diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 72d491b..68c0080 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -58,12 +58,8 @@ socket.connect() // or internal reconnect logic kicks in
 ```
 
 
-You can also inject your own OkHttp Client and GSON into the Socket to provide your own configuration
+You can also inject your own OkHttp Client into the Socket to provide your own configuration
 ```kotlin
-
-// Configure your own GSON instance
-val gson = Gson.Builder().create()
-
 // Configure your own OkHttp Client
 val client = OkHttpClient.Builder()
     .connectTimeout(1000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)
@@ -72,14 +68,37 @@ val client = OkHttpClient.Builder()
 // Create Socket with your custom instances
 val params = hashMapOf("token" to "abc123")
 val socket = Socket("http://localhost:4000/socket/websocket",
-                     params,
-                     gson,
-                     client)
+    params,
+    client)
+```
+
+By default, the client use GSON to encode and decode JSON. If you prefer to manage this yourself, you
+can provide custom encode/decode functions in the `Socket` constructor.
+
+```kotlin
+
+// Configure your own GSON instance
+val gson = Gson.Builder().create()
+val encoder: EncodeClosure = {
+    // Encode a Map into JSON using your custom GSON instance or another JSON library
+    // of your choice (Moshi, etc)
+}
+val decoder: DecodeClosure = {
+    // Decode a JSON String into a `Message` object using your custom JSON library 
+}
+
+// Create Socket with your custom instances
+val params = hashMapOf("token" to "abc123")
+val socket = Socket("http://localhost:4000/socket/websocket",
+    params,
+    encoder,
+    decoder)
 ```
 
 
 
 
+
 ### Installation
 
 JavaPhoenixClient is hosted on MavenCentral. You'll need to make sure you declare `mavenCentral()` as one of your repositories
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Defaults.kt b/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Defaults.kt
index f410354..ea56702 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Defaults.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Defaults.kt
@@ -55,6 +55,22 @@ object Defaults {
       .setFieldNamingPolicy(FieldNamingPolicy.LOWER_CASE_WITH_UNDERSCORES)
       .create()
 
+  /**
+   * Default JSON decoder, backed by GSON, that takes JSON and converts it
+   * into a Message object.
+   */
+  val decode: DecodeClosure = { rawMessage ->
+    gson.fromJson(rawMessage, Message::class.java)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Default JSON encoder, backed by GSON, that takes a Map<String, Any> and
+   * converts it into a JSON String.
+   */
+  val encode: EncodeClosure = { payload ->
+    gson.toJson(payload)
+  }
+
   /**
    * Takes an endpoint and a params closure given by the User and constructs a URL that
    * is ready to be sent to the Socket connection.
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Socket.kt b/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Socket.kt
index be32a22..7edf45f 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Socket.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/org/phoenixframework/Socket.kt
@@ -104,6 +104,13 @@ const val WS_CLOSE_ABNORMAL = 1006
  */
 typealias PayloadClosure = () -> Payload?
 
+/** A closure that will encode a Map<String, Any> into a JSON String */
+typealias EncodeClosure = (Map<String, Any>) -> String
+
+/** A closure that will decode a JSON String into a [Message] */
+typealias DecodeClosure = (String) -> Message
+
+
 /**
  * Connects to a Phoenix Server
  */
@@ -118,13 +125,15 @@ typealias PayloadClosure = () -> Payload?
  * ```
  * @param url Url to connect to such as https://example.com/socket
  * @param paramsClosure Closure which allows to change parameters sent during connection.
- * @param gson Default GSON Client to parse JSON. You can provide your own if needed.
+ * @param encode Optional. Provide a custom JSON encoding implementation
+ * @param decode Optional. Provide a custom JSON decoding implementation
  * @param client Default OkHttpClient to connect with. You can provide your own if needed.
  */
 class Socket(
   url: String,
   val paramsClosure: PayloadClosure,
-  private val gson: Gson = Defaults.gson,
+  private val encode: EncodeClosure = Defaults.encode,
+  private val decode: DecodeClosure = Defaults.decode,
   private val client: OkHttpClient = OkHttpClient.Builder().build()
 ) {
 
@@ -226,15 +235,17 @@ class Socket(
    *
    * @param url Url to connect to such as https://example.com/socket
    * @param params Constant parameters to send when connecting. Defaults to null
-   * @param gson Default GSON Client to parse JSON. You can provide your own if needed.
+   * @param encode Optional. Provide a custom JSON encoding implementation
+   * @param decode Optional. Provide a custom JSON decoding implementation
    * @param client Default OkHttpClient to connect with. You can provide your own if needed.
    */
   constructor(
     url: String,
     params: Payload? = null,
-    gson: Gson = Defaults.gson,
+    encode: EncodeClosure = Defaults.encode,
+    decode: DecodeClosure = Defaults.decode,
     client: OkHttpClient = OkHttpClient.Builder().build()
-  ) : this(url, { params }, gson, client)
+  ) : this(url, { params }, encode, decode, client)
 
   init {
     var mutableUrl = url
@@ -387,7 +398,7 @@ class Socket(
       ref?.let { body["ref"] = it }
       joinRef?.let { body["join_ref"] = it }
 
-      val data = gson.toJson(body)
+      val data = this.encode(body)
       connection?.let { transport ->
         this.logItems("Push: Sending $data")
         transport.send(data)
@@ -569,7 +580,7 @@ class Socket(
     this.logItems("Receive: $rawMessage")
 
     // Parse the message as JSON
-    val message = gson.fromJson(rawMessage, Message::class.java)
+    val message = this.decode(rawMessage)
 
     // Clear heartbeat ref, preventing a heartbeat timeout disconnect
     if (message.ref == pendingHeartbeatRef) pendingHeartbeatRef = null