[1]GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)–Walk through Aspen Lodge at Glorieta, a LifeWay Conference Center, this summer and you’re likely to run into some familiar families.
There’s the Bradys, Partridges and DeFazios. You might even bump into some Taylors. You know, of the Mayberry variety.
OK, so it’s not the real TV families you remember from your younger days, just “family groups” of teenagers participating in the Centrifuge youth camp. They’re all caught up in this year’s ‘70s flashback theme, “Whatever You Gotta, Gotta Love.”
Youth in grades seven through 12 are involved in Bible study, worship and devotional times and every kind of extracurricular activity you can think of, from inline skating, volleyball and football to choir, mime and interpretive signing classes.
The Glorieta camp is one of 25 Centrifuge camps across the country that will attract thousands of teenagers before the summer is over. With a staff of 20, the Glorieta camp alone attracts more than 550 students each week.
Additionally, Centrifuge/M-Fuge has 16 traveling teams that go to 23 states and one foreign country. This summer, a total of 275 staffers are serving approximately 47,000 youth and counselors, reported Joe Palmer, manager of Centrifuge/Crosspoint for LifeWay Christian Resources.
“We have kids from all kinds of backgrounds, including some who are agnostic or very hostile to the Christian faith,” Todd Maupin, director of the Glorieta camp, said. “Sometimes it’s the first time they’ve ever done anything related to church. They come up and ask us, ‘What’s this all about? Why are you doing this?’
“It’s amazing to see them process all of this and watch God move in their lives,” Maupin said. “Many of them accept Christ. It’s also great to see kids who are already Christians get excited about their faith for the first time.”
Maupin, a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, is a three-year Centrifuge staff veteran. The two previous summers he was a Bible study leader at the Ridgecrest, N.C., camp.
“This is the most challenging job I’ve ever had because it requires me to be at top form physically, mentally and spiritually. But it’s all worth it. It’s incredible to be a part of this.”