What to Expect
We understand that it can be vulnerable to walk into a room of strangers and spend four days working on yourself. Though The Encounter is designed to challenge you and you might feel some discomfort or other emotions as you uncover new parts of yourself, we work to create an environment of love, safety, and respect. Every moment at The Encounter has a purpose, and when you bravely show up even though you might feel nervous or uncertain, transformation happens!
Each participant at The Encounter decides how much he or she wants to put into the training, and you will never be put on the spot or forced to share. We encourage you to stretch yourself because that is where you grow, but we understand that every person is at a different point in their journey and growth looks different for everyone. We keep the group size small enough to where to it feels intimate and safe but large enough that you won’t feel like the spotlight is on you.
What to Expect When you Arrive
When you arrive at The Encounter, you will be greeted by our team and introduced to your fellow participants. We spend the first morning setting up what the training is all about and what to expect from it. We will also leave plenty of time for the group to get comfortable through open dialogue and setting expectations for how we will treat each other during the training.
The Encounter is designed to be a journey, with each moment planned to help you transform and take the next step in your life. If we told you everything that happens after that, it would take away from the experience. But we can promise that you will never be alone here! We have a large team at each training who can help support you and encourage you along the way. Each team member has been through the experience themselves and knows the freedom awaiting you on the other side.
You will also have a one-on-one support call with a team member before you attend the training, so no one arrives a stranger and you will have plenty of opportunities to ask any questions you might have before you get here.
Why an Experiential Format
At The Encounter, you will participate in a series of exercises designed to help you discover more about yourself and transform what is holding you back. Your life experiences up until now have shaped the way you think, feel, and live, and it’s through experience that you transform those areas.
Each exercise will be guided and will help you work with:
How you perceive yourself and others
Freeing yourself from secrets and regrets holding you back
The choices you make and where you put your time and energy in life
How you give and receive in relationships
Your life story and how it shaped you
Letting go of negativity and building self-worth
How to move forward in life
We all learn by doing, and these exercises are designed to help you move from an idea you affirm in your head to a change that happens in your being. They give you a chance to pause and reflect on behaviors, tendencies, or reactions that you might normally overlook and give you an opportunity to dig deeper into these parts of yourself. When we say transformation happens quickly here, this is why!
Training Schedule
The Encounter is made up of a mix of teaching, experiential exercises, and open sharing.
We start each day at 9 a.m. and we wrap up around 10:30 p.m. We will take breaks for lunch and dinner (which you can eat on site or off site), but the timing is flexible, so nothing feels rushed. When doing experiential work, you cannot always predict what will come to the surface, and it’s important that we create space for the sharing and exercises that are instrumental in the transformation process.
Though there might be moments at The Encounter that feel spontaneous and free flowing, the experience is very structured, and our model is intentionally designed to take you on a journey of self-discovery and healing. The experiences are like dominoes that happen in a certain order and work together to create real transformation. Though you will be immersed in what is happening at the moment, our support team will be making sure you get where you need to go.
On Sunday, we will end with an afternoon of celebration where we reflect and thank God for the change we’ve experienced. We will wrap up by 6 p.m. Sunday evening.