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Michael Proctor volunteers at the Beach Club at Mohawk Elementary in Plano, Texas every Friday afternoon. He has been faithfully serving with KiDs Beach Club® for a few years, but visiting public schools is nothing new to him.

Proctor, now 20 years retired, spent years serving as a juvenile probation officer. He logged a lot of time in public schools and considers it a joy to be back volunteering in the public school system. The big difference is that this time he is sharing the Good News of Jesus instead of dealing with troubled kids.

Proctor is amazed that he is allowed to go into public schools with his church through KiDs Beach Club® to share the gospel. 

He says it is a great thing to be able to reach these children at such a young age and influence them positively, rather than trying to reach them after they may have made some negative life choices.

“More needs to be put into prevention,” Proctor explained. “Instead of dealing with things after they have already happened. That is what this program is about.”

KiDs Beach Club® is teaching children the word of God so that as they grow and mature they will make better life choices, instead of negative ones. The truth of scripture is incorporated in every club meeting, which reinforces the character words taught each week in club and in the elementary schools themselves. The vision of KiDs Beach Club® is for every child to have a Jesus experience within the culture of their elementary school.

Proctor has had the same core group of boys in his surf team each school year since he started serving in Beach Club. He has had the joy of pouring into this group, teaching them about the Bible and watching them grow with the Lord.

Proctor enjoys loving on these kids, many of whom view him as a grandparent-type figure. He feels he is seen as their authority, but in a softer light than that of their schoolteacher. With some children not having a grandparent, this relationship is especially treasured.

Proctor, who serves in Beach Club with his wife, encourages everyone to get out and volunteer. “You’ll find it has more benefits than you realize,” he said.

Probation Officer to Surf Team Leader from KiDs Beach Club on Vimeo.

This spring, KiDs Beach Club® partnered with the non-profit organization Time to Revive® to advance the gospel in Dallas-Fort Worth during its event, ReviveTX.

With the mission, “To equip the saints to share the gospel and make disciples,” Time to Revive® is, “Gospel-obsessed, spirit-led, church-driven, city-focused and disciple-oriented in order to see Jesus Christ transform hearts and cities across the United States of America and beyond.”

For one meeting this semester some Beach Clubs in the DFW Metroplex are getting special visitors from the ReviveTX team. This partnership allows children in Beach Club to see fresh faces present the gospel and teach them how to confidently share their faith with others.

Children receive a colorful bracelet with the scriptures that correlate to the gospel message. They are also being given a unique New Testament Bible. The Bible matches the way Time to Revive® specifically shares the gospel and includes step-by-step tabs for easily finding the scripture references used, and additionally has those verses highlighted. 

Time to Revive® visited the Beach Club at Shady Oaks Elementary School in Hurst, Texas in early April. Tina and RJ Etter are a mother-and-son duo that traveled from Flint, Mich. to participate in ReviveTX. The seasoned missionaries were especially excited to be at KiDs Beach Club® because RJ accepted Christ at an after-school Bible club similar to KBC when he was in elementary school.

The Etters shared Romans 10:15 during Memory Link time, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

The children were captivated by the presentation that followed with colorful signs and were engaged with their new tabbed Bibles to find scripture.

Many children responded to this gospel presentation and raised their hands for further counseling. Across the DFW Beach Clubs, many children are responding to this special club meeting and many are making Jesus their Forever Friend.

For some children it’s like adding water to help grow the seeds that have already been planted in Beach Club. For others who already know Christ, these special Beach Clubs are encouraging them to get out and share their faith. Following along with the memory link, Tina Etter said, “You have beautiful feet and you can share!” RJ added, “There’s no junior Holy Spirit, you all can share the gospel.”

Children also enjoyed the special Beach Club. A group of fourth grade girls were jumping over each other’s words to share.

“The tabs will help me turn to the verses in the Bible so I know I have the right ones!” “I’m going to wear my bracelet all the time!” And, “I know I start staring with the verse on yellow!”

