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Earlier this month, Hillcrest Baptist Church in Frankfort, Ky., hosted the first KBC Leadership Luau of the year, despite potential distractions.

“That church, to have opened their doors to us right now, was amazing,” Christy Hughes, the regional manager for KiDs Beach Club®, said.

Hillcrest pastor Tom Troth, and his wife, Karen, suffered a loss in the days leading up to the Leadership Luau when Karen’s father unexpectedly passed away. Both Tom and Karen are involved in Beach Club and were intending to participate in the Luau. At the same time, Hillcrest was heavily into preparations for Vacation Bible School, scheduled to begin the next evening.

However, Hillcrest members were not deterred. Hughes credits this to the value that Hillcrest places on KiDs Beach Club®. They carried on, allowing KBC staff to facilitate a successful day of training for the area’s three partnering churches – humorously, with a beach-themed luau taking place against a polar backdrop provided by Hillcrest’s “Operation Artic” VBS theme.

“Training was good,” Hughes said. “There was a sweet spirit in the room of people wanting to interact with each other about KiDs Beach Club® and learn from each other.”

Such connection and sharing ideas are two of the main reasons that Hughes believes it is so important for KBC volunteers to attend their area Leadership Luau.

“It builds an enthusiasm and energy for the new school year as you move into Club,” she said.

One of Hughes’ favorite parts of the day was when each church led a song that they sing at their Beach Club. She gives a shout-out to Chris Dove, the ministry’s independent area strategist for Kentucky, for this and other activities that made the day so enjoyable.

Hughes was not alone in her enjoyment. Volunteer Sara Hensley, who gives her time in support of the Beach Club at Peaks Mill Elementary, which is also in Frankfort, said that training was more than what she expected. “I expected it to be bookish, like sitting in class – but it was fun!”

KiDs Beach Club® encourages all volunteers – new and veteran alike – to attend a Leadership Luau in their area each year. As Hughes points out, an important part of networking at this event is volunteers sharing ideas that have been successful in their club; this cannot occur without veteran participation.

In addition to providing an opportunity for you to connect and share ideas with fellow volunteers, top-notch KBC leaders are eager to share three new promotion and registration tools designed to grow your club and streamline the registration process:

• New online registration
• Individual web pages for every Beach Club
• New tools to promote your Beach Club

If you have not yet registered for Leadership Luau, go to kidsbeachclub.org/luau to locate and register for an event near you. You won’t want to miss this time of worship and celebration!

KiDs Beach Club® would like to extend a sincere word of thanks to everyone who joined us at our Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner July 14. The event, which was held at The Speedway Club at Texas Motor Speedway, raised enough money to purchase 14,000 Bibles to place in the hands of children.

The evening kicked off with pace car rides around the speedway’s mile and half oval. A meet-and-greet with keynote speaker Lee Strobel followed. During this time, Strobel and his wife, Leslie, spoke with guests, took pictures and signed copies of The Case for Christ, which he authored.

While both of these took place outside of the Grand Ballroom, inside the main room was an array of activity. Two popular activities were the Dine & Dash and the Pick & Play, in which guests purchased a decorative plate or a Bison tumbler for the chance to win a variety of gift cards to restaurants and experiences.

There were also three raffles to choose from, including a custom rifle and two vacations – one to Florida and the other to California. Finally, guests could stop by the photo booth to take a picture and commemorate the evening.

The official program began with Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage welcoming guests to the track before offering the prayer formally start the event. Chris Krok, a talk-show host on WBAP-AM Radio in Dallas-Fort Worth, took the stage and began his emcee duties for the evening.

Guests then had another opportunity to participate, this time in a live auction. Auctioneer Loyd Sawyers made this an exciting time, auctioning off such items as trips to the Rocky Mountains and Cabo San Lucas, buck and hog hunts, sports ticket packages, an autographed Dirk Nowitzki jersey and a custom Alamo precision rifle.

Strobel then took the stage, delivering an inspiring keynote address. He spoke about the importance of KiDs Beach Club® to a generation that is experiencing a crisis of faith. He encouraged donors, explaining that their gift would have a ripple effect through future generations, suggesting that people 100, even 200 years from now would be impacted by the child who received a KBC Explorer’s Study Bible and began down God’s path, rather than a path of sin and immorality.

Following was the story of Miley the Missionary and how, through her attendance, changed the course of a new Beach Club in Missouri. Jungs Station Baptist Church began sponsoring a club at Harris Elementary School in St. Charles, Mo., but for the first four weeks, no children showed up. It appeared the trend would continue into the fifth week until Miley and her mom showed up just before Beach Club was scheduled to conclude. These faithful volunteers learned a lesson in perseverance. Their reward came when Miley began inviting friends to join her in club. 

The emotional story led into a plea for attendees to support the worth-while cause of giving kids Bibles. Donations began pouring in and visibly moved Jack Terrell, the ministry’s founder and president.

All in all, it was an amazing evening.

“From the beginning of the night with pace car rides,” Sawyers said in summation. “We shared scripture and smiles with people, and everybody was just excited.”

Amazed, he added, “Nobody left tonight. That’s unusual… they want to be a part of God’s plan right here with KiDs Beach Club®.”

