KBC Blog (2021)

One of our super volunteers, Tara Seidman, shares two opportunities she had to connect with family members of Beach Clubbers and minister to them personally.

I met with a momma of a brand new Beach Clubber.  Her daughter had come for the first time and started crying at the end of my lesson, during the prayer.  Her grandmother had passed away and I think the quiet moment triggered those emotions.  This family doesn't go to church and her tears were an open door for me to connect with this mom. On her permission form for where they list the church they attend, the mom put "one time only."  It's like she was saying, "Hey!  We don't go to church!  Come talk to me about it!"  When I followed up with her concerning her daughter, she told me more than once, "thanks for reaching out!"  I love the vehicle of KiDs Beach Club® to connect with families!

Not long after that, I met with another momma.  Actually, she's a grandmother who is raising her two grandsons.  They had just moved here from Alabama.   Mom is in Afghanistan and has been in full time service to our country almost all of her boys' lives.  When I called to see if I could get her to sign an "ouch report," I found out that she had been in the hospital for a week and awaiting cancer test results.  I was able to visit with her for an hour at their home and the next week her boys came over after Club to hang out at my house, just connecting with other boys in the neighborhood.  Again, this wouldn't have happened without KBC!

These are just two testimonies from my little world.  Now multiply that times all of your leaders and kids!  God is doing amazing things through this ministry that isn't always displayed in numbers or in a way that can be put on a chart.  He is doing things in people's hearts, and I LOVE that!

~ Tara

Angie, one of the Beach Club leaders in Caddo Mills, Texas is also a teacher at the school.  One morning Angie was visiting with a younger student and he shared some very disheartening information about his home life with her. Angie’s heart was breaking for this little boy and his family.  She knows the only true hope for him is Jesus.  This little boy does not attend Beach Club and she was thinking of ways she could infuse God’s truth into his life and then it hit her … the KBC Bible!  The KBC Devotional Bible is a complete set of the Scriptures designed to take kids from Genesis through Revelation in the NIV (1984) Easy Reader version.  It is also packed with 260 daily devotions and 52 weekend devotions.  Angie went immediately to her Beach Club supply box and pulled out a brand new Bible.  Now, the question was how would she get this Bible into his sweet little hands. 

The next morning as Angie and her daughter, who attends the same school, were getting ready, Angie said to her, “God needs your hands today” and placed the KBC Bible in her hands and told her to whom she needed to give it at school.  That day at lunch, Angie’s daughter went up to the little boy and said, “Hi, this is for you.”  He immediately responded with “what’s this?” and another boy piped up and said, “that’s the Bible; we use it in Beach Club to learn about God!”  This situation could not have been orchestrated in such a beautiful way had Angie planned it all out herself.  It was the Holy Spirit all the way. 

Just like Angie, we are faced with opportunities to be a light, shining hope into the dark places.  When you meet people and begin to hear their stories are you moved with compassion?  Are you sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and obedient in taking the next step?  The “next step” can take shape in a myriad of ways.  People are struggling all around us in all sorts of ways, but one thing is true, Jesus is their only hope.

KiDs Beach Club® continues to make Jesus Cool at School!™  We celebrate incredible growth having 97 active clubs across seven states this school year.  The vision “to provide every 3^rd through 6^th grade boy and girl a Jesus experience within the culture of their public school” is gaining momentum.

This goal is achieved with the help of generous donations from many friends and ministry partners.  These contributions make it possible for the 7,500+ children enrolled to experience Jesus in the safety of their elementary school.  In the 2012 - 2013 school year, our church partners have witnessed 727 children make Jesus their “forever friend.”  Taking all the years of Beach Club into account, that number grows to almost 4,400. That is a lot of children coming to Christ!  That is what transforms the culture of our schools.

Jack Terrell, Founder and President of KiDs Beach Club®, is often asked, “Jack, do you really give children in a school cafeteria or gym the opportunity to trust Christ? … How?”  This note received from a Club Leader captures how it happens.

