If you are interested in staying four nights in the largest hotel and convention center between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta with more than 1,000 other college students over Christmas break, the Encounter06 Winter Conference provides just the opportunity.
The conference, to be held in the Greensboro Sheraton Hotel in N.C., will begin Dec. 28. According to Erin Hora, a senior English major who has attended the conference for the past two years, “It’s just a really great opportunity for students to meet new people and get to know others from your own school better,” she said.
About 20 ETSU students attended last year’s conference, and Hora said four have already signed up for Encounter06.
The conference, which has been sponsored annually since around 1971 by Campus Crusade for Christ, encourages students to develop a deeper relationship with God, according to the Web site, www.encounter06.com. It also noted that students would learn principles for dealing with studies, relationships and career choices while building relationships with others and learning more about prayer.
Cost of the conference is $209 if you register before Dec. 8 and $239 if you register later. Food and travel costs are extra, but students are encouraged to carpool with others from their campus.
Hora said a typical conference day would include attending a large group session with worship, skits or videos and a main speaker followed by reflection time, lunch and “break-out” seminars. “You can choose whichever ones you want to attend,” she said. “There are lots of different topics. There’s a lot of free time in the day, too, so you can go shopping at the huge mall across the street or just hang out with friends, and then there’s usually another main meeting at night.”
You may even get to hear live elevator music. “I remember walking over to the coffee shop one night,” said Jon Hein, a senior business major who attended last year. “And I remember hearing music and seeing people in the elevator, then realizing it was a whole band stopping at every floor. It was pretty inspiring seeing all these kids who didn’t even know each other worshipping together, and playing their instruments with people they didn’t even know. I think that was the coolest part of it.”
Hora said one of her favorite parts about the conference is the day of outreach. On outreach day, students go out in groups of two or three to give boxes of food to people living in Greensboro. “They assign you specific neighborhoods to go to and you deliver the food,” she said. “It’s a really unique way of caring for people.”
For more information or to sign up for the conference, visit www.encounter06.com.

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