| Southern Baptists |
|---|
FUGE Camps is a series of Christian summer camps for children, youth, and young adults centered on Bible study, worship, mission work, and recreational activities organized by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. FUGE Camps is the world's largest summer camp, as well as the world's largest Christian camp. FUGE Camps offers four different styles of camp, where churches can choose to attend either Centrifuge (CFUGE or CF) or Mission Fuge (MFUGE or MF). At "combo" locations, churches can choose to do a mixture of these, if they desire, to meet their student's needs. A Student Leader Apprentice program is also offered for students entering or leaving their senior year of high school. College students and adults may apply to work as a staffer when they turn 19 years of age, and have been out of high school for at least one year.
Background
Since 1979 FUGE has been the official youth camp of the Southern Baptist Convention. What started out as a few weeks of camp sponsored by the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) turned into a youth ministry movement.
FUGE camps are unique in that there is not a central camp facility where the program is conducted. Instead, teams of staffers are based at various colleges and retreat centers across the United States. Student-campers are usually housed in college dormitories or convention-style hotel rooms.
Because of this decentralized approach, FUGE staffs—usually about 20-30 college students and recent college graduates—are able to reach students across the United States.
LifeWay Christian Resources states that since the beginning of the ministry, over 1,000,000 people have experienced Centrifuge and its associated camps. Each summer, FUGE Camps hosts almost 60,000 students.
Programming
FUGE Camps are open to students who have just completed grades 6–12. College students and adults can attend camp as Adult Sponsors. They are centered on the youth groups of Christian churches, particularly (though not exclusively) Baptist churches. The camps offer a "staffer who does the work so that your youth staff are free to deepen their relationships with both students and God."
The FUGE experience includes:
- Strong small-group youth Bible study, led by a trained camp staffer (CF, MF)
- Team-building activity (CF)
- Missions Activities in the local community (MF)
- Morning and evening worship services (CF, MF)
- Various Night Life experiences, including Mega Relay (CF, MF)
Typical schedule
Though FUGE Camps vary slightly at each location due to differences in personnel and available facilities, a typical day at FUGE would include:
CFUGE Camp Schedule
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. | Breakfast [1] |
| 8:15 a.m. | Morning Celebration [2] |
| 9:00 a.m. | Recreation [3] |
| 10:30 a.m. | Quiet Time/Bible Study |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:10 p.m. | Track Rally [4] |
| 1:20 p.m. | Track A [5] |
| 2:20 p.m. | Track Rally |
| 2:30 p.m. | Track B |
| 3:30 p.m. | Hang Time |
| 5:00 p.m. | Dinner |
| 6:30 p.m. | Worship [6] |
| 8:00 p.m. | Church-group devotion [7] |
| 9:45 p.m. | Night Life (Mega Relay on the last night) [8] |
| 10:30 p.m. | Hang Time |
| 11:00 p.m. | In rooms |
| 11:30 p.m. | Lights out |
MFUGE Camp Schedule
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. | Breakfast [9] |
| 8:00 a.m. | Morning Celebration [2] |
| 8:45 a.m. | Quiet Time/Bible Study |
| 11:00 a.m. | Lunch on Campus |
| 11:45 a.m. | Site send-off rally |
| 12:00 p.m. | Depart for Ministry Sites |
| 4:00 p.m. | Return from Ministry Sites, Hang Time (Free Time) |
| 5:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7:00 p.m. | Worship [6] |
| 9:00 p.m. | Church-group devotion [10] |
| 9:45 p.m. | Night life (Mega Relay on the last night) [8] |
| 10:30 p.m. | Hang Time |
| 11:00 p.m. | In rooms |
| 11:30 p.m. | Lights out |
Locations
Summer 2018, there were FUGE Camps located at:[11]
Themes
| 2023 | In His Image |
| 2022 | Matchless One |
| 2021 | Dwell |
| 2019 | Restored |
| 2018 | The Mission |
| 2017 | Convergence |
| 2016 | Unashamed |
| 2015 | Alive and Free |
| 2014 | Be |
| 2013 | The Big Picture |
| 2012 | Pursuit |
| 2011 | Connect |
| 2010 | Kairos: Defining Moments |
| 2009 | Move |
| 2008 | Kilimanjaro |
| 2007 | The Underground |
| 2006 | Thrill Ride |
| 2005 | Masterpiece |
| 2004 | Driven |
| 2003 | It's All About Me |
| 2002 | Reel Life |
| 2001 | Virtual Reality |
| 2000 | Face to Face |
| 1999 | Whatever... ya gotta gotta love |
| 1998 | Expedition |
| 1997 | Extreme |
| 1996 | Our World Your Serve |
| 1995 | Major League |
| 1994 | Keys 4 U |
| 1993 | Reach The Peak |
| 1992 | Decision |
| 1991 | Myth or Message |
| 1990 | Impact |
| 1989 | Good News for Fast Times |
| 1988 | Carry On |
| 1987 | On Track |
| 1986 | Glory! |
| 1985 | The Adventure Begins |
| 1984 | Getting Your Signals Straight |
| 1983 | Eternal Truth |
| 1982 | New Horizons |
| 1981 | unknown |
| 1980 | unknown |
| 1979 | Glory! |
FUGE Staff Structure
FUGE Camp staffs typically consist of 20-30 staffers, but can be as small as 12 staffers or as large as 60. Each location has a Camp Director, assistant director, Financial Director, and Program Director. Locations that offer Centrifuge will have a Recreation Director and Bible Study Leaders. Locations that offer MFuge will have a Site Director and ministry Track Leaders. Each location has a Video Producer, who makes daily and weekly videos. Larger locations will hire FUGE Support Staffers who help with set up, tear down, and other office tasks. Some locations have full-summer bands, which are referred to as "Staff Bands." These band members will also be Bible Study Leaders or Ministry Track Leaders. At other locations, they hire "Contract Bands" that change each week. These bands only play during morning celebration and worship. Camps have a different Pastor each week.
