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Paul McCollum has been promoted to chief operating officer for KiDs Beach Club®. McCollum has been a member of the KBC corporate staff since 2014 and has served as vice president for school relations, strategic growth and development during his time at KiDs Beach Club®.

As chief operating officer, McCollum will continue to oversee these areas as well as all of the day-to-day operations including staffing and programming. McCollum served 34 years in public school administration prior to coming to KiDs Beach Club®. He has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Stephen F. Austin State University and a master’s degree in education administration from the University of Houston.

He and his wife, Laurie, have four grown children and are members of Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, Texas where they both teach children’s Sunday school. McCollum enjoys being in the outdoors hunting, fishing and playing golf and using those activities as opportunities to share with others what the Lord is doing in the ministry of KiDs Beach Club®.

Other additions to the KBC team include Glenna Hockensmith as an independent club relations specialist, Michele Bryan as a club relations specialist, Kylie Badgley as ministry assistant and Samuel Dale as marketing and communications intern.

Hockensmith takes a new role with KiDs Beach Club® after serving as the Beach Club leader at Peaks Mill Elementary in Frankfort, Ky. The club is sponsored by Peaks Mill Christian Church, where Glenna and her family are active members. Hockensmith is the worship leader and her husband teaches Sunday school. She has a bachelor’s degree in human services from Carson Newman University. She has worked in the mental health field for more than 15 years. Hockensmith owns Charis Case Management, an agency which advocates for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

She and her husband, Michael, have been married for 15 years. They have two children: Kaylee and Koleman. Glenna homeschools her children which are currently in fifth and seventh grades. She also enjoys her German Shepherds, sitting on her porch swing, and quiet early mornings with a cup of coffee.

Bryan is excited to join the KiDs Beach Club® team as the club relations specialist for East Texas. Bryan holds a bachelor’s of science in mathematics education, as well as a master’s of arts in both Christian Education and ministry-based evangelism. She has worked as an administrative assistant, a stay-at-home mom and as a paraprofessional for Kaufman ISD. She previously served as a US/C2 missionary with the North American Mission Board at Mission Odessa, in Odessa, Texas.

Bryan is very active in her church, First Baptist Kemp, where her husband Russell serves as pastor. She teaches children in Sunday school and Cubbies and enjoys singing in the choir. She and her husband have one son, Baron, who is 8 years old. When she is not busy with ministry, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her family.

Badgley has joined KiDs Beach Club® as the ministry assistant at the organization’s corporate office in Bedford, Texas. She will receive a bachelor’s of journalism degree with a focus in broadcast from the University of Texas at Austin this month. She has been a member at First Euless since 2003 where she helps with high school camps. She also attends the young adults service at Watermark Church in Dallas. She is filled with love and encouragement from her parents Kristy and Larry and has a 19-year-old brother Landon. 

Badgley played college volleyball for two years at Pensacola State College before transferring to Texas and still enjoys playing, as well as, photography, decorating and cooking.

Dale joins the KiDs Beach Club® marketing and communications staff this month as a summer intern. He is alumnus of Covenant Christian Academy in Colleyville, Texas and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Oklahoma. With KiDs Beach Club®, he will primarily be writing articles for ministry’s monthly newsletters, assisting daily with social media and helping to promote the “Hang 10” Summer Reading Program.

Dale is a member of Brothers Under Christ national fraternity at OU and attends Summit Church in southern Oklahoma City. His parents Duane and Dawn Dale have been involved with KiDs Beach Club® for several years and are members of Center Point Church in North Richland Hills, Texas. He hopes to complete his degree at OU by 2020 and aspires to begin a career in advertising upon graduation.

If you are interested in joining the KiDs Beach Club staff, check out our employment opportunities.

The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 speaks to the importance of maximizing our lives that God has blessed us with for the sake of investing in the kingdom. It also speaks to the to the importance of not wasting the resources that God has placed us as stewards over in this life.

¹⁴For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵And to one he gave five talents, to another two and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents, ¹⁷And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”

With this passage, we should consider two questions:

1. How do we properly steward and manage the resources that God provides to us now to impact the kingdom? As stewards, we are responsible to manage our God-given resources in a way that advances the kingdom and bring Him glory.
   
   
2. How do we steward and plan for the event when we leave this earth with regards to the God-given resources placed in our care? When we enter into the gates of heaven, what stewardship and estate plans do we leave behind that will maximize the use of our resources for the kingdom and our family?
   
   

Every Christian is a steward over the resources that God provides to them now to advance His kingdom. Every Christian is a steward through their estate plans for the resources left behind when they enter into heaven.

