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Have you ever wanted to be a lifeguard? KiDs Beach Club® is always looking for more lifeguards. What is a lifeguard, you ask?

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

Being a Lifeguard for KiDs Beach Club® is simple. There’s no set schedule or meeting place, there’s no fee to be paid. All we ask is for time spent praying for the ministry.

We believe there is power in prayer and suggest that our lifeguards offer specific prayers for each day of the week.

Sunday: Pastors
Monday: KBC staff
Tuesday: Church coordinators and club leaders
Wednesday: Club volunteers
Thursday: KBC donors and corporate sponsors
Friday: Kids!
Saturday: Parents, siblings and families

In addition to this list, the most significant prayer we’re asking for right now is growth. KiDs Beach Club® has a goal to reach 200 clubs nationwide in 2018.

Several churches keep their club-specific Lifeguards in the loop with what is going on in their club either during church announcements or emails each week. You might remember a story we told you last year about a Beach Club in Florida that invited their Lifeguards to Beach Club. As soon as club leader Carolyn Britton started asking others to pray for her Beach Club, volunteers saw an immediate change take place.

“Without the (lifeguards) we would not be as effective with planting the seeds of the gospel,” Britton said. “The support through prayer is the most important thing.”

So, in this new year, it’s not too late to add a New Year’s resolution. Why not set a goal to spend more time in prayer, and become a Lifeguard for KiDs Beach Club®! Make a spiritual impact in this ministry even if you aren’t able to volunteer in a club due to your schedule or you can’t donate right now because of your finances. All you have to do is pray.

To find out more about our Lifeguard program, visit kidsbeachclub.org/lifeguard and if you want to become a lifeguard, we would love to hear from you at kidsbeachclub.org/become-a-lifeguard.

For a close-knit group of volunteers at River Trails Elementary sponsored by First Baptist Church Hurst, it was clear something was off at their Beach Club on the last day of November. One of their faithful surf team leaders, Cheryl Luttrell, passed away unexpectedly the weekend after Thanksgiving.

In her three and a half years of volunteering, Miss Cheryl had not missed one club. As a retired second grade teacher of 32 years, she felt most comfortable leading the third-grade surf team at the club each year. Because of that faithfulness to lead, most of the 71 children in the River Trails Beach Club once had Miss Cheryl as their surf team leader.

Seasoned volunteer Judy Beck took over the third-grade surf team in Miss Cheryl’s absence. That day, the character word was unplanned, yet quite fitting: determination.

“When I think of the word determination, Miss Cheryl is who comes to mind,” Beck said.

Unlike most volunteers, Miss Cheryl was bound to a wheel chair after a lifelong battle with cerebral palsy. She was an independent woman who never married and gave her life to serve the Lord.

In early December, Beck used surf team time to discuss the character word and go over their memory link as usual, but the word determination naturally steered all examples and conversation to things about Miss Cheryl.

“She showed determination because she came even in her wheelchair,” Aubrey said. Another child, Jessalyn, told the group how her mom had always told her she could learn a lot from Miss Cheryl.

“Miss Cheryl always had determination,” Beck said. “She did not let circumstances come in her way. She had limitations, but she didn’t quit and complain. She was determined to keep on living life.”

Once it was time for the big group story, club leader Deni Morrow continued the theme of explaining the character word through honoring their special volunteer. She explained to the children how it was hard for Miss Cheryl to come to club.

“She would drive to club by herself in her van, and she would slowly inch across the side of it to get to her wheel chair stored in the back. It was hard but she was determined to get to club.

“She did that because she believed in what we talk about at Beach Club,” Morrow said.

Morrow was then able to present the gospel to the children and highlight that Miss Cheryl had made Jesus her Forever Friend. “Because she did that, Miss Cheryl is spending eternity with Jesus! She is no longer in her wheelchair but running and jumping in heaven.”

“Miss Cheryl wants you to know her Savior too! She knows how important it is to ask God to forgive you,” Morrow said. “We want you to know how you can be in God’s presence.”

Although no children made a profession of faith that day, the volunteers are determined to keep giving every child a Jesus experience through Beach Club at River Trails Elementary.