There are also other positions that are required on each staff, but are usually taken on by Ministry Track Leaders or Bible Study Leaders. These positions include Photographer, Backpacker, Missions Mobilizer, and Emcee.[12]
Mission FUGE
Mission FUGE (MFuge) originally started in 1995 and was the second Centrifuge spin-off.[13] MFuge takes the traditional Centrifuge structure and reorients it toward mission work. Instead of offering track times and recreation during the day like Centrifuge does, those activities are replaced with missions work such as working in soup kitchens, volunteering at community centers, or cutting grass in neighborhood communities. Students also have the opportunity to minister by facilitating games and other recreation at local apartment complexes or Boys and Girls Clubs; visiting assisted-living facilities and nursing homes; and doing yard work for the elderly and other needy people.
MFuge track availability varies by location, but include:
- Games and Recreation
- Children's
- Social
- Painting, Construction, and Yardwork (PCY)
- Homeless
- Special Needs
- Evangelism
- Beach Evangelism
- International
- Peer
Crosspoint sports camp
Crosspoint originally started in 1986.[13] It was the first Centrifuge spin off. Crosspoint is designed to combine the structure of Centrifuge with the sports-skills teaching of the traditional sports daycamp. The programming and sports instruction is designed for students in grades 4–8. 2009 was the last year LifeWay ran a kids' camp by the name "Crosspoint." All the sports once included in Crosspoint have now been implemented in LifeWay's CentriKid camp.
XFUGE and XFUGE on Mission (2005-2018)
XFUGE and XFUGE on Mission took the general template of a normal FUGE Camp and removed many of the traditional "summer camp" aspects, like assemblies and structured track times and reoriented the experience toward a Christian retreat: spiritual formation was conducted through worship experiences and optional missions work, but leisure activities, such as swimming or sunbathing on the beach, were more prominent. XFUGE and XFUGE on mission allowed church youth groups to "design" a camp based on their own personal needs.
The XFUGE variants to the FUGE experience were first offered in the Summer of 2005 with great success. XFUGE was offered every year thereafter, coming to and end in 2018 (the last year they offered XFUGE).
Notes
- ↑ Food at Centrifuge camps is usually served in a college dining facility or a camp cafeteria.
- 1 2 A morning show including the camp emcee; usually including game-show style contests, worship, and prayer.
- ↑ Students participate in recreational activities with their Bible study group.
- ↑ Students meet up with their assigned Track groups at this time.
- ↑ There are two "Track Times" during each normal day of Centrifuge. During these times, campers attend Christian discipleship classes, seminars on Christian topics, recreational opportunities, and the like, all based upon the available offerings. Some examples are: Laser Tag, Hiking, Battleball (Intense Dodgeball), Apologetics, Creative Painting, and Random Acts of Service.
- 1 2 Each night, the entire camp gathers in the central auditorium for Christian worship, with hymns, contemporary songs, Scripture reading, an evangelistic sermon, and a time of invitation to Christian discipleship with various bands and preachers.
- ↑ Each night after worship, campers join the other students from the church with whom they came to Centrifuge for a devotion led by the leader of that group.
- 1 2 The evening is capped off with a camp-wide assembly that ranges from a talent show to game show-style contests.
- ↑ Food at FUGE Camps is usually served in a college dining facility or a camp cafeteria.
- ↑ Each night after worship, campers join the other students from the church with whom they came to camp for a devotion led by their youth leader.
- ↑ "Camp Map". FUGE Camps.
- ↑ "Employment". Fuge. 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- 1 2 "History". FUGE Camps.