Teenagers across the United States recently discovered ways to turn ordinary talents or skills into a ministry gift. Through M-Fuge at the University of Mobile (UM), students are learning their gifts are a calling, according to site coordinator Vickie Pearsen.
“We’re showing these kids that they have a gift,” Pearsen said.
“It might not be something they would view as a gift, but their gift may be painting the fingernails of an elderly woman at a nursing home, or cleaning someone’s yard or using sidewalk chalk while playing with children.
“Through M-fuge, campers and counselors realize they have this gift and that this gift is a calling they should take home and use,” Pearsen said.
More than 2,500 teenagers and counselors from 15 states traveled to UM for a week this summer.
M-fuge, which is 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 a program designed to offer youth both a summer camp experience and a personal ministry opportunity in the same week.
Students and their leaders are mixed together in a group for worship and fellowship, then spun out into small teams for Bible study and for service projects. M-Fuge follows the basic plan of a Centrifuge camp, but instead of pursuing their individual interests in track times, campers are involved in personal ministry in the area.
“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,” said Kathy Dean, director of public relations at UM.
“It’s invigorating and inspiring to see campers from across the nation approach this ministry with such energy and enthusiasm,” Dean added.
Students and counselors are divided into groups based on their preferences for areas of service.
These groups minister through painting, construction, yard work, children’s work, games and recreation, creative arts teams and social work. Each M-fuge group consists of 15–30 youth, ages 12 and older, with a leader — a college or university student who was hired based on his or her experience in a particular area of service.
There are 15 groups of youth and adults who go out daily to minister in the city of Mobile. Pearsen said campers begin each day with Bible studies and devotions.
“Following this, they leave for ministry sites and spend the next five hours of their day ministering to people of all ages and backgrounds,” she said.
On rainy days, the campers spend their time indoors working with children at local Boys and Girls Clubs or with the mentally challenged at locations across the Mobile area.
Campers return to campus each evening for a worship service followed by a group devotional and free time for fellowship with other campers. Many campers are not only having fun in the camp experience, but are seeing their opportunities for ministry.
Jason Morris, a camper from Flat Creek Baptist Church in Gainesville, Ga., said, “I know that I’m making a big impact here. I can look at the smiles on the kids’ faces and see that I’m making a difference.
“I plan to spend more time when I go home working with the kids in my hometown,” Morris said.
Another camper, Lindsey Margiotta of First Baptist Church Kingston, Kingston, Tenn., said M-fuge has given her a different outlook on life.
“When I look at the kids and their smiling faces, I just have a great feeling,” she said.
“It’s fun to work with them, but it’s also helped me to realize what I take for granted,” Margiotta said. “I have so much, and these kids have so little.”
For more information about M-Fuge, visit the Web site at www.fuge.com.
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