Ronni Holley has been a KBC volunteer for several years at the Beach Club at Hurst Hills Elementary School, which is sponsored by North Point Baptist Church in Hurst, Texas. After contemplating quitting because of some struggles her first year as a volunteer, Holley is rejoicing in the victories she has seen since then because of the decision to continue volunteering!

“I want to share what is on my heart in hopes of encouraging you,” Holley said.

In her first year as a volunteer Ronni Holley felt discouraged. It was difficult for her to show up and serve when she felt like she wasn’t seeing the fruit of her labor. She prayed during the summer, asking God if she was supposed to continue volunteering in Beach Club. Despite her hard start, she came back for a second year ready to see God’s hand moving and working in the children.

“I was not disappointed!” Holley said. For starters, she saw the now sixth-grade boys who could not behave as fifth graders, turn into leaders.

“They showed the younger kids that it's cool to praise God, worship God, be in God's presence, even when you're a sixth grader,” she said.

One special moment she remembers is sitting down to help a little boy named RJ find the right page in his KiDs Beach Club® Bible during the large group story. He had a bookmark in his Bible and Holley took it out so that when they found the page she could mark it. Once RJ realized his bookmark had been taken out, he became upset. Unbeknownst to Holley, RJ had specifically marked that page because he had been reading his Bible on his own.

Holley apologized as RJ quickly turned to the table of contents. He had circled the book of Luke and next to it he had written the page number 1106. RJ turned to that page where at the bottom was a “Digging In” section. He had circled the words “Growing Up God’s Way.” RJ pointed to it and smiled at Holley before placing his bookmark back between the pages.

Later that same month, RJ made a profession of faith!

Holley is also seeing Beach Club impact her own children. Her now 9-year-old twins have been coming to club since they were in kindergarten, while Holley served. This school year is the first year they have had friends in club because they are now in third grade. The two have made Beach Club their mission field and invited evert kid in their class. Thanks to their excitement and invitations, the third-grade group is the largest group in the Beach Club at Hurst Hills.

“I am grateful, and blessed to be a part of this Beach Club!” Holley said.

Volunteers, have you had a season where you felt like you weren’t seeing the fruit of your labor volunteering in Beach Club? Have you since seen Jesus move in the lives of the kids in you club? Parents, have your kids decided to use KiDs Beach Club® as a way to tell their friends about Jesus? We want to hear your stories! Use #MyKBCStory in your social media posts or email us at news@kbcmail.org.

KiDs Beach Club® would like to welcome three individuals who have joined the ministry in the new year. Two people, Kelly Golden and Fray Webster join the KBC board of directors, while Pattie Rowland has joined KiDs Beach Club® as an independent area specialist.

Golden is the compliance director with Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow, Inc. which specializes in the death care industry. Previously a senior examiner with the Texas Department of Banking and an assistant vice president at several bank holding companies, Golden examined funeral homes, cemeteries, insurance companies and performed various entity loan reviews.

Golden believes knowing Christ and His salvation is vital to understanding the huge difference between facing death and having eternal life. Always up for a challenge, Golden loves adventures and learning new tasks to see how God will use her experiences in serving others.

She holds a bachelors of business administration in finance from Texas A&M University and attends First Baptist Church in Euless, Texas, where she has served on budget/finance, personnel and other task force committees at the church, and was a director in the singles ministry. Currently, she is serving on the personnel committee and in the worship ministry.

Webster, who returns to the board of directors after a year away, is an entrepreneur who has spent the past 34 years serving the DFW Metroplex in the construction industry. He is the founder of Bramata Company LLC, a family owned general contracting firm that specializes in Commercial Land Development and the construction of dental, medical and professional offices. 

Webster and his wife, Nancy, have raised three children, Tara, Brad and Mark. He considers his marriage of 36 years, their children and grandchildren as his greatest blessings. As a family, they joined First Baptist Church in Euless, Texas in 1984 and have served in the preschool, children’s, youth and adult ministries at the church. He was ordained as a deacon at First Euless in 2000.

Webster also serves on the board of National Prayer Room Ministry and previously served several years on the President’s Advisory Council at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Webster accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior at the age of 19 and knew that he had become a new creation in Christ. He is passionate about building a legacy of faith and dedication for his children and grandchildren. Fray’s desire is for KiDs Beach Club® to build its legacy as it shares the love of Christ with children and their families.

