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Great Treasure Day, the day kids in Beach Club receive their very own Bible, is a special day to countless children. It’s a day they will treasure and remember for years to come. However, if a child misplaces or loses their Bible, they are saddened at the loss of their prized possession.

That is exactly what happened to a little boy who attends Beach Club at his public elementary school in Mesquite, Texas.

James P., who goes to Beach Club at Rutherford Elementary School, came to Beach Club one Wednesday without his KBC Study Bible. When asked where his Bible was, he told the club leader and the other volunteers from Mesquite Church of Christ, the KBC partnering church, “I can’t find my Bible.”

He said he put his Bible in his backpack, “but it’s gone.”

James was shocked to realize his Beach Club Bible was missing from his bag, and sad he didn’t have it for club that day.

Aubrey Eudy, the club leader, encouraged James to look again at home, suggesting he probably just misplaced his Bible. But, Eudy assured James that if he went home and again couldn’t find his Bible, Eudy would get him another one.

James did as he was told and looked all around the house for his Bible. The next day at school Eudy just so happened to be working on something on campus and James ran into him in the hallway before the school day began.

Eudy inquired with James to see if he found his Bible. James replied, “Yes! I did!” Eudy asked where it was. James replied, “My parents had it and were reading it!”

Eudy told him to let his parents keep that Bible and he would get him a new one so his parents would have a Bible to read and James could have one to bring to club and read, too.  

“The excitement on his face to know he had a Bible of his own and his parents would have a Bible of their own, it was cool to see that,” Eudy said about the turn of events.

Eudy spoke of the excitement he sees in the kids that come to Beach Club, and how the parents of those children see the excitement and want it, too.

“The parents want to know who Jesus is,” Eudy said.

Eudy is going to be able to not only connect with James, but also his parents, all because of this interaction over a KBC Study Bible.

The club’s volunteers are thankful for the ways KiDs Beach Club® allows them to minister and be a part of sharing Jesus in a public elementary school.

“A lot of the volunteers that we have here think it is the coolest thing to know that Jesus is still in public schools and knowing that its making a difference in kids’ lives, so I just want to thank you for supporting this ministry,” Eudy said.

They are thankful for the support of donors like you who make it possible to give every child in every Beach Club their own KBC Study Bible.

With a renewed focus being put on the KiDs Beach Club® “Lifeguards” initiative this year, several Beach Clubs are reporting they are seeing a great impact within their clubs.

KiDs Beach Club® understands that God’s power behind our ministry is achieved through prayer. We call our prayer team Lifeguards. They are people who stand in the gap on behalf of our staff, our volunteers, our churches, our schools, our kids and their families.

One club in particular was able to make a small, but significant impact through the work they do in prayer.

This club takes prayer requests from children very seriously. Each week at club, the surf team leaders take time to hear both prayer requests and praises from each child in attendance. Some weeks the children are thanking God for Beach Club and their families, while other weeks they are praising Him for creating the whole world. Prayer requests usually involve the health of a family member or prayer for them to do well in school.

One week, a little girl asked for prayer for her family to have enough money to buy food. 

This request hit hard in the hearts of the club’s volunteers. They couldn't outright approach the parents and fill the need, but they wanted to help in any way they could. To keep the prayer request confidential, but still do their part to fill the need, the club leader took action in a unique way.

The club leader was able to contact a local food pantry. A representative at the pantry and her husband just so happened to be free to attend Beach Club the very next week. Both were treated as special guests at club and both shared news with the children about the services their pantry offers. They mentioned that anyone in the community can come to the pantry to get food for free if their family is having a hard time. 

The club leader was also able to share with the children about a free lunch service the school provides. The little girl who originally gave the prayer request for food was able to be added to this service at lunch time, and her family has the means to travel to the food pantry. 

Because of this club's dedication to prayer, and each week hearing what is on the hearts of their children, these volunteers were able to make an impact. This prayer request was also heavily prayed over by the Lifeguards. As far as the volunteers are concerned, prayer is the reason all of this worked out this way. 

"I would say that God planned it all, and we just happen to serve a fabulous Father who planned for this all to work out as it did," the club leader said. 

To find out more about the KBC Lifeguard program, visit kidsbeachclub.org/lifeguard.

Trevor attends club at Ocean Springs Elementary School in Ocean Springs, Miss. Beach Club is something he looks forward to every week. His excitement about it is evident to each of his family members at home.

