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 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.

Background

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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.

Programming

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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.

Locations

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Locations of FUGE camps:[1]

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 St. Davids 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
Louisiana Christian University Pineville Louisiana 2024 CF, MF
Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia Arkansas 2024 CF, MF
Regent University Virginia Beach Virginia 2024 CF, MF
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth Texas 2024 CF, MF
Southern Wesleyan University Central South Carolina 2024 CF, MF
William Carey University Hattiesburg Mississippi 2024 CF
James Madison University Harrisonburg Virginia 2024 CF, MF
Missouri Baptist University St. Louis Missouri 2024 MF
Chowan University Murfreesboro North Carolina 2024 CF
Cumberland University Lebanon Tennessee MF
Highland Lakes Camp Martinsville Indiana 2025 CF
Milligan University Milligan Tennessee 2025 CF, MF
Southeastern Univeresity Lakeland Florida 2024 CF, MF
WorldSong Retreat Center Cook Springs Alabama 2025 CF

FUGE Staff Structure

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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.

Crosspoint sports camp

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Crosspoint originally started in 1986.[2] 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)

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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.

The XFUGE variants to the FUGE experience were first offered in the Summer of 2005. XFUGE was offered every year thereafter, coming to and end in 2018 (the last year they offered XFUGE).

Notes

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  1. ^ "Camp Locations". FUGE Camps.
  2. ^ "History". FUGE Camps.
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