KBC Blog (2021)

Media and ministry leaders from around the world sought out KiDs Beach Club^® (KBC) during last week’s National Religious Broadcasters Convention (NRB) in Orlando, Florida. KBC is a member of NRB and exhibited at the event, which drew nearly 4,000 Christian communicators from across the globe.  

“We met with Christian leaders ministering in Romania, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Canada, Norway, South Korea, Guatemala, Pakistan, Iran, Sweden, India, Israel, the Balkans and other places,” said Dr. Frank Banfill, KBC’s Executive Vice President who represented KBC at the event. "They all said the same thing: 'We desperately need the KiDs Beach Club^® television program! If you can put it into our language, we will be able to reach masses of children and families for Christ!'"  

One ministry that works in Pakistan explained that they not only have ways of distributing the program to the world’s 100 million Urdu speakers, but they have a staffed Urdu call center that people can call 24-7 using the popular communications tool WhatsApp. They put a WhatsApp phone number on the screen with their programming, and they are personally leading people to faith in Christ every single day! Dr. Banfill shared, “they felt our TV show in Urdu would have a profound effect on reaching families because there is very little children’s programming available.”  

Global leaders repeatedly approached the booth, commenting on the amazing quality of our show and its unique focus on preteens. They expressed how this show could be a game-changer in reaching people with the Gospel. The KiDs Beach Club^® show was displayed on a screen at the KBC exhibit booth, and a trailer of it was shown to TV industry executives during the convention.  

The cost of dubbing the KBC TV series into each new language is about $50,000. “As part of our strategy plan for 2023, we are seeking to dub the program into Spanish, Portuguese, and Farsi at a cost of $150,000. Now with this open door with Urdu, we are praying that God will provide $200,000 this year so we can put the show into all four languages,” said Dr. Banfill. Nearly 15% of the world’s population speaks one of these four languages.  

Could God be calling you to help reach large portions of the non-English speaking world by sponsoring the dubbing of KiDs Beach Club^® television? Please contact us if you are interested, or click the below "Designate: Dubbing" button to help translate KBC TV into new languages!

Christian Television Network (CTN) President Yolanda Morris
stopped by the KBC booth a few times during the NRB Convention.
We had to snap a picture, alongside husband Brian Morris and KBC's Dr. Frank and Beth Banfill.
CTN has been a huge supporter and partner of KBC TV since its beginning
and currently airs the show on all of its 24 stations across the US.

Last month, we shared about a new Beach Club^® starting in Paterson, NJ on May 2nd. It's a 6-week Beach Club^® and currently, it's the only remaining Club meeting for the 2022-23 school year.

While we are not yet back up to our pre-Covid numbers, we are encouraged by the growth we've seen over last school year and the excitement of entering 2 new states: New Jersey and New Mexico! Keep praying with us as we continue to expand into new markets and be intentional about growing God's Kingdom!

A lot of exciting things have been happening in recent weeks for KiDs Beach Club^® Television, and we are so thrilled to share a few of the highlights with you.

For starters, the 2023 Telly Awards were announced on May 23rd, and KiDs Beach Club^® TV Season 3 has been awarded its first GOLD TELLY, a People's Telly.

This is especially exciting because votes were cast from across the world, and only two GOLD Tellys were awarded in our category! This is also our first-ever Golden Telly, and we are thrilled to represent Christ unashamedly in this category! Prior to this year, we had won only 1 silver Telly and 8 Bronze ones.
That all changed with the latest awards, as KBC TV brought home 3 additional Silver Telly Awards! Here's the details...

Silver Telly in the Children's TV Category
This is same category that all Children's Television is in.
Two Gold Telly's were awarded, both going to productions by the Jim Henson Company.

Silver Telly in the Television General / Charitable / 
Not-for profit & Cause Marketing Category

Silver Telly in the Social Impact Category
In the Season 3 episode on "Friendliness" the Beach Club^® KiDs explore the importance of befriending and accepting others with differences.
Our writer Beth Banfill is especially excited about this Telly, as she consulted with family friends Ty and Kathryn Culbreth, parents of Logan Jade who was born with Down Syndrome.

