At Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries (CMCM), we offer our children a holistic approach to healing from trauma. One way we do this is through the MaxFit Health and Wellness program led by Lauren Boyd, an ACSM-certified personal trainer.
Before arriving at Connie Maxwell, Boyd managed a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) gym in Alabama for three years. Her love for athletics and sports began during her college years at Samford University and eventually led her to a career in fitness.
She now uses fitness to minister to children and staff at Connie Maxwell.
“The research is there. Studies have proven that children who experience trauma have better outcomes when they’re eating healthy, consistently exercising and spending time outdoors,” stated Boyd.
Part of the healing initiative of President Danny Nicholson’s 10-year plan, A Decade of Dreams, is to be a national leader in healing and ministry to children that have been exposed to trauma. Based on research, gym renovation and emphasis on wellness is an outflow of that initiative.
Boyd’s goal through MaxFit is to encourage healthy lifestyles among the staff and students—a place where everyone can encourage each other to live their best lives mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically.
With the new gym renovation, Boyd will conduct optional HIIT fitness classes for kids with trauma-centered sensory equipment. These exercises will help Connie Maxwell kids release their stress and negative emotions in a healthy way. Boyd will also work with our student-athletes, offering training sessions focused on balance, agility and strength to increase their athletic performance.
Boyd currently conducts HIIT classes for staff members on campus. These sessions are a fitness regime to alleviate stress and cope with anxiety and daily emotional strains. Her philosophy goes beyond just physical exercise. Through these wellness initiatives, she strives to create a supportive community among students and staff.
Brad Seztler, Vice President for Human Resources, expressed his excitement for the increased emphasis on health and fitness that Boyd is leading. “Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and God commands us to take care of it. When our staff feel good (spiritually, mentally and physically), they can better serve our children; the children get their best! When our children feel good, they better navigate the trauma they have been through, thereby enhancing their ability to heal!”
The gym, previously a compact 400-square-foot space, has recently been expanded to 1,500 square feet, allowing additional space to serve more students.
The gym renovations at CMCM have not been a solo effort but a testament to the strength of the community. Dedicated volunteers, led by David Burress and Brian Ray from First Baptist Church Simpsonville, put in over 15 hours of hard work to tear down walls, install drywall, paint and lay 3,500 pounds of rubber flooring. Brad Harvey from Upstate Flooring Customs also played a pivotal role by generously providing the flooring as a gift to CMCM.
In addition, a significant boost came from the Duke Energy Foundation, which awarded a $4,000 grant to CMCM to enhance the health and wellness efforts started by Boyd. This grant will purchase essential equipment like rowers and push sleds.
Vilette Uhl, a CMCM cottage parent for the past two years, has been an integral part of the gym renovation project. Uhl volunteered her artistic talents for the new renovation and designed two gym walls—a mural of the MaxFit logo and a mural of silhouettes depicting specific children and adults from Connie Maxwell. The children can see themselves on the wall when working with Boyd in the gym.
Uhl said, “I wanted everyone to be able to see themselves or something they enjoy in at least one of the silhouettes. The theme is Lauren’s vision—that a healthy lifestyle isn’t just exercising. It is also spending time with God, making time to worship, what you eat, that you enjoy nature, that you do activities and sports you enjoy and that you find beauty in all of God’s creation.”
Underneath the silhouettes is Hebrews 12:1-2, which says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Through the new MaxFit gym, Connie Maxwell children will meet their health, wellness, faith and personal growth goals, equipping them with all they need to chase their dreams and achieve bright futures.
