Fuge Camps

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 five different styles of camp, including Centrifuge (CF), Mission Fuge (MF), Combo Camps, XFuge (XF), and XFuge on Mission (XFM). 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 in the 7-12 grade range and college students. 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:

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:

Centrifuge and Xfuge Camp Schedule

Time Event
7:00 a.m. Breakfast [1]
8:00 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 (Free 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]
10:15 p.m. Hang Time
11:00 p.m. In rooms
11:30 p.m. Lights out

Mission Fuge and XFuge on Mission Schedule

Time Event
7:00 a.m. Breakfast [9]
8:00 a.m. Morning Celebration [2]
9:00 a.m. Quiet Time/Bible Study
10:15 a.m. Depart for Ministry Sites
3:30 p.m. Return from Ministry Sites, Hang Time (Free Time)
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. Worship [6]
8:00 p.m. Church-group devotion [10]
9:45 p.m. Night life (MEGA Relay on the last night) [8]
10:15 p.m. Hang Time
11:00 p.m. In rooms
11:30 p.m. Lights out

Locations

In summer 2017, there were FUGE Camps located at:[11]

Past themes

2017 Convergence
2016 Unashamed
2015 Alive and Free
2014 Be the Church
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!

Mission FUGE

Mission FUGE (MFuge) originally started in 1995 and was the second Centrifuge spin-off.[12] 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 like building homes for Habitat for Humanity and serving meals at soup kitchens or homeless shelters. 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 is open to students in grades 7-12 and college students.

MFuge track availability varies by location, but include:

Crosspoint sports camp

Crosspoint originally started in 1986.[12] 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

Begun in 2005, XFuge and XFuge on Mission takes the general template of a normal FUGE Camp and removes many of the traditional "summer camp" aspects, like assemblies and structured track times and reorients the experience toward a Christian retreat: spiritual formation is conducted through worship experiences and optional missions work, but leisure activities, such as swimming or sunbathing on the beach, are more prominent. XFuge and XFuge on mission allows church youth groups to "design" a camp based on their own personal needs.

Notes

  1. ↑ Food at Centrifuge camps is usually served in a college dining facility or a camp cafeteria.
  2. 1 2 A morning show including the camp emcee; usually including game-show style contests, worship, and prayer.
  3. ↑ Students participate in recreational activities with their Bible study group.
  4. ↑ Students meet up with their assigned Track groups at this time.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. 1 2 The evening is capped off with a camp-wide assembly that ranges from a talent show to game show-style contests.
  9. ↑ Food at FUGE Camps is usually served in a college dining facility or a camp cafeteria.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Camp Map". FUGE Camps.
  12. 1 2 "History". FUGE Camps.

External links

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