Finally, we were awarded a Bronze Telly in the category of Television General-Religious/Spiritual. 

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
..so take a deep breath and keep reading!

Since last month, KiDs Beach Club^® Season 2 was awarded a prestigious "Best TV Show" by the International Christian Film Festival (ICFF)! Thank you to Bridgestone Multi-Media Group (BMG, #EncourageTV), our distributor for Season 2 for entering us into the ICFF competition!

As mentioned in our Surf Report, we were also a finalist in the category of "Best TV Show" at the ICVM Crown Awards. This ia a prestigious honor and the first time ever recognized as a finalist. The winner in this category was announced at a special awards ceremony in Orlando last week, with The Chosen being named the winner. We were thrilled to even be nominated and praise God for the recognition He has given us! 

Last month, we sat down with former Board Member Fray Webster to talk about Why Giving KiDs Bibles Matters. Fray and his sweet wife Nancy have been close friends and supporters of KiDs Beach Club^® since the very early days, and Fray has served several rotations on the KBC Board.

Back in 2014, God impressed on Fray's heart that KiDs Beach Club^® should be giving out Bibles to every child who attended Beach Club^®. (Prior to that, only about 25% of kids attending Beach Club^® received Bibles. They were given out in drawings and as an award to encourage the kids.)

Following the Holy Spirit's stirring, during the next Board Meeting, Fray introduced the idea: "Why don't we give every child a Bible?" Fray shared, "We would talk about reaching every child, getting the Word of God out there to them. What if we actually gave every child a Bible?" When he made the statement, the room went silent, and everyone in the room knew we needed to do it!

Everyone in the Board Meeting had complete peace and complete fear, because giving every child a Bible was a huge financial commitment, but they knew it was the right decision.

That board meeting took place in 2014, and beginning in 2015, every child in every Beach Club^® began receiving their very own copy of the Greatest Treasure: God's Word. Currently, KBC has distributed over 72,650 Bibles to preteens in public schools! 

Thank you, Fray, for following God's leading to speak up in that Board Meeting! While we can count the number of Bibles that have been given out, only God knows the eternal impact that decision has made on entire families!

Hop on over to KBC's podcast page to watch or listen to the full interview with Fray Webster! We have a warehouse full of Bibles (hot off the press) that arrived just a few months ago. If you want to help sponsor Bibles for KiDs, just click the button below.

During the 2022-23 school year, KiDs Beach Club^®  distributed 3,319 KBC Study Bibles in public schools, exhausting our existing stock. The good news is that a fresh order of 6300 Bibles has just landed at our warehouse, just in time for two more schools to hold their Great Treasure Day! (Great Treasure Day is the dedicated day in Beach Club^® when kids are given their KBC Study Bibles!)

Will you please pray about making a special gift today to help cover the costs associated with these Bibles? A $20 donation will place the Bible in the hands  of a child at a public school. $250 will sponsor Bibles for 15 children. $1000 will sponsor Bibles for 50 homes!

Last month, we shared about adding New Mexico to our state count, bringing our total to nine states. This month, we're happy to report that number has increased again, totaling ten!  

Our new church partner Trinity Pentecostal Church of God has been attempting to start a Beach Club^® in New Jersey literally the entire 2022-23 school year. This church partner heard about us first through the television program Washington Watch, where host Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council interviewed KBC's founder Jack Terrell.

The enemy threw roadblocks at every turn, but in the end, God prevailed, as He always does. The very first New Jersey Beach Club^® will meet on May 2nd in School 13. Please pray with us that this 6-week Beach Club^® will be a huge success, introducing many more kids in the future to Jesus!

Want an update from last month's New Mexico Club launch?  

On April 13th, the very first Beach Club^® in New Mexico met. Our church partner Elevate Ministries had a small group for the first day of Beach Club^®, but by the 2nd week, the number of kids attending had doubled! Keep praying for God to move in and change lives!