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Summer for KiDs Beach Club® Area Directors is all about ramping up for the coming school year. In June, KBC hosted two different training retreats for its Area Director teams to help them serve our growing partners of churches and schools in their area with excellence.   

Our Texas Club Relations Team met at a retreat center in Junction, Texas for three days of training and recreation. Specific training involved how the team can better support Beach Club volunteer leadership to improve three specific areas: volunteer enlistment, behavior management and keeping clubs gospel centered. Each evening included a time of worship, Bible teaching and prayer, helping the team spiritually prepare for the upcoming year. 

The Independent Area Directors and Strategic Growth Team met for three days at the KBC corporate office in Bedford, Texas, utilizing the ministry’s new training space, which was completed in early June. Since all Independent Area Directors live outside of Texas, they were treated to the “full” Fort Worth experience with meals like Texas barbecue and a visit to the historic Fort Worth Stock Yards and Sundance Square. Training included refreshers on basic KBC processes, new tools for strategic growth and practical tips for working from home.

“There is nothing that unifies a team quite like having fun together. Even with all our Texas heat, it was great for our folks to spend time exploring outdoors and all be together,” KBC Executive Director Cindy Leach said. “Most of our field staff serves in isolated areas. These retreats are a way to help them connect with each other and realize that while they may be the only staffer in their area they’re certainly not alone.”

Both teams took time to celebrate how God worked in the past year and look ahead to what’s coming this year. The KiDs Beach Club® team is a family focused on a shared mission and vision to connect kids to Christ and put Bibles in their hands.

“The retreat was an exciting time to see what KBC is doing in other parts of the United States,” Vanessa Weber, the independent area director in North Dakota, said. “I walked away feeling excited about the ministry’s growth, encouraged by our leaders and other area directors, and amazed at how God continues to open doors at schools and churches! We are on our way to 200 clubs!”

“We believe God has great things in store and our teams are equipped and enthused about making next year, KBC’s best year yet,” Leach added.

It’s summer! The pool is calling your name. You’re on vacation, maybe even at the beach. Kids are taking a break from school and resting up for the next school year. Some people might call that recharging. We certainly do.

While summer means taking a break from schoolwork, for our Beach Club kids it does not mean taking a break from God.

God wants everyone – children included – to spend time with him daily. Our Summer Reading Program can certainly help with that. One of the tip-in pages of the KiDs Beach Club Explorer’s Study Bible outlines how children can make a plan to spend time with God. It’s good advice for adults, too.

WHEN
Try to spend time with God at the same time each day, even if it’s just 5 minutes. Choose what time of day will have the least interruptions, like in the morning when you get up or before you eat lunch. When school starts back up, it might be before you head out the door.

WHERE
Choose a comfortable, quiet place that is free from distractions. 

WHAT
Gather up what you need, like your Bible, a pen and a notebook. You might also want some other tools, like a dictionary, to help you.

HOW

PRAY
Prayer is simply having a conversation with God.

When you pray, tell God how wonderful He is. Confess your sin. Give thanks to God. Ask him for help. Listen for God to speak with you.

READ
Read some Bible verses. You don’t have to read for a long time. Even one verse might be enough for you.

If you don’t know where to start, try the “God Is” or “Who Is Jesus” sections in the middle of the KBC Explorer’s Study Bible or read one Proverb each day. For adults, maybe sign up for daily devotionals that can be delivered to your inbox.

THINK
Think about what the verse means.

Ask questions like “What does this verse teach about God?” and “How can I act differently because of what this verse says”

Consider ways you can live out what you read.

WRITE
In your notebook, write down what you think God wants you to remember today.

In your Bible, highlight or underline verses and words that are important to you.

Writing things down help you remember and understand.

Consider becoming a KiDs Beach Club® monthly donor to help provide a Bible to every child in every Beach Club. Having a Bible of their very own allows children to spend time with God during the summer when Beach Club isn’t meeting. If you haven’t seen our Summer Reading Program, check it out for yourself and share it with children in your family, at church or down the street.

Many people think KiDs Beach Club® is a school-year only program designed to connect kids to Christ and put Bibles in their hands. Well that’s correct… in part. With KBC Explorer’s Study Bibles in the hands of kids and now in their homes, boys and girls can continue what they learned in Beach Club. So, again this summer, KBC is providing a summer Bible reading plan for kids.

Tips for Getting Kids in God's Word this Summer

“Hang 10” is the phrase used by KiDs Beach Club® to encourage kids to hang out with God for 10 minutes each day in Bible reading and prayer. At the end of each club meeting, kids are given “Hang 10 Pages” to take home and use as a guide to spend time with God each day. Some clubs even offer prizes to kids who return their completed Hang 10 Pages to club the following week.

