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

TimeEvent
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

TimeEvent
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]

Location City State First Summer Hosting Camps Hosted
Ridgecrest Conference Center Ridgecrest North Carolina 1979 (Original Location) CF, MF, XF, XFM
Glorieta Conference Center Glorieta New Mexico 1979 (Original Location) CF, MF, XF, XFM
Union University Jackson Tennessee 1987 CF
Carson-Newman University Jefferson City Tennessee 1990 CF, MF, XF, XFM
North Greenville University Tigerville South Carolina 1982 CF, MF, XF, XFM
Mississippi College Clinton Mississippi 2002 CF, MF, XF, XFM
Jenness Park Cold Springs California 1983 CF
Shalimar Retreat Center Panama City Beach Florida 1990 CF, XF
Shorter University Rome Georgia 2016 CF
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville Kentucky 2013 MF, XFM
University of Mobile Mobile Alabama 1981 CF, MF, XF, XFM
Belmont University Nashville Tennessee 1997 MF, XFM
Palm Beach Atlantic University West Palm Beach Florida MF, XFM
Charleston Southern University Charleston South Carolina 2000 MF, XFM
Mile High Pines Angelus Oaks California CF
Eastern University Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1999 MF, XFM
Houston Baptist University Houston Texas 2013 MF, XFM
Liberty University Lynchburg Virginia 2016 CF, MF, XF, XFM
Southwest Baptist University Bolivar Missouri 2011 CF
Louisiana College Pineville Louisiana 2017 MF, XFM
Shocco Springs Conference Center Talladega Alabama 2017 CF, XF
Fairmont State University Fairmont West Virginia 2018 CF

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

  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. "Employment". Fuge. 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
  13. 1 2 "History". FUGE Camps.
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