Encounter// homelessness 

This Friday night the Genesis Crew are leaving their warm beds and planning a chilly night at their annual Encounter sleep-out. Rumour has it they are sleeping under the stars to better understand homelessness...We catch up with Dan Paterson to hear more.

 What is Encounter?

Encounter nights at Genesis happen once a term, and are designed to immerse our youth in the rituals and challenges facing other cultures and sub-cultures around the world. We've done nights on Fiji, Thailand, and Egypt. This time round we are looking at focusing on homelessness as a sub-culture, putting a face to poverty and asking the question of our response to pain and poverty around the world and in our world. The Sleep-out is an experience of homelessness for a night, sleeping out under the stars in a self-made domicile and bracing the winter cold! 

Why do you do it?

God has a lot to say about poverty. And the wisdom of people's own choices aside, we as his people are challenged to live out the way of his kingdom. We value people as the image of God. We work to end suffering as a sign of his kingdom. And we carry a heart of love as an expression of who he is.  Our culture is incredibly narcissistic.
It takes real people. Real liminal experiences. Real exposure to take the focus off ourselves and on to others. We hope this experience is a catalyst for the youth to let the Gospel stir their response to poverty and pain.  

Who is coming to speak?

I have two friends coming to speak, Bec and Chris, who serve homeless all over Brisbane through a food van ministry. They are coming to share what they see, in all its confrontation. Stories. Pictures. Messages. And how God has shaped and challenged their view of the world and their mission in it.

What will the conditions be like?

It will be cold! Very cold! It may even be miserable. But with heaps of young people there I'm sure there will be lots of fun. But as the night rolls on people always get more reflective. As we search out the Scriptures together, I'm sure they will experience some deep thought about who they are and what their life centres around.

What do you do all night?

We will be playing games, studying Matthew 25:31-46, hearing from Bec and Chris, eating food, building fires, creating shelters and bunkering down for a night of chats. Last year there was very little sleep. I and one other survived the night awake! We'll see how many do so again this year...