The Hang 10 Summer Reading Program continues this purpose of building habits in kids of daily Bible reading and prayer. Follow our social media platforms where we’ll post each month’s Bible reading plan along with daily reminders for kids to read the Bible and pray.

• June – Reviews Bible stories and memory links kids learned during this past year.
• July – Reinforces the character words kids learned in Beach Club and connects those character words to God’s Word.
• August – Previews Bible stories and memory links coming in the new Beach Club year.

Summer Bible Reading isn’t just for kids! We are encouraging everyone to “Hang 10” this summer. Parents, teachers and club volunteers can lead by example and spend at least 10 minutes each day with God through Bible reading and prayer.

Look for the hang 10 Summer Reading Plan for June in your inbox early next week!

It’s no secret that teachers want kids reading during the summer. It’s important for kids to keep practicing and improving their reading skills. God’s Word is the best book a kid can read. As a parent, you set the tone for making Bible reading important… and fun! Here are some simple tips to encourage your child to read God’s Word this summer.

• “Hang 10” – At KiDs Beach Club, kids are encouraged to “hang out with God” for 10 minutes each day through Bible reading and prayer. Set an alarm at the same time every day as a reminder that it’s time for “Hang 10”. When the alarm sounds, pause what you’re doing and devote 10 minutes to Bible reading and prayer.

• Hanging out with God may be a new concept for you and your child. Use the tip-in pages “Spending Time with God” in the KBC Study Bible (between pages 242-243) as a guide to help you understand when, where, what, and how. Make a family plan for spending time with God every day… and stick to it.

• Put a sticker on a calendar every day your child reads his or her Bible. At the end of the summer, count up the stickers and celebrate your child’s Bible reading success with a simple treat, like an ice cream cone or an afternoon in the park.

• Print out a copy of KBC’s “Hang 10: Summer Reading Plan” and put it on your kitchen table. At breakfast or dinner, read that day’s assignment and talk about the Bible story or verses as a family. Use the guide on page 2 for family discussion.

• Taking a family road trip? Pack your Bibles and take the summer reading plan with you. Make the most of family time in the car by reading and discussing God’s Word. Email us a picture of your children with their Bible on vacation: photos@kbcmail.org or tag us on your social media posts @kidsbeachclub.

• Help your child get comfortable with the Bible by practicing Bible skills. The tip-in page “The Bible is God’s Word… so LOVE IT! LEARN IT! LIVE IT! (just inside the back cover of the KBC Study Bible) contains five different activity options to help your child practice finding things in the Bible and memorize scripture. Use one or more of the activity options for a meaningful family game night.

As thousands of Southern Baptist churches from around the country gather in St. Louis for the SBC Annual Meeting next month, KiDs Beach Club® will feature a booth in the exhibit hall to encourage church leaders take the message of Christ outside their walls and into public schools in their communities.

“The Lord has blessed KBC with 127 partnering churches who are actively connecting kids to Christ and putting Bibles in their hands in 170 schools throughout eight states,” said Jack Terrell, founder and president of KiDs Beach Club®. “Our vision is to provide every 3rd through 6th grade boy and girl in America, a Jesus experience within the culture of their public school. Please join us in prayer for many fruitful conversations with these church leaders as we introduce them to our ministry and ask them to consider partnering with us.”

The theme of this year’s SBC Annual Meeting is “Awaken America” and organizers are hoping that the week of June 12-15 in St. Louis sparks a revival among churches in order for our nation to experience the next great awakening.

Johnny Hunt, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga. has already set forth an eye-opening challenge for church leaders by saying, “I've never seen a generation so focused on defining the Gospel, but so uninterested in sharing it.” Hunt will be one of the featured speakers at the Pastors’ Conference, which will also include a message from Byron McWilliams, the lead pastor at First Baptist Church Odessa. 

McWilliams will be challenging thousands of pastors to lead the way by starting to use several tools to equip, engage and empower their congregations to win their communities for Christ. KiDs Beach Club® is one of the tools that McWilliams has been using to reach children and their families at three Odessa elementary schools. He plans to share how KBC has helped his church identify unchurched children within the schools and accelerated open doors for spiritual conversations with other family members at their homes.

“It’s (KBC) a key piece of what we do in our overall evangelism strategy at First Odessa because it works," McWilliams said.

Click the links for more information: SBC Annual Meeting | SBC Pastors’ Conference