Our Team
Jim Agrell - Lead Pastor
Pastor Jim and Diane have been serving Encounter Church for over 6 years. He is from Maine and met Diane while serving in the United States Air Force in upstate New York. They married over 40 years ago and have raised five boys and now have 9 grandchildren.
Pastor Jim has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years having served in several of our Atlantic District Wesleyan churches. He has pastored in both our smallest and largest churches in the District. His first love is to shepherd the people of God through the local church. He has also served as the District Missions Director for several years and has visited and been part of missions’ ministry in 22 countries. He and Diane have a great desire to see the kingdom of God advance in the hearts of His children and also in the local church.
Contact Pastor Jim: jim@ecnb.ca
PARKER BREWER - WORSHIP PASTOR
Pastor Parker has been living in Sussex for the last four years. In September 2024, Parker joined our pastoral team at Encounter Church after finishing his degree at Kingswood University. In the past 4 years, he has been involved in worship ministry within the maritimes and elsewhere through his connection with KU.
Here at Encounter he leads the music and technical ministry, whether it be Sunday morning service or Fusion Youth on Wednesdays. He is excited to be able to call the town of Sussex home, and the body of Christ at Encounter family.
Pastor Parker's greatest prayer for Encounter Church is to see people come to a place of deep intimacy with God as they walk alongside Him in their day to day lives. By doing this we can lead those around us more effectively because we are leading to a place where we have been regularly. This place is the feet of Jesus. Parker would say, “I’m really passionate about the idea of people leading from a place of intimacy. I don’t claim to be perfect at this, nor would many of us, but I know its importance as we seek to bring people into a deeper, closer relationship with God.”
Contact Pastor Parker: parker@ecnb.ca
Rod Guptill - Frontline Ministeries
Rod started out in Civil Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, however soon after he surrendered his life to Christ he enrolled at Kingswood University and graduated with his B.A. in Religion in 1981. After planting a church in Brampton, he and Joy (Silfwerbrand) KU ’80, served with Global Partners for the next 22 years as missionaries in Colombia and as a Regional Director for the Hispanic Caribbean area. Rod served as lead pastor of Woods Harbour Wesleyan Church in Southwest Nova Scotia for eight years. Presently Rod also works at Kingswood University as Campus Pastor and with Alumni. Their three children, Heather(Jeff Vitaris) Greenville, SC - AJ (Shea) Quispamsis, NB and David (Cheyenne) Havelock, NB are all grown and married and provide 3 wonderful grandkids to spoil and dote on.
Contact Pastor Rod: rod@ecnb.ca
Joy Guptill - Women’s Ministry
Joy has been involved in ministry since she was a teenager and she really fell in love with Jesus. Since then, whether living in Canada or the other countries God has taken her to she has always loved to help people connect with God and with each other. She loves working with Women and seeing them grow in their faith and become all God created them to be. Hospitality is something she is passionate about and she wants to help others see the ministry opportunities that are provided when we open our hearts, homes and church doors to others. She gets great joy from planning our Encounter church events and seeing people connect with each other and Jesus as a result.
Contact Joy: joy@ecnb.ca
COURTNEY CONRAD - CHILDREN'S PASTOR
Pastor Courtney has been passionate about children's ministry since her teenage years, and has been serving as our Children's Pastor since October 2023. She graduated from Kingswood University in 2006 and between caring for her family and working part time, she is dedicated to nurturing the faith of our children.
Pastor Courtney and her husband, Gavin, have been married for 17 years and have four children. They have served in various capacities in church ministry and have called Encounter their home for the last 4 years.
Originally from Sussex, she balances her role at the church with homeschooling two of her four wonderful children. In addition to her pastoral work, she enjoys working part-time in town, which allows her to engage with the community in meaningful ways.
Outside of ministry and family life, she loves to read, sew, and bake—finding joy in both creativity and connection. She is excited to share her journey and support the next generation in their faith.
Contact Pastor Courtney: courtney@ecnb.ca
SAUL FITZSIMMONS - YOUTH PASTOR
Pastor Saul has been attending Encounter Church for the past two years while he has been studying at Kingswood University in the NextGen program.
In April of 2024, Pastor Saul was welcomed onto our team as the Youth Pastor. He has a passion to see youth encounter the love and hope of Jesus just as he did at their age!
Outside of youth, Pastor Saul enjoys reading, listening to the BibleProject podcast, is an avid New York Rangers fan, and loves board games!
Contact Pastor Saul: saul@ecnb.ca
TRACY ROZNIAK - ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Tracy is a dedicated office administrator with a passion for organization. With years of experience in camp ministry administration, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to creating efficient and welcoming environments. Tracy thrives on helping others and ensuring that every detail is in place, allowing the community to focus on what truly matters.
She and her husband, Raynon, and 2 children have been attending Encounter since 2020 and are delighted to be living in Sussex surrounded by family and friends. When not in the office or volunteering to support various church activities, you can find Tracy immersed in a good book, solving a jigsaw puzzle, or enjoying a walk in the woods.
Contact Tracy: admin@ecnb.ca