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If you haven’t yet had a chance to watch the video about how God was at work to start a KiDs Beach Club® at Floyd Elementary School you definitely want to take about 10 minutes and watch it now. It’s simply incredible to watch how God orchestrated the events that came together to impact children’s lives in Balch Springs, Texas.

Beach Club at Floyd Elementary from KiDs Beach Club on Vimeo.

Alex Gonzales, the pastor at Hickory Tree Baptist Church, Dr. Tonya Mamantov, the principal at Floyd Elementary, and Lauren Reed, a teacher at Floyd Elementary in Mesquite Independent School District, all took a step out in faith.

They joined Paul McCollum, the vice president of school relations and development for KiDs Beach Club®, on stage after the crowd at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction watched their story. It was a brief question and answer session to further explain the circumstances that lead to the formation of the club. 

“What was impressed upon me through this was that God truly called and gifted each one these people and uniquely placed them in a time and place for His purpose,” McCollum said. “And, most importantly, they were faithful and obedient to the call and they used their gifts right where they were placed.”

Lauren responded to a call to prayer. Dr. Mamantov responded to a call to lead boldly and uprightly. Pastor Gonzales responded to a call to go and make disciples. A KBC donor gave generously as God led him to give from God’s provisions to him not knowing how the gift was going to be used.

As each of these individuals led out in faith in their various roles, other faithful stewards followed.

“We learned of positive culture change in the school,” McCollum said. “We learned of church growth and a renewed urgency of ministry. We heard from volunteers, who feel loved and needed and who have found significance in the work they are doing. We saw children learning God’s word and worshipping a Savior many never knew prior to their KiDs Beach Club experience. And the result has been God using each person and circumstance to bring about His glory.

“For me, this was Christ’s story reinforced by what the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:10-11, which says, ‘As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God… so that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.’” 

God could do it without us, but He has given us the grace and opportunity to be partners with Him in His plan to reach a lost and dying world through His church.

Together, we can connect kids to Christ and put Bibles in their hands!      

What a celebration April 16 at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction. We celebrated the 10th year of KiDs Beach Club® and applauded how powerfully God has blessed this ministry since it was founded.

A total of 12,255 volunteers have helped connect 66,830 children to Christ and you have helped put 40,269 Bibles in their hands. As of the day before the big night, a total of 6,954 children had made Jesus their Forever Friend.

KiDs Beach Club® is providing children with hope and pointing them in the right direction. That should be celebrated. In an era when people are out to prove God to be wrong, KBC is walking children and their families down the right path. 

It’s a path that is not always easy to find, especially in a society that is trying to go forward without Biblically based Christian values. That is why 62 percent of all children who attend a Beach Club do not have a church home.

“These kids are not getting the Truth at home,” said Chris Krok, a talk-show host on WBAP Radio in Dallas, who delivered the keynote speech at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction. “They’re not seeing God or Christ in their homes.” This is your one shot. This is your chance to do something for them to bust the mold.”

He shared numbers with the crowd to prove this point: 

• 73 percent of African American kids are born out of wedlock
• 54 percent of Hispanic kids are born out of wedlock
• roughly 30 percent of white kids are born out of wedlock

He said that these kids who are born out of wedlock and raised in a single-parent home are more likely to go to jail, be on welfare or drugs and are more likely to drop out of school. They’re also more likely to have sex before marriage. What a vicious cycle!

Krok, whose own kids attended Beach Club, had nothing but praise for the ministry and its supporters.

“What do you think this program is doing for this lost generation,” Krok asked rhetorically. “What kind of life preserver is being thrown to them? You should consider re-naming this ministry ‘Kids Life Preserver’ or ‘Kids Life Saver,’ but that might scare some away!”

He encouraged everyone to step out in obedience like the pastor at Hickory Tree Baptist Church did; like the leaders at Floyd Elementary School did with that pastor’s help to start a Beach Club at the school earlier this year to help bring hope to a community that faces many worldly challenges he mentioned during his speech. 

What KiDs Beach Club® is doing in the lives of children at Floyd, throughout Texas and around the country is a result of people stepping out in obedience to the Lord. 

Equipping these kids with the word of God and arming each child with a Bible, KiDs Beach Club® is making a difference and we couldn’t do it without your help!

“You may not have the time, but have the money,” Krok said during the event held exclusively to raise money for Bibles. “You may not have the money, but have the time. Pour out yourself into a drink offering for the Lord.”

As a result of the Benefit Dinner & Auction, KiDs Beach Club® will place an order in May for another 10,000 Bibles so that kids will receive a copy of God’s word when clubs resume next fall. That number can grow even more if more people become a valuable monthly Bible donor. Click here to support us in this unique way to support KiDs Beach Club® and throw a life preserver to kids and families who need us most.

How does one of the smallest churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex sponsor one of the largest Beach Clubs in the nation? It is all about the volunteers.

This spring, Hickory Tree Baptist Church started a Beach Club at Floyd Elementary in Balch Springs, near Mesquite. The church averages around 100 people every Sunday and had a real concern about how it was going to staff the club.

“I was really worried about our volunteer base initially because over half of our church is senior adults and the younger families all work,” said Jason Points, the children’s pastor at Hickory Tree. 

“We put out a signup sheet,” said Alex Gonzales, the church pastor, who admitted they expected to have only a few people sign up. “With the exception of one volunteer, all are senior adults and they just flocked to the signup sheet.”

