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Normally, the fifth week of the Beach Club calendar is circled for Great Treasure Day, the day that every child receives their own copy of the KiDs Beach Club® Explorer’s Study Bible. But it wasn’t until week 10 that Bibles were handed out at Harris Elementary in St. Charles, Mo. 

The delay came with a good reason. When week five arrived and for the fifth consecutive week, no children had shown up for the new Beach Club. The school had restrictions prohibiting the group from passing out or sending flyers home with children at the school so there was no way to get the word to parents that this Beach Club had started meeting on campus.

Despite the obstacle, a group of volunteers from Jungs Station Baptist Church, which partners with KiDs Beach Club® to sponsor the club, had faith that the Lord would send the children. 

“We accepted that the Lord wanted us to be in Harris Elementary and that He opened the door for us to be there so we’re going to go in and we’re going to start having club,” Bob Feeler, the senior pastor at Jungs Station Baptist Church, said.

Faithfully, for five consecutive weeks, a dedicated group of volunteers not only showed up at Beach Club each week, but also went through each part of the club schedule as if there were children present.

“I kind of got to thinking, did the Israelites feel like this, that we’re doing all of this over and over again each day and nothing’s happening?” club leader Ron Gray remembered. “But I kept encouraging myself; God caused the walls of Jericho to fall, maybe He’s just giving us extra time to practice.”

On the fifth week that was supposed feature the celebration of Great Treasure Day, the mood was understandably filled with disappointment, starting with pastor Feeler.

“I came into club that day and I guess I was lacking faith and thinking, Lord, we can’t even get one kid to come to club,” Feeler said. “At the end of our club that day I was going to say to our workers, ‘Hey you’ve give in a great try and been faithful to come and set up and you’ve done everything you can do, I just don’t think it’s going to happen.’ And then just before 4 o’clock, Miley and her mother show up at the door.”

Miley had the undivided attention of the entire team of volunteers and won all the prizes for that day. Miley had such a great time, she invited her friend Sofia, who came with her the following week. Miley continued to invite her friends each week and the club continued to grow. By the time Great Treasure Day arrived in week 10, seven children were there to receive a Bible and despite the small group, there was a big celebration.

“It was really exciting,” Brenda McClain, who teaches the memory verse each week, said. “You know you’re not only giving that child a Bible but you’re giving that home a Bible and some of our children aren’t in Christian homes.”

Club Leader Ron Gray remembers seeing the smiles on the faces of the seven children who received Bibles and is excited with the treasure they’ve received in God’s word.

“Those Bibles are so well put together that the kids were just excited to get them and start looking through them and to use them,” Gray said.

Generous donors like you have supported the Bibles for Beach Club program and made those Bibles possible. Feeler is grateful for that gift.

“I want to thank you for purchasing Bibles for the kids in our club,” he said. “There is an expense to a KiDs Beach Club®, and for a church our size, it is a significant financial investment; so the gift of Bibles was a great blessing, is greatly appreciated and is being used.”

By now you know that KiDs Beach Club® provides a KBC Explorer's Study Bible to every child in every Beach Club. We are able to do that at no cost to the partnering church, school or parents thanks to our generous donors, like many of you, who support our Bibles for Beach Club program. 

Some give monthly or annually while others give at our annual Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner. All money raised during that event goes directly to putting Bibles in the hands of children in public elementary schools. For many of these children it’s the first Bible they have and in some instances, it may even be the first Bible in their home.

This year’s Benefit Dinner, presented by Home Point Home Medical Equipment, is Friday, July 14 in the Grand Ballroom at Texas Motor Speedway. The featured speaker that night is Lee Strobel, whose book The Case for Christ, was made into a movie, which is now in theaters. It documents his journey from atheism to Christianity.

When you buy a ticket to attend the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner to hear Strobel speak about the urgency of reaching the next generation with the Good News of Jesus Christ, we’ll give you a complimentary ticket to see The Case for Christ movie. 

Since the first Great Treasure Day in the spring 2015, KiDs Beach Club® has distributed 26,758 Bibles thanks to our passionate donors. Since KiDs Beach Club® began distributing Bibles in 2003, we have been blessed to deliver Bibles to 47,823 children.

We couldn’t do that without the investment of our many great donors, so thank you for your support. Together, we're connecting kids to Christ and putting Bibles in their hands!

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.