As a KBC volunteer or donor you are already giving your time or financial resources to advance the kingdom by helping us minister to children each week in public schools.

Now, through a partnership between KiDs Beach Club® and the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation, you can formulate a plan to steward the resources that God has blessed you with during this life even beyond your death. By gifting one’s estate or leaving a portion to ministry purposes when we enter into heaven, we help advance God’s kingdom for those we leave behind for the sake of bringing Him glory.

For more information about how you can leave a legacy gift, please contact the KiDs Beach Club® office at 817-510-5885.

Great Treasure Day, the day kids in Beach Club receive their very own Bible, is a special day to countless children. It’s a day they will treasure and remember for years to come. However, if a child misplaces or loses their Bible, they are saddened at the loss of their prized possession.

That is exactly what happened to a little boy who attends Beach Club at his public elementary school in Mesquite, Texas.

James P., who goes to Beach Club at Rutherford Elementary School, came to Beach Club one Wednesday without his KBC Study Bible. When asked where his Bible was, he told the club leader and the other volunteers from Mesquite Church of Christ, the KBC partnering church, “I can’t find my Bible.”

He said he put his Bible in his backpack, “but it’s gone.”

James was shocked to realize his Beach Club Bible was missing from his bag, and sad he didn’t have it for club that day.

Aubrey Eudy, the club leader, encouraged James to look again at home, suggesting he probably just misplaced his Bible. But, Eudy assured James that if he went home and again couldn’t find his Bible, Eudy would get him another one.

James did as he was told and looked all around the house for his Bible. The next day at school Eudy just so happened to be working on something on campus and James ran into him in the hallway before the school day began.

Eudy inquired with James to see if he found his Bible. James replied, “Yes! I did!” Eudy asked where it was. James replied, “My parents had it and were reading it!”

Eudy told him to let his parents keep that Bible and he would get him a new one so his parents would have a Bible to read and James could have one to bring to club and read, too.  

“The excitement on his face to know he had a Bible of his own and his parents would have a Bible of their own, it was cool to see that,” Eudy said about the turn of events.

Eudy spoke of the excitement he sees in the kids that come to Beach Club, and how the parents of those children see the excitement and want it, too.

“The parents want to know who Jesus is,” Eudy said.

Eudy is going to be able to not only connect with James, but also his parents, all because of this interaction over a KBC Study Bible.

The club’s volunteers are thankful for the ways KiDs Beach Club® allows them to minister and be a part of sharing Jesus in a public elementary school.

“A lot of the volunteers that we have here think it is the coolest thing to know that Jesus is still in public schools and knowing that its making a difference in kids’ lives, so I just want to thank you for supporting this ministry,” Eudy said.

They are thankful for the support of donors like you who make it possible to give every child in every Beach Club their own KBC Study Bible.

With a renewed focus being put on the KiDs Beach Club® “Lifeguards” initiative this year, several Beach Clubs are reporting they are seeing a great impact within their clubs.

KiDs Beach Club® understands that God’s power behind our ministry is achieved through prayer. We call our prayer team Lifeguards. They are people who stand in the gap on behalf of our staff, our volunteers, our churches, our schools, our kids and their families.

One club in particular was able to make a small, but significant impact through the work they do in prayer.

This club takes prayer requests from children very seriously. Each week at club, the surf team leaders take time to hear both prayer requests and praises from each child in attendance. Some weeks the children are thanking God for Beach Club and their families, while other weeks they are praising Him for creating the whole world. Prayer requests usually involve the health of a family member or prayer for them to do well in school.

One week, a little girl asked for prayer for her family to have enough money to buy food. 

This request hit hard in the hearts of the club’s volunteers. They couldn't outright approach the parents and fill the need, but they wanted to help in any way they could. To keep the prayer request confidential, but still do their part to fill the need, the club leader took action in a unique way.

The club leader was able to contact a local food pantry. A representative at the pantry and her husband just so happened to be free to attend Beach Club the very next week. Both were treated as special guests at club and both shared news with the children about the services their pantry offers. They mentioned that anyone in the community can come to the pantry to get food for free if their family is having a hard time. 

The club leader was also able to share with the children about a free lunch service the school provides. The little girl who originally gave the prayer request for food was able to be added to this service at lunch time, and her family has the means to travel to the food pantry. 

Because of this club's dedication to prayer, and each week hearing what is on the hearts of their children, these volunteers were able to make an impact. This prayer request was also heavily prayed over by the Lifeguards. As far as the volunteers are concerned, prayer is the reason all of this worked out this way. 

