the lives of those who many in society have already given up on. Those in the discipleship program commit to being part of a one year program to turn their lives around.
“These guys are coming to us from prison, from being homeless, and being at the brink of death from addiction,” Conway says.
Rather than an Encounter where the men came from different homes to gather at a place in Lake Tahoe, they had the experience in the place where they all live together as part of the program.
The Encounter arrived as a total surprise.
“None of them knew they were going to go through an Encounter until that Friday,” Conway says. “We were so secretive about it, we didn’t even let our staff know until just a few days earlier. There was a real buzz about it, as they knew something special was going to happen, but they didn’t know what it was going to be.”
Conway says the result was an Encounter weekend that many of the attendees said “radically changed their lives.”
“These are all men whose lives have been so devastated by the darkness for so many years,” he says. “So them getting to experience being served and loved on in that way was life changing.”
Several members of the leadership team traveled down to San Diego to be servers for the event. This included ministry board chairman Troy Dillard and vice chairman Howard McElroy. Josh Haggerty also attended and provided an impactful testimony.
Not only was the Encounter weekend experience unique for the members of the discipleship program, but the follow-up was as well.
“In the typical Men’s Encounter you have Freedom Fire meetings once a week afterwards,” Conway says. “With our guys all living together, we’re having our Freedom Fire gatherings every day.”
“These men now are going to be able to journey together for the rest of their time here, and for many, the rest of their lives.”
Conway understands the challenges the men under his leadership face. Growing up in Encinitas, California (Northern Coastal San Diego), he never imagined he would become an out-of-control intravenous methamphetamine addict. In June of 1993, he entered the Teen Challenge program and recovered through the miracle of surrendering his life to Jesus.
He, as much as anyone, valued what happened at the special Encounter they hosted.
“We had one man who attended who had considered himself a Muslim the past 15 months,” Conway says. “It was at this Encounter where he bent his knee and surrendered to the full love of Jesus.”
Not only was the worship time special during this weekend, but so too were the baptisms.
Conway, Flores, and the rest of the San Diego leadership team are excited about bringing the traditional Men’s Encounter weekends to their city soon. The current plan is to launch their first traditional event in the beginning of 2026.
