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We heard from Todd Gray, the pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis, Texas, with a story that best illustrates the fruits of a partnership between KiDs Beach Club® and Can We Talk. Here is what he wrote:

“One Wednesday evening, I was going out with a Can We Talk evangelism team from our church. Can We Talk is an evangelism program that equips churches and laity to lead members of the community to Christ. We were using family connections made through our KiDs Beach Club® at a local elementary school to go out and visit.

“When we knocked on the door, Jessica answered. Just a few minutes into our visit, we discovered that two of her children are attending Beach Clubs in Ennis at two different locations. One is sponsored by Tabernacle and the other is sponsored by a sister church in the community that we helped get started. Awesome!

“Both her children loved learning about Jesus at school, which made the introduction to us very easy. A ton of barriers that are normally experienced when knocking on a door came tumbling down because of our connections to KiDs Beach Club®.

“Turns out Jessica was attending Beach Club with her daughter that our sister church was leading. She confessed to us that she felt like she wanted to teach her children about Jesus but was hesitant because she did not know much about the subject herself.  She decided to learn with her child. Long story short, God had been working on her for several weeks at Beach Club.

“The lady from our church who was leading the conversation on the Can We Talk team had never shared the Gospel with someone outside her family. It was amazing to watch the Holy Spirit lead both women. He led the lady from Tabernacle in what to say and he was leading Jessica in understanding and conviction.

“The conversation ultimately led to Jessica praying to trust Christ for Salvation and clearly make a decision to follow Him for the rest of her life. Both ladies were crying and left changed that evening. Jessica was connected the very next week with a one-on-one disciple from our church.  She now actively attends our church and is growing in the Lord while learning to disciple her children. 

“As the Pastor of Tabernacle, I was blessed to see God use KiDs Beach Club®, a sister church in the community, our Can We Talk evangelism strategy and our one-on-one discipleship ministry to reach Jessica with the Gospel and change her eternal destiny. 

“Just wow! I stand amazed. I truly believe the key factor in all of this was KiDs Beach Club® who allowed us to meet Jessica. May this type of thing continue to happen in communities all across America!”

This story perfectly illustrates the objectives of KiDs Beach Club®: impact communities for the Kingdom, share Christ in public schools, foster life change in the hearts of children and connect families to a church family. It also worked in perfect harmony with the church’s Can We Talk evangelism strategy to lead Jessica to salvation.

KiDs Beach Club® is 10 years old and we want you to celebrate with us on April 16 at the Hurst Conference Center. God has blessed us with the opportunity to minister to more than 67,000 children in public schools and more than 7,000 of those have made Jesus their Forever Friend, now that’s something to celebrate!  

That will also be a night that we raise the funds to purchase our next round of 20,000 KBC Explorer’s Study Bibles to hand out on Great Treasure Day in the 2016-17 school year. As a result of our last Bibles For Beach Club Benefit Dinner and Auction, we were able to hand a Bible to every child in every Beach Club, which amounted to 17,777 Bibles! Please make plans to join us for this important night by going to our website, www.kidsbeachclub.org/BDA to register. If you can’t make it, would you consider providing a gift to help us purchase these Bibles?  

Our guest speaker for the evening Chris Krok, of WBAP Radio in Dallas, who takes the pulse of our country every night on his evening talk show. He knows the climate of our nation and the vital importance of reaching the next generation for Christ which is taking place at 170 Beach Clubs across America every week. Lifeway Song Writer David Gentiles will lead us in a time of praise and worship and of course, we’ll feature many incredible items in our popular silent auction.  

It will be a night to remember so please reserve your spot today!

KiDs Beach Club® has added Susan Baird, Megan Brunner and Chinita Lewis to its club relations team as the organization continues to grow to serve its 170 clubs. Baird will serve as a club relations director in the Wichita Falls, Texas area, while Brunner and Lewis will serve in the same capacity in Tarrant County.

Susan Baird was born and raised in Wichita Falls, one of the newest areas to add KiDs Beach Club®. She loves being part of a close-knit community. Baird has served in part-time capacities in church childcare and preschool and children’s ministry while raising her family. Susan and her husband Terry have been married for 29 years and have one son, two daughters, and a son-in-law.

Brunner recently graduated from Northwestern State University with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and addiction studies. She has served in children’s ministry with experience as a camp counselor and Sunday school teacher. She also has led Bible studies. She and her husband Jeff, who is a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, were married this past May. They live in Fort Worth.

Lewis is a member of North Richland Hills Baptist Church, where she has served in children's ministry for the last eight years. She has taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. She and her husband Bryan live in Fort Worth with their three daughters Journee, Jewel and Joi, who all actively serve with in ministry alongside their mom at church. 

KiDs Beach Club® is also looking to fill other positions, click here for a full list of positions currently available.

Tyler Gets His KBC Explorer's Study Bible from KiDs Beach Club on Vimeo.

Chances are pretty good that you remember receiving your first Bible. So many KiDs Beach Club® volunteers and pastors at partnering churches are eager to share their memories with kids in their Beach Club.

Meet David Ng, a volunteer at Sherrod Elementary in Arlington, Texas. When his Beach Club celebrated Great Treasure Day last fall, he pulled out the very first Bible he received 47 years ago. It was written in Chinese and was so worn, the front and back covers were missing. He has to carry it in a Ziploc® bag to keep it protected. He told the kids he found Jesus in the pages of that Bible and the cafeteria erupted with applause.

Kriss Bryant, the children’s pastor at Center Point Church, which sponsors two Beach Clubs in Birdville Independent School District, mentioned a popular entry one of their volunteers posted on Facebook.