"I would say that God planned it all, and we just happen to serve a fabulous Father who planned for this all to work out as it did," the club leader said. 

To find out more about the KBC Lifeguard program, visit kidsbeachclub.org/lifeguard.

Trevor attends club at Ocean Springs Elementary School in Ocean Springs, Miss. Beach Club is something he looks forward to every week. His excitement about it is evident to each of his family members at home.

Trevor is consistently found sitting at the kitchen table reading his Beach Club Bible. He reads his Bible so often and talks about Beach Club so much that his sister Autumn just had to try it out. The only problem was, Autumn sang in the honor choir, which rehearsed on the same day of the week and at the same time as Beach Club during the semester.

Autumn waited patiently for her choir rehearsals to end for the spring in early April. Her mother Erica Scott was excited to see Autumn so interested in Beach Club.

“I like that my kids get to experience biblical lessons with their classmates as well as a few teachers and other staff members assisting in KBC,” Scott said. “I am happy that they can connect with and know that other people on their public school campus are believers just like them.”

Scott sent an email in to see if it was okay for Autumn to join Beach Club seeing as it was so close to the end of the year. She received a quick yes but was warned it was scheduled to be the last week of club for the year. Autumn did not mind one bit and was excited to experience Beach Club for the first time alongside her brother.

“Trevor is always interested in the (weekly take-home) Hang 10 lessons and reading his special (KBC Study) Bible. I wanted to see what this was about,” Autumn said. “After my first KBC at Ocean Springs Upper, I see why! I really liked the lesson and the games.”

Trevor was delighted his big sister could see what Beach Club was all about. He really likes getting prizes in club for getting questions right and bringing his Bible. His KBC Study Bible is special to him and is unlike other Bibles.

“My favorite part of my KBC Bible are the glossy (tip-in) pages. They tell me about biblical heroes and about God's love. Those pages explain things better,” he said.

“KiDs Beach Club® has impacted our family in a positive way,” Scott said. “Trevor will often bring up an interesting discussion based on a lesson in KBC. Autumn has only attended one session and is already eager to sign up next year. I sure hope KBC and the honor choir do not have a conflict again next year. I do not want my kids to miss out on their lessons about Jesus.”

Pantgeo Bible Church, a long-time church partner of KiDs Beach Club®, has seen hundreds of children come through the doors of its Beach Clubs in Arlington ISD. They have witnessed hundreds of children make Jesus their Forever Friend, and hundreds of children have been impacted through their ministry inside public schools.

Despite the ever-growing number of children they are able to reach for God’s kingdom, the club leaders and volunteers find joy in keeping up with their kids years after they graduate from and leave KiDs Beach Club®.

One of those kids is Austin Ondijo, who attended the Beach Club at Sherrod Elementary 10 years ago. Austin recently created a video to share his story with the children who are currently attending Sherrod’s Beach Club.

Austin and his family moved from Kenya to America when he was 9 years old in hopes of getting an education and having a better way of life. When Austin was in fifth grade, he and his friends decided to give Beach Club a try.

“I loved Beach Club and came back every week to hear more awesome stories about Jesus,” Austin said. “One of the best days came when (club leader) Miss. Susan (Jiura) called my name and gave me a Beach Club Bible.”

From reading that Bible with his leaders in club and at home, Austin learned that Jesus had a plan for him and anyone who accepted Jesus into their heart. Austin made Jesus his Forever Friend and grew in his relationship with Jesus while attending Beach Club through the end of sixth grade.

During his years in junior high and high school, Austin and his family followed the Lord and attended church together. He discovered his athletic talent in track & field and found a place to grow in the Lord with his peers in the organization Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Because of his hard work in track and in the classroom, Austin was awarded full academic and athletic scholarships to the University of Texas at El Paso. There he has sought out a place to be in scripture with his peers in Baptist Student Ministries on the UTEP campus, just like he did in Beach Club several years ago at Sherrod Elementary.

In the video he recorded for his former Beach Club, Austin said, “I want to remind you today, that just like God had a plan for me he has a plan for you. All that He asks of you is that you listen to His voice. Listen to the people that he has put in your life to lead you like your mom and your dad, your teachers at school and here at Beach Club. He has dreams for you, bigger than you could dream for yourself. But, it’s up to you to listen to Him.”

“We don’t all have the same story, but we all do serve the same mighty God who can take any story and turn it into a good story.”

Click the video to watch him share his testimony with Beach Club kids at Sherrod Elementary.