As an independent area specialist, Rowland will be leading KBC expansion efforts in East Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.

Rowland has previously been a volunteer with KiDs Beach Club® in Bartlett, Tenn., serving in Beach Clubs for two and a half years as a surf team leader at Bon Lin Elementary and later as the club leader at Bartlett Elementary.

She and her husband Jim relocated to Erwin, Tenn. and currently attend Ninth Street Baptist Church. She is involved with the church’s outreach ministry and also teaches Mission Friends.

The couple has four grown children. Rowland enjoys playing tennis, bird watching, hiking, wildlife photography, raising butterflies and gardening.

For the Beach Club at Ocean Springs Upper Elementary in Ocean Springs, Miss., Great Treasure Day was especially exciting. Earlier this month, the club’s new church sponsor, St. Paul United Methodist Church received its shipment of KBC Explorer’s Study Bibles to hand out to 75 children, each Bible wrapped in shiny Christmas paper.

It wasn’t the first time that kids had received Bibles in that school. Ocean Springs previously had a Beach Club, but it ended in the spring semester of 2016 when the partnering church experienced leadership changes and decided not to conduct Beach Club during the 2016-17 school year.

In an elementary school of roughly 1,400 fourth through sixth graders and with many other after-school club options, not having Beach Club left a void and not just with the kids, with the school’s administration as well.

Jon Wilson, the vice principal at the school, said the kids kept coming up to him asking why they weren’t having Beach Club that year. The kids who had been attending that club at Ocean Springs Upper really wanted it back. He also noticed that without a Beach Club at the school, the culture was changing in a negative way so he went to work to try to get Beach Club back.

Wilson picked up the phone and started out calling many churches in the area to ask if they would consider sponsoring the club for the upcoming year and when St. Paul United Methodist learned what Beach Club was all about, church leaders jumped at the chance to get a club going again this fall.

St. Paul United Methodist was excited to be part of the growing number of churches who are using KBC as a tool to go outside the walls of their church to take the message of Jesus Christ into the heart of their community. Specifically, KiDs Beach Club® enables churches to give boys and girls a Jesus experience within the culture of their public school.

By the fifth week of club, Ocean Springs Upper had nearly 80 kids in attendance and gave away 75 new Bibles on Great Treasure Day.

Marina, now in sixth grade, received a KBC Bible when she was in fourth grade and brought hers on Great Treasure Day while others were receiving their own Bible for the very first time.

“I am happy to have Beach Club back because I really missed it,” Marina said. “It really helps me learn more about God.”

Anna, in her first year in Beach Club, received her very first Bible on Great Treasure Day and it has created a special opportunity at home. Her favorite part of getting her new Bible is, “reading it with my mom,” she replied

Your commitment to our Bibles for Beach Club program is putting Bibles in the hands of every child in every one of our 166 Beach Clubs and it is teaching kids character through scripture which is resulting in a change of culture in our schools by, fostering life change in the hearts of children and their families.

Stories like this couldn’t be possible without your generous donations to KiDs Beach Club®. Together we’re connecting kids to Christ and putting Bibles in their hands.

In the spirit of Christmas and from the file of “Children say the darndest things,” we want to tell you about what children at two Beach Clubs near Memphis, Tenn. put under the Christmas tree recently.

Volunteers asked the children in to write down something they would give to Jesus for Christmas. Their answers were written on notecards, each one with a bow and were placed under a Christmas tree.

Ranging from humorous and childlike, to serious and kind, we hope you enjoy reading a few of their answers!

• I want to give him my heart
• My gift to God is my heart and my love
• I want to give Jesus my love and that it is true he died for the cross
• I want to give God all of my “praiar”
• An XBox 1
• A star of love
• If I could give Jesus something I would give him my life
• I’d give Jesus a bible
• My gift to Jesus is my everything
• I would give him worship
• “Nintindo Swich”
• A car to drive and it’s going to be a “lambo”
• My heart, love, and talent
• Giving something to someone that needs it
• I would give to Jesus worship, praise, glory
• I would give more of my time to him in prayer
• I would give him a sign that says, “Thank you Jesus”
• I would give Jesus my Beat Boxing “talant”
• I would give him love
  
  

Merry Christmas!