“One of our leaders shared the front of her Bible that she received when she was 7 years old,” Bryant said. “She said she still remembers that day and I hope that we have made that memory for these kids – that they will get to cherish that Bible and be something that they will hang on to for a really long time and even share with their own kids someday.”

KiDs Beach Club® has made it a priority to give a Bible to every child in every Beach Club and hopes that children will remember the day. In 2015 alone, Beach Club handed out 17,777 copies of God’s word on Great Treasure Day. 

“The most important thing about handing out the Bibles is that a lot of these kids don’t have the opportunity to own a Bible or ever read the Bible,” said David Griffin, a pastor at C-Life Church in Forney, Texas. “So to give kids the opportunity to have a Bible to call their own means a great deal.

“When these kids get their Bible, it’s an exciting moment for them to get to walk in and say this is mine and this is my treasure that I’m getting to learn from today.”

Great Treasure Day, no doubt, is not only creating memories that will last a lifetime, but also is giving kids a hands-on tool to use as they start life-long relationships with Jesus.

Tyler and Piper attend Beach Club at Johnson Elementary in Southlake, Texas. The club is sponsored by Southlake Baptist Church and pastor Clayton Reed.

“When I got my Bible I was surprised and happy,” Tyler said. “I use it everyday to learn about God and Jesus.”

“When I got my Beach Club Bible I was happy and excited,” Piper said. “I use my Beach Club Bible to read at home and when pastor Clay reads us a story from the Bible.”

Bryant enjoys watching the kids’ reactions when they receive their Bible.

“It’s a huge blessing to get to see their faces light up when they get their Bibles,” he said. “And to actually get to share with them all the different parts of the Bible about what they can dig in and make the Bible stories come alive and it’s just a great opportunity to do that.”

Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep the covers intact.

KiDs Beach Club® will celebrate its 10th birthday at the annual Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction April 16 at the Hurst Conference Center. Your monthly support combined with the funds raised at the last Benefit Dinner & Auction has allowed us to provide nearly 20,000 Bibles since then. Please help us purchase an additional 20,000 Bibles so we can continue to provide Bibles to every Beach Club child the next two years and make these memories for kids and reach them for His kingdom.

If you would like to attend this year’s Benefit Dinner & Auction please register at www.kidsbeachclub.org/BDA. Thank you for your continued support.

Now is the time to mark your calendar for April 16 so you can join us for our annual Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction at the Hurst Conference Center. You’re invited to join hundreds of KiDs Beach Club® friends, volunteers and supporters as we celebrate 10 years of sharing the Gospel in public schools!

• Worship with LifeWay songwriter David Gentiles
• Hear an inspiring message from WBAP Talk Show Host Chris Krok
• Enjoy a steak dinner with your friends and family
• Walk away with an amazing item from our silent auction
• See the impact of giving away 20,000 KBC Study Bibles in 2015
• Help us raise the funds to purchase 20,000 more KBC Study Bibles

Make your reservation today by calling 817-510-5885 or reserve your table online at www.kidsbeachclub.org/BDA.

If you have items you would like to donate for the silent auction, please contact KBC Vice President Dave Crome at dcrome@beachclubs.org.

Jennifer Harp, a volunteer at Northrich Elementary, recently shared her testimony with us about why she became a KiDs Beach Club® volunteer. We hope you find it inspiring and encouraging.

“I remember my 83-year-old mother, Billie Shotts, telling me about yet another ministry she was getting involved in,” Harp began. “She was already a Sunday school teacher for a women’s class in her church, volunteered with Christian Women’s Job Corps, and taught Vacation Bible School. She managed to juggle all these balls, along with taking care of my father, who had had a stroke, and a lifelong family friend, a single woman with no family, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. 

“When she said she was going to work with KiDs Beach Club®, I wasn’t sure she could handle another responsibility. She volunteered at the Beach Club at Porter Elementary School in Mesquite, Texas, along with other members of her church, including a man who was older than she was. She would talk about getting down on the floor with the kids and how hard it was for her to get back up. My mother suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and I knew it was very difficult for her, but she enjoyed it so much! 

“She was in her second year of KiDs Beach Club® when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She told her kids that she would be having surgery that might allow her to recover. But she also told them that she was ready to go be with Jesus and how important it was for them to have Him as their Forever Friend. She had surgery in December of 2013 and was never able to return to KBC. Although the surgery removed the cancer, she suffered many complications and was never able to overcome them. She died July 2, 2014. At her celebration service, we displayed her KiDs Beach Club® t-shirts; and several of her kids attended the service.

“A year later, my church announced that it was going to be sponsoring a KiDs Beach Club® at Northrich Elementary School in Richardson. Several of my good friends with whom I served in various ministries would be involved. At first I was hesitant to say yes because I already work with second- and third-grade choir at the church, direct a large Sunday school class, and sing in the Celebration choir. But then I felt a strong prompting from the Holy Spirit to get involved. And I can picture my mother in Heaven cheering me on. When I join her there, I know she’ll be rejoicing that I continued her legacy.”

We want to hear from you in the coming weeks. What makes KiDs Beach Club® special to you or your child? If you’re a volunteer, do you have a heart-felt story you can share about leading kids to Christ or about why you serve? If you’re a donor, why do you choose to support our ministry? If you’re a parent, what has KBC meant to your child(ren) and your family? If you’re a church pastor or children’s minister, what is it about this ministry you love most?

Shoot us an email with your KBC testimony at news@beachclubs.org