While many teenagers use their summer vacation as time to travel, have fun, and relax, one group is learning this summer how to sacrifice and give more of their time to help others. Through M-Fuge at the University of Mobile, students from across the United States are being challenged to give God more of their time, thoughts, service and talents, according to Mike Williams, site coordinator.
“M-Fuge is a life-changing and world-changing camp. Campers learn that faith is not just talking, but doing. They learn what it means to fulfill ministry and are able to take this back to the local church,” Williams said. “M-Fuge is a starting block. We’re just putting more tools in their toolboxes, preparing them for ministry from a church perspective.”
Throughout this summer approximately 2,700 teenagers and counselors from 15 states will travel to the University of Mobile and spend a week away from home serving the south Alabama community.
M-Fuge, sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources, a division of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been in existence since 1995. More than 350,000 hours of service have been given to communities around the nation through this program. M-Fuge, which has nine locations across the nation and four international sites, is designed to offer youth both a summer camp experience and a personal ministry opportunity in the same week.
Tyana Jackson-Morrissette, a Mobile resident, is seeing the benefits of the M-Fuge program firsthand. M-Fuge campers are restoring her house, replacing flooring, windows, Sheetrock and insulation and painting and cleaning her yard.
Students and counselors are divided into groups based on their preference for areas of service. These groups minister through painting, construction, yardwork, children’s work, games and recreation, creative arts teams and social work. All of these services are provided free of charge to the community.
These M-Fuge campers brave the hot, humid weather in southern Alabama with heat indexes up to 105 degrees. On rainy days, the campers spend their time indoors working with children at local Boys Clubs and Girls Clubs or with the mentally challenged at locations across the Mobile area.
Campers return to the University of Mobile campus each evening for a worship service, followed by a group devotional and free time for fellowship with other campers.
Another camper, LaLane Taylor of Clay, a member of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, said M-Fuge gave her the opportunity to reach out.
“I came to M-Fuge because I wanted to do something for God. I’ve been to other camps before, but now I’m able to use what I’ve learned at the other camps to work for God,” Taylor said.
Williams, a student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, has worked with M-Fuge for the past two years. Citing a passion to see Christians grow, Williams said, “… I think discipling students and adults and helping them to grow is so important. M-Fuge does that.”
Kathy Dean, director of public relations at the University of Mobile, said, “Community service is an area our students and faculty focus on at the University of Mobile, and hosting M-Fuge is one of the many ways we can make a difference in the lives of people in south Alabama. It’s invigorating and inspiring to see campers from across the nation approach this ministry with such energy and enthusiasm.”
For more information about M-Fuge, visit the Web site at www.fuge.com.
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