Summer Campers Arriving at Mississippi College to Build their Faith and Strengthen Sports Skills

Fuge campers at MC is Calvary Baptist Church of Alexandria, Louisiana

Sizzling early June temperatures greeted the first wave of summer campers from North Ripley Baptist Church in North Mississippi.

“We hope we can be more like the hands and feet of Jesus,” said youth minister Kenny Harrison as he tried on his new Fuge Camp T-shirt at Mississippi College.

The five-day summer camp will combine Bible study with lively worship music from a contemporary Christian band, fellowship time, sports activities and much more at the Baptist-affiliated university.

“A lot of life changes take place as we share the word of God with the kids,” says Allison Cook, a Fuge camp Bible study leader as Central Mississippi temperatures climbed to the low 90s. “It’s wonderful.”

A 2013 Mississippi College graduate, Allison had a minute to chat Monday afternoon before joining worship leader Trisha Stacey to hand more T-shirts to MC’s newest arrivals.

It marks the second summer that Cook is working with a Fuge Camp that’s part of Lifeway with the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville.

No doubt, the experience at Mississippi College will offer fresh insights about her faith as Allison pursues a master’s degree at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

A singer and guitar player with the group Yeshua’s Brand of Huntsville, Alabama, Allison is thrilled to make her first visit to Mississippi College. She joined the band practicing at Swor Auditorium while the campers traveled to Clinton.

Counselor Macey Doran of Georgia can’t hide her enthusiasm as the 2015 camp season cranks up. “I’m excited to see all the life changes happening this summer,” Doran said as students from First Baptist Church Cornelia in Georgia lined up for pictures. “It will be awesome.”

Camp goals for the 13 and 14-year-olds from Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, Louisiana can be summed up in a few words. “It’s to grow closer to God and each other,” says youth pastor Billy Lonsberry.

For dozens of children and church leaders that will make the three and one-hour hour trip from the Bayou State to the Magnolia State worth every minute.

Making the journey via vans and buses, the church delegations are part of an invasion of more than 6,000 boys and girls at Mississippi College for a marathon of camps in June and July. The kids stay overnight in MC residence halls and dine at the school’s cafeteria. It can get noisy at times.

On June 9, action on the Clinton campus revolves around a Mississippi College Choctaws football camp led by head MC coach John Bland. A similar camp for high school football players is set for June 15 at MC’s Robinson-Hale Stadium.

In addition, this week, a MC Lady Choctaws team basketball camp for high school girls will run from June 11-13. MC Lady Choctaws hoops coach Paul Duke and his staff oversee it.           

“Our girls had a great time at the Mississippi College team camp,” said Madison-Ridgeland Academy basketball coach Mark Alexander, who visited with his basketball players last summer. “It was well organized and ran smoothly.”

The MRA girls liked playing at the A.E. Wood Coliseum where they compete in the overall state tournament each year.

“The biggest thing, though, was the players and coaches alike really enjoyed playing against teams we don’t normally face during the season,” Alexander said. “That’s fun.”