We know we’re coming right off a successful annual fundraiser, but we will again be participating in North Texas Giving Day. We want to get September 14 on your radar. That’s the day when thousands of people rally around various Dallas-Fort Worth area non-profit organizations to help financially support their mission.

If you were unable to support KiDs Beach Club® at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner earlier this month, we hope you will be able to make a gift in support of our ministry that is connecting kids to Christ and putting Bibles in their hands. Together we’re making Jesus cool at school!

While we are thrilled with the 14,000 Bibles you helped us raise at the Benefit Dinner, that number signifies a year of significant growth for our ministry. The last two years, the Lord has provided us with the exact number of Bibles we have needed to ensure we’re able to give every child in every Beach Club a Bible of their very own. Based on the Bibles we’re purchasing for kids this year, we’re projecting to grow by more than 90 clubs, which amounts to roughly 6,300 kids.

In order to facilitate our rapid growth, we will have to act quickly to expand our ministry with the addition of strategic growth and field staff representatives and your gifts will greatly assist that process.

More details will follow, but know that this year you can schedule your North Texas Giving Day gifts starting September 7. Simply go to NorthTexasGivingDay.org any time between September 7-13, and you will be able to schedule gift in support of KIDs Beach Club®.

Amazing! That’s the only word that seems to describe the 2017 Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner July 14 in the Grand Ballroom of the Speedway Club at Texas Motor Speedway. The night focused on the ministry’s continuing vision to provide every third to sixth grade child a Jesus experience within the culture of their public school.

“This is an audacious vision that God has given these people, and it excites me,” said keynote speaker Lee Strobel. Strobel is the author of The Case for Christ, and a teaching pastor at Woodlands Church in The Woodlands, Texas.

Strobel emphasized the importance of raising today’s young people to be strong in their faith, because they are the leaders of tomorrow. He also expressed concern in current trends.

“There’s no question,” Strobel said, “today we are facing a crisis of faith among young people.”

He gave these statistics:

• Only 56 percent of millennials consider themselves to be Christians.
• Only 62 percent of millennials are confident that God exists, compared to 82 percent of baby boomers.
• Overall, the number of atheists and agnostics has more than doubled in recent years.

Strobel cited one cause being that young people have tough questions about their faith, but no one who is willing to discuss them. Strobel talked about his own journey down this path, which ultimately led to atheism and immorality.

“That’s the path that some of these young kids are going to be taking unless somebody intersects with them at a young age and brings them hope through Jesus Christ,” Strobel said.

KiDs Beach Club® wants to make this intersection, and provide kids with tools to stand strong in their faith. One of the key pieces to this is providing each child a Bible, which we are able to do because of your continued support. 

“Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is active and it’s alive,” Strobel said. “We’re not putting something powerless and anemic in people’s hands; we’re putting the word of God in the hands of these young children who are at the perfect age.”

As a result of the Benefit Dinner, KiDs Beach Club® will be placing an order for another 14,000 Bibles to hand out to children in public elementary schools.

Strobel encouraged donors that by partnering with KiDs Beach Club®, “We can help turn the tide and reverse the current trend of millennials turning away from Christ. 

“Why can’t they be the greatest generation that has ever lived for Jesus Christ?” he said. ‘They can. With our encouragement, with our investment in their lives and their spiritual development, with the Bibles we can give them, who knows what they’re gonna bring to this world as they spread this message of hope and grace and love and forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.”

If you were unable to attend the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner and would like to support this cause, please visit kidsbeachclub.org/bibles.

Back in April, we wrote about our first Beach Club in Missouri, Harris Elementary in St. Charles. For the first five weeks of club, no one attended. Then, near the end of that fifth week, at 3 minutes until 4 p.m., Miley (and her mother) walked in.

It was a reward for the volunteers who had faithfully showed up each week, hoping and praying for the day children would walk through the doors of the gymnasium. 

Check out this video we shared at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner on Friday, July 14. It's a story of perseverance.

How would you like to enjoy a breakfast at the Original Pancake House, lunch at La Hacienda Ranch or a fancy dinner at Bob’s Steak and Chop House? Those are just three of nearly 100 gift cards available in the popular Dine and Dash game that will take place starting at 6 p.m. before our Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner, which takes place in just days at Texas Motor Speedway.

Happening at the same time in the Grand Ballroom of The Speedway Club will be the Pick and Play which features tickets to outings such as the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and The Perot Museum as well as certificates for family portraits, chiropractic and salon services as well as passes for your family to go ice skating at the Galleria.

When you purchase a dinner plate in the Dine and Dash for $25, on the back of the plate will be a gift card worth at between $25-$100 to restaurants around the DFW Metroplex. The great news, each donation purchases a Bible for a child in a public school.

The Pick and Play tables will be stocked with Bison Tumblers and for $50, you’ll choose a tumbler to keep along with the certificates inside ranging from $25 - $300.

It costs just $20 to put a Bible in the hands of one of the more than 11,000 children in Beach Clubs across America.

It’s not too late for you to join us at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit July 14, featuring keynote speaker Lee Strobel, please click here for tickets.

Thank you for partnering with us to reach thousands of boys and girls for Christ in public elementary schools by making Jesus Cool at School!