The also had incredible support at Floyd Elementary. 

“With the support of the principal, we put our heads together and she basically blessed the teachers and the staff to help with KiDs Beach Club®,” Points said. “From there it all took off.

“The next thing we know, we have over 20 volunteers and 120-something kids on the roles.” 

“That told us it was a God thing,” he continued. “It told us that what we were doing was something that God had ordained and that God had set in place. It’s pretty exciting to be a part of this, especially for such a small church.”

One of the volunteers from his church, Georgia Dowdey, who raised five children of her own at Hickory Tree, is appreciative of the opportunity to share Jesus with public school children. 

“It is awesome to be able to work with these kids with Beach Club,” she said. “It’s something that great to know that we can bring this in our schools again.

“It’s beautiful to see these children soaking up the information and the fact there are so many of them who are unchurched. It’s just amazing that we can do this and let them know that Jesus loves them, that God loves them and their family, and we can plant a seed here and then let God make it grow.”

Another church volunteer, Sue Murphy, a member at Hickory Tree for 44 years, said, “To think that you have an opportunity to help children, guide their thinking and maybe seek the Lord. That is our real goal, to help the children and find Jesus.

“That puts a big responsibility on us because we need to do our part about being a role model, being an example,” she continued. “It is worth it – spending time with little children. Our time to do that with children is very limited and very short. They grow up so fast.”

The principal and some of the staff at Floyd previously taught at schools with Beach Clubs and were thrilled it was coming to their school.

“I worked with Beach Club before and I saw all that went into it: the games, the music, the snacks, the attendance, even things like keeping track of the points,” said Lauren Reed, a teacher at Floyd who had been praying for three years for a Beach Club to come to her school. “It takes people that are willing to help and its amazing to me that volunteers want to help out with that and I’m so thankful we have this kind of a turnout at Floyd.” 

A few of her fellow teachers and other staff at the school also serve in the club.

“I allow any of my staff that participate to wear their KiDs Beach Club® shirt every Wednesday with khakis,” said Dr. Tonya Mamantov, the principal at the school. “Because this activity happens during their contract time, they take a break from their contract time and go do Beach Club and then they come back and finish their contract time. This is on their personal time. They choose to do this.”

The church volunteers enjoy serving alongside the teachers and staff at Floyd.

“I am so grateful to our precious principal, Dr. Mamantov, and these precious people, these teachers, who are Christian teachers allowing us to team with them to help the little children,” Murphy said. “To even have a few of the children find the Lord; every minute that you give is worth it. It is such a privilege.

“The children need to understand the importance of getting Jesus in their hearts young and early and having a whole life to serve the Lord.”

The community has truly come together to make an impact on the students at Floyd and their families and to help lead them to Christ.

“I’m making a difference,” Reed said. “These kids are learning the truth. They need to know the truth and they’re getting that now. I love Beach Club because it changes kids’ lives. Some of these kids have never heard the name of Jesus. Some of these kids have never heard what a Bible is. They haven’t been to church. It is so important to come to Beach Club to learn about those things and get exposed to it and to see their teachers and other people that are helping to influence their lives in a positive way.”

God gives us thousands of promises in His Word and Psalm 89:34 gives us assurance that he will never break one of them, “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.”

There have been countless times during a decade of ministry at KiDs Beach Club® that the Lord has fulfilled promise after promise and we share Paul’s testimony in Hebrews 10:23 which says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

We will celebrate God’s faithfulness to KiDs Beach Club® April 16 at the Bibles For Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction when we will also celebrate our 10th year of ministry. Please make plans to be with us at the Hurst Conference Center for an evening of praise and worship with David Gentiles, a compelling message from WBAP Radio’s Chris Krok and inspiring testimonials of how Jesus is working in powerful ways reaching children inside elementary schools across America through KiDs Beach Club®. 

Watch the video below to get a sneak peek at one of those stories from Floyd Elementary in Balch Springs, Texas.

Preview of Bibles for Beach Club from KiDs Beach Club on Vimeo.

God blessed KiDs Beach Club® at the 2014 Bibles For Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction by providing the funds to purchase 20,000 Bibles to give to every child in every Beach Club. After handing out 17,777 Bibles during each club’s Great Treasure Day during the past 17 months our supply is running low. We will be raising the funds for another shipment of 20,000 Bibles during our 10th Anniversary Bibles For Beach Club Benefit Dinner & Auction on April 16.  Please prayerfully consider one of three areas to help us continue giving God’s word to every child in every Beach Club.

1. Attend our Benefit Dinner & Auction on April 16, Buy Tickets
   
   
2. Bid online for items in our Silent Auction starting April 13, Get Bidder Number
   
   
3. Purchase Bibles through our KBC website, Donate Bibles

The Beach Clubs at Highlands and Victoria Walker elementary schools, sponsored by First Baptist Highlands on the east side of Houston, Texas, are funded exclusively from volunteers who participate in a volunteer grant program at ExxonMobil. Individual volunteers, who are also ExxonMobil employees or retirees, and can log at least 20 hours are eligible for a $500 grant up to four times each year. The company also has a group program for five or more employees. 

Several companies offer similar programs for non-profit organizations. In addition to ExxonMobil, KiDs Beach Club® has been the recipient of volunteer grants from Celanese, Texas Instruments among others. Please note the rules may vary by company. Volunteers are encouraged to check with their employer or former employer, if retired, to see if it has a volunteer grant program that could benefit KiDs Beach Club®.