A few weeks ago Ron, one of our Surf Team leaders, called me over and said that Philip had a question.  Philip asked me, “How do you become a Christian?” Then Ron said, “Now, tell her the other part.” Philip continued, “We are Buddhist.” My heart was heavy for a moment.  I shared briefly how to become a Christian and explained that Buddhists believe something very different about Jesus.  I explained to him that we always have to honor and respect our parents, so he should talk to his mom about it too. I told him that his mom sends him to Beach Club knowing we teach from the Bible, so it’s likely that she is open to it.  We all joined hands and prayed for Philip to have the courage and words to talk to his mom. 

The following Monday Philip came up to me with a big smile and said, ”I found out that we are not Buddhist… we are Episcopalian!” I told him that I was proud of him for having a talk with his mom.  At the end of the lesson when I asked who wanted to follow Christ, Philip raised his hand and enthusiastically said, “I do!”

Every week, amazing and committed volunteers share the love and hope found only in Jesus Christ with thousands of children.  It is through the generosity of individuals and church partners that children, just like Philip, can experience the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

If you would like to support KiDs Beach Club® in reaching more children in more schools you can do it today.  Click over to our giving page for online options or write to us at PO Box 635, Euless, Texas 76039.

Melanie Ekblad, Elementary Ministry Director at Brookhaven Church in McKinney, Texas shares with us how KiDs Beach Club® has infused their ministry.

“Beach Club has renewed a sense of our calling that we have as Christians to go to where the lost are.  In a school system that had never allowed a Christian group to meet, the Lord opened a door through Beach Club for us to minister to kids that otherwise might not hear the gospel. It amazes me that some children today don’t even know who God is and have never been exposed to His love and grace. Through Beach Club our church and volunteers have seen many lives changed, including their own watching the transformation of children’s lives.  In one semester of Beach Club we saw 23 kids give their lives to Christ. We have seen kids begin to desire to know the Lord; they are reading their bibles, attending Sunday services, going to camp and even leading friends to the Lord.  It’s amazing what the Lord will do if we are faithful to His call.  We thank the Lord for the blessings He has given us through Beach Club and letting us be a part of His work.”

Mike Ackerman has been involved with KiDs Beach Club® for several years.  Mike has served as the worship leader at Shady Oaks Elementary School since Beach Club was introduced there seven years ago.  Mike shares that he takes seriously his commitment to serve each week, but admits that sometimes when the kids get, well, lets say, a bit over-excited he finds himself asking, “Lord, why me?”  He found himself asking that question on more than one occasion, but never really getting an answer.  It certainly didn’t deter him from serving, but he really wondered “why?” sometimes. 

Approximately four years into pondering that question Mike heard God’s response loud and clear.  “He [God] said to me, ‘Kids need a positive male role model in their lives that will help lead them to Christ.’  I just sat there and said, wow!”  Sometimes working with kiddos full of energy can be overwhelming.  When we step back and see the big picture and remember the main reason why we do the things we do it makes even the challenging times worth it.  Mike has said that he’s sure he does plenty of things in life that are probably a waste of time, but KiDs Beach Club® is not one of them. 

A special Thank You goes out to Mike and all the volunteers who faithfully serve each week.  You are welcoming kiddos into a safe place and showing them the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.  You are making a difference!

In our recent workshop led by Robin Dembicki of Dallas Bible Church, we learned that there is hope for ministering to high-need children.  You know them, right? Perhaps they live in a single parent home, have ADD, experience emotional distress or have a parent who is addicted to alcohol or drugs. 

When we deal with children in our Beach Clubs who are facing such issues we must remember that behind every behavior is a circumstance.  As leaders, we “see actions and words, but what we don’t see are the thoughts behind the actions,” Robin shared.  It is our desire to go beyond the behavior of a child to the heart where true transformation begins. 

At Beach Club, “we are the voice of influence and the greatest thing we can do for these kids is to tell them that we believe in them,” Robin said as she shared with club volunteers from Arlington, Dallas and Caddo Mills, Texas.

Don’t forget that we too are high-need children. All of us are in need of His grace and forgiveness.  Robin encouraged us to love those kids, speak truth into their lives and to remember that every week should be a fresh start instead of a frazzled mess!