Fuge Camps
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| Southern Baptists |
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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. Camps offered include CentriFuge, MFuge, Combo, XFuge, XFuge on Mission, and CentriKid. 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 staff when they turn 19 years of age.
Background
Since 1979 Centrifuge 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.
Centrifuge 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, Centrifuge 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.
Programming
Centrifuge camps are open to students in the 7-12 grade range and college students. They are centered around the youth groups of Christian churches, particularly (though not exclusively) Baptist churches. The camps offer a "staff who does the work so that your youth staff are free to deepen their relationships with both students and God."
The Centrifuge experience includes:
- Strong small-group youth Bible study, led by a trained camp staffer (usually a college student)
- Team-building activity
- Morning and evening worship services
- Camp-wide fellowships, like talent shows (also known as Night-Life), Game Shows, and Mega-relays
Typical schedule
Though Centrifuge camps vary slightly at each location due to differences in personnel and available facilities, a typical day at Centrifuge would include: (Official Schedule from 2011 Centrifuge at Ridgecrest)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. | Breakfast/Quiet Time [1][2] |
| 8:15 a.m. | Morning Celebration [3] (Dismiss at 8:45) |
| 9:00 a.m. | Recreation [4](Dismiss at 10:15) |
| 10:30 a.m. | Bible Study |
| 11:45 a.m. | Lunch |
| 1:30 p.m. | Track Rally [5] |
| 1:45 p.m. | Track A [6] |
| 2:45 p.m. | Track Rally |
| 3:00 p.m. | Track B |
| 4:00 p.m. | Hang Time (Free Time) |
| 5:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7:00 p.m. | Worship [7] |
| 8:30 p.m. | Church-group devotion [8] |
| 9:45 p.m. | Night life (MEGA Relay on the last night) [9] |
| 10:30 p.m. | Hang Time |
| 11:00 p.m. | In rooms |
| 11:30 p.m. | Lights out |
Locations
In summer 2006, there were Centrifuge camps located in:
- Ridgecrest Conference Center - Ridgecrest, North Carolina
- Glorieta Conference Center - Glorieta, New Mexico
- Union University - Jackson, Tennessee
- Carson-Newman College - Jefferson City, Tennessee
- North Greenville University - Greenville, South Carolina
- Mississippi College - Clinton, Mississippi
- Gulfshore Baptist Assembly Center - Pass Christian, Mississippi (closed during 2006 due to Hurricane Katrina, and moved to William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi)
- Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center - Lynchburg, Virginia
- Springmaid Beach Resort - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Marriott Baypoint Resort - Panama City Beach, Florida
- Jenness Park - Cold Springs, California
- Skycroft Conference Center - Middletown, Maryland
- West Virginia Wesleyan College - Buckhannon, West Virginia
- Camp Little Cloud - Peosta, Iowa
- Pu'u Kahea Baptist Conference Center - Waianae, Hawaii
- Inlow Camp and Conference Center - Torreon, New Mexico
- Sivells Baptist Retreat and Conference Center - Cloudcroft, New Mexico
- Hesperus Baptist Camp - Hesperus, Colorado
- Mountain Top Baptist Assembly - Casper, Wyoming
- Bambi Lake Retreat and Conference Center - Roscommon, Michigan
- Riverview Bible Camp - Cusick, Washington
- Aldersgate Conference Center - Turner, Oregon
Past themes
| 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 Frontiers |
| 1981 | unknown |
| 1980 | unknown |
| 1979 | Glory! |
MFuge
MFuge originally started in 1995 and was the second Centrifuge spin-off. MFuge takes the traditional Centrifuge structure and reorients it toward mission work. Instead of offering classes and recreation during the day, 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
CentriKid
CentriKid originally started in 2000. This Centrifuge spin-off takes the Centrifuge structure and repackages it for students in grades 3-6, with less emphasis on invitations to Christian discipleship and more emphasis on teaching fundamental concepts of the Christian faith. Otherwise, the experiences are very similar.
Crosspoint sports camp
Crosspoint originally started in 1986. 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 the Crosspoint have now been implemented in LifeWay's CentriKid camp.
XFuge
Begun in 2005, XFuge takes the general template of a normal Centrifuge camp and removes many of the traditional "summer camp" aspects, like assemblies and structured classes ("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 also features "X-Parties", where Christian rock bands host concerts.
Notes
- ^ Food at Centrifuge camps is usually served in a college dining facility or a camp cafeteria.
- ^ Quiet Time: Campers head wherever they please to do a small quiet devotional.
- ^ A morning show 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The evening is capped off with a camp-wide assembly that ranges from a talent show to game show-style contests (Such as Glod Games with Sock Monkey) to AdventureNow to spiritual exercises.