NASHVILLE (BP) — LifeWay Christian Resources announced that FUGE, StudentLife, Student Life for Kids and CentriKid camps, as well as World Changers projects scheduled for June have been canceled due to concerns stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Campers play a game at a LifeWay FUGE Camp. LifeWay announced Tuesday (April 7) the cancellation of all its June 2020 camps.
“We’ve been closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and following the guidance of government and health authorities to ensure we are taking the right actions to protect our campers, staff and the communities where we host camps,” said Ben Trueblood, director of students at LifeWay. “Due to the continued health concerns related to COVID-19, we’ve
made the decision to cancel all camp programming for the month of June.
“While we are disappointed, we know this is the right decision to ensure the health and safety of all participants,” Trueblood said.
The precautionary move follows the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to cancel its annual meeting, which was scheduled for June 9-10 in Orlando. Numerous public events scheduled for the summer across the nation have been canceled or postponed out of concerns for public safety.
“At this time, we’re still planning to hold camps scheduled for July and August,” Trueblood said. “We’re taking things week by week and will continue to evaluate the situation.”
In the meantime, the LifeWay Students team is offering support and digital resources to student ministers during the COVID-19 crisis.
“I’ve been so encouraged by the work of student ministry leaders to move programming online in the first few weeks of this pandemic,” Trueblood said. “It has been an incredible effort fueled by a desire to continue ministering to teenagers.
“Our team wants to come alongside student ministry leaders during these unique times. We’ve created a hub where student ministers can find free digital Bible studies, advice on how to stay connected with students, and even community and support from other student ministers.”
For more information, visit StudentMinistry.LifeWay.com/hub.
“We are praying for student ministry leaders in these challenging times,” Trueblood said, “and we are thankful for their commitment to reach teenagers and their families with the Gospel.”
This article was originally published by Baptist Press at bpnews.net