The impact Time to Revive has had on KiDs Beach Club® has already been great and there are still more club visits to come through the end of the semester.

If you would like more information about Time to Revive® and how you can get involved sharing the gospel in DFW with the ReviveTX event which continues through June 4, visit ReviveTX.org.

RJ Etter said it best, “Sharing the gospel isn’t the easiest thing, but it’s the most rewarding.”

Carolyn Britton, the Beach Club leader at Eisenhower Elementary School in Clearwater, Fla., had been asking her adult Sunday school class at Calvary Baptist Church Clearwater to pray for their Beach Club.

When Britton would share what happened in her Beach Club each week, people in her class would often ask specific questions and inquire about specific children’s prayer requests.

About a year ago, she decided to gather these people’s names and send a weekly email with the specific prayer requests and praises of the children and overall prayer requests for the club.

Members of her church are so kind and often give her stuffed animals and treats to give to the children at Beach Club. Britton asks those individuals if they would like to be added to the prayer list too. Since last year, the list has grown to more than 50 individuals across the country.

Each week the children are told, “People that you have never met are praying for you,” and on days when there were gifts, “someone loves you and sent these things to you.” Some time in February, Britton began referring to these people to the children as their “Prayer Warriors.”

One little boy lit up. As a young boy imagining a different kind of warrior, he said, “Oh! I would love to see a Prayer Warrior!” Another child asked, “There’s not really people praying for us we don’t know, are there?” 

It was in that moment the idea came to Britton. They could invite all of their Prayer Warriors to a special day of Beach Club so the children could see they really exist, and the Prayer Warriors could meet the children they had been faithfully praying for. Britton invited the Prayer Warriors for a special celebration, which was held last month.

Twenty-two children were in attendance that day and so, too, were 11 Prayer Warriors who were able to visit the club.

“I would have been happy with three showing up, but 11 came!” Britton said.

Each surf team had two or three Prayer Warriors at their table and they were able to laugh and enjoy getting to know each other. These adults have already emailed Britton asking her to tell these children by name how they love them and are praying for them. Britton feels blessed to see the relationships that were formed that day.

“The highlight of the day was seeing the faces of the Prayer Warriors as they came in and made that connection,” Britton said. “Now, they aren’t praying for children they have never seen, and the kids have now seen the faces of the people who are praying for them.” 

Britton said when they first started this weekly email a year ago they saw an immediate change in their Beach Club. They quickly saw three children accept Christ, two during one of their most chaotic meetings ever.

“Without the Prayer Warriors we would not be as effective with planting the seeds of the gospel,” she said. “The support through prayer is the most important thing.”

Britton encourages everyone to get involved and become a Prayer Warrior for the Beach Club at their church.

Lee Strobel joined KLTY's Frank Reed recently to discuss his book, The Case for Christ, which has been made into a movie and is now in theaters.

"In light of the avalanche of evidence that points so powerfully toward the truth of Christianity, it would have taken more faith to maintain my atheism than to become a Christian."

Buy a ticket to hear Lee Strobel speak at our Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner July 14, and we'll give you a free ticket to see the movie. View Offer

Listen to his short interview.

Now that Great Treasure Day has become a regular event, more churches are getting creative with how they make the day even more special for all the children in Beach Club, not just those who are getting a KiDs Beach Club® Explorer’s Study Bible for the first time.

Some churches decide to throw big parties for their Beach Club on Great Treasure Day, celebrating the joy and delight of receiving God’s word. Other clubs take a more intentional route to focus on the gift of God’s word, highlighting His gift of salvation in a longer story time. Other churches elect to personalize each Bible.

Some churches take the path of personalizing the Bibles with handwritten notes on the inside covers. Kids at Hodges Elementary School are given their new Bible with a note somewhere in the Bible, but they don’t know where. Kids immediately begin searching for it and are excited to read the note when they find it.

Some children even ask their surf team leaders to write them a note as well. Members of Hickory Tree Baptist Church spend time in their Sunday school classes to write these notes.

“It is vital for Hickory Tree Baptist Church to take the time to personalize each kids’ KBC Bible,” Jason Points, the church’s children’s pastor, said. “This shows the kids that we are behind them and rooting for them. When these kids begin questioning the chaos and evil around them or struggle through an identity crisis and pick up their Bible, they will know there are others who have gone before them and who are on their journey with them.”

Women at Wildwood Baptist Church have a sewing club that meets regularly and as a part of their ministry, they decided they could get involved in the work their church is doing with KiDs Beach Club®. Their idea lets them help right from their sewing meetings. They take part in making Great Treasure Day a special celebration for their church’s Beach Club at Moss Elementary School by sewing a cover and bookmark for each child who receives a Bible. This year, the first year for the club, that count was close to 100 Bibles!

Club leaders at Lake Ridge Bible Church organize an event right before Great Treasure Day at Kimball Elementary in Mesquite, where church members “adopt” a child who will receive a Bible. Church members are given basic information about the children in their Beach Club, including his or her name, age, birthday and whether or not they go to church. Church members pick a child and commit to be in prayer for that child throughout the year.

They also write a note and stick it in the Bible that their child will receive on Great Treasure Day. Some people take this “adoption” to heart and even send cards and gifts for their child’s birthday. After Great Treasure Day, a bulletin board at the church is filled with pictures so the church members can put a face to the name of their “adopted” child.

No matter how churches choose to make Great Treasure Day special for every child in Beach Club, the most important part is just putting that Bible in their hands. 

Thank you for your continued support in making sure God’s word is given to every child in every Beach Club®! Please make plans now to join us July 14 for the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner presented by Home Point Home Medical Equipment, featuring keynote speaker Lee Strobel.

For the last few years, Caitlin, a student at Mohawk Elementary in Richardson, Texas, had seen kids attending KiDs Beach Club® every Friday afternoon each spring semester at her elementary school. Because she was not yet in third grade, she was upset she could not take part, and counted down the days until she was old enough to attend Beach Club herself.

Fast forward to this year. Caitlin came home from school elated that she was finally old enough to attend KiDs Beach Club®. With a permission slip in hand, Caitlin asked her mom if she could sign up. Her mother Katherine Criswell immediately agreed and Caitlin was set to participate.

About an hour later, Caitlin came back to her mother with a question. “You know what mom?” she asked. “Could you come with me?”

Her mother Katherine wanted clarification, “Just like, for the first time?”

“No, it would be really neat if you were there, experiencing club like I’m experiencing it,” Criswell remembers Caitlin saying.

Criswell decided to look into what was involved with volunteering at Beach Club and what the commitment entailed. She quickly decided it was an awesome opportunity to be at the school teaching kids the Bible. But, she wanted to make sure her daughter really wanted her to be there. Caitlin insisted her mother come to Beach Club to have that same experience as her, just not too close in her same small group. 

When Criswell got to Beach Club for the first time, she was assigned to be the Surf Team leader for third grade boys. A mom of two girls, at first she was at a loss about how to connect and understand these boys.

“God uses me best when I’m not in control,” Criswell emphasized.

It has been a great experience for her to be open and humble, letting God lead their time together. She considers it a joy for her to see these relationships grow and continue to develop. Criswell described the boys in her Surf Team as having diverse backgrounds. Some boys have great biblical knowledge while others do not know what a Bible is or what verses are.

It has been great for Criswell to invest in what she jokingly refers to as “future dating material” for her daughters. If she can encourage these boys to find a foundation in Jesus at an early age, then hopefully they will become great young men.

“What a great opportunity to build into these boys to be lights for Christ,” she said.

Criswell encourages others to volunteer in KiDs Beach Club® because, “If you’re given an opportunity to lead and teach and love on kids, especially in elementary school where they are just developing and figuring out who they are initially, this is the best time to get in and build those relationships now.

“All you have to do is have a willing heart, an excitement to build into kids that are in elementary school and just show up. You can just show up and impact these kids and the future of these kids’ lives.”