Trevor is consistently found sitting at the kitchen table reading his Beach Club Bible. He reads his Bible so often and talks about Beach Club so much that his sister Autumn just had to try it out. The only problem was, Autumn sang in the honor choir, which rehearsed on the same day of the week and at the same time as Beach Club during the semester.

Autumn waited patiently for her choir rehearsals to end for the spring in early April. Her mother Erica Scott was excited to see Autumn so interested in Beach Club.

“I like that my kids get to experience biblical lessons with their classmates as well as a few teachers and other staff members assisting in KBC,” Scott said. “I am happy that they can connect with and know that other people on their public school campus are believers just like them.”

Scott sent an email in to see if it was okay for Autumn to join Beach Club seeing as it was so close to the end of the year. She received a quick yes but was warned it was scheduled to be the last week of club for the year. Autumn did not mind one bit and was excited to experience Beach Club for the first time alongside her brother.

“Trevor is always interested in the (weekly take-home) Hang 10 lessons and reading his special (KBC Study) Bible. I wanted to see what this was about,” Autumn said. “After my first KBC at Ocean Springs Upper, I see why! I really liked the lesson and the games.”

Trevor was delighted his big sister could see what Beach Club was all about. He really likes getting prizes in club for getting questions right and bringing his Bible. His KBC Study Bible is special to him and is unlike other Bibles.

“My favorite part of my KBC Bible are the glossy (tip-in) pages. They tell me about biblical heroes and about God's love. Those pages explain things better,” he said.

“KiDs Beach Club® has impacted our family in a positive way,” Scott said. “Trevor will often bring up an interesting discussion based on a lesson in KBC. Autumn has only attended one session and is already eager to sign up next year. I sure hope KBC and the honor choir do not have a conflict again next year. I do not want my kids to miss out on their lessons about Jesus.”

Pantgeo Bible Church, a long-time church partner of KiDs Beach Club®, has seen hundreds of children come through the doors of its Beach Clubs in Arlington ISD. They have witnessed hundreds of children make Jesus their Forever Friend, and hundreds of children have been impacted through their ministry inside public schools.

Despite the ever-growing number of children they are able to reach for God’s kingdom, the club leaders and volunteers find joy in keeping up with their kids years after they graduate from and leave KiDs Beach Club®.

One of those kids is Austin Ondijo, who attended the Beach Club at Sherrod Elementary 10 years ago. Austin recently created a video to share his story with the children who are currently attending Sherrod’s Beach Club.

Austin and his family moved from Kenya to America when he was 9 years old in hopes of getting an education and having a better way of life. When Austin was in fifth grade, he and his friends decided to give Beach Club a try.

“I loved Beach Club and came back every week to hear more awesome stories about Jesus,” Austin said. “One of the best days came when (club leader) Miss. Susan (Jiura) called my name and gave me a Beach Club Bible.”

From reading that Bible with his leaders in club and at home, Austin learned that Jesus had a plan for him and anyone who accepted Jesus into their heart. Austin made Jesus his Forever Friend and grew in his relationship with Jesus while attending Beach Club through the end of sixth grade.

During his years in junior high and high school, Austin and his family followed the Lord and attended church together. He discovered his athletic talent in track & field and found a place to grow in the Lord with his peers in the organization Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Because of his hard work in track and in the classroom, Austin was awarded full academic and athletic scholarships to the University of Texas at El Paso. There he has sought out a place to be in scripture with his peers in Baptist Student Ministries on the UTEP campus, just like he did in Beach Club several years ago at Sherrod Elementary.

In the video he recorded for his former Beach Club, Austin said, “I want to remind you today, that just like God had a plan for me he has a plan for you. All that He asks of you is that you listen to His voice. Listen to the people that he has put in your life to lead you like your mom and your dad, your teachers at school and here at Beach Club. He has dreams for you, bigger than you could dream for yourself. But, it’s up to you to listen to Him.”

“We don’t all have the same story, but we all do serve the same mighty God who can take any story and turn it into a good story.”

Click the video to watch him share his testimony with Beach Club kids at Sherrod Elementary.

Chris Dove has been a part of KiDs Beach Club® for a long time. From getting involved with the ministry as a children’s minister in Georgia to later becoming an independent area strategist for the states of Kentucky and Ohio after starting clubs in those states. Dove is currently transitioning out of his role to serve with his family as missionaries to the Dominican Republic.

He penned the following testimony and sent it to KBC staff as a means of encouragement. We want to share it with you to see the passion he has for KiDs Beach Club® and for ministry.

Back in 2010, I heard about KiDs Beach Club® from a family that attended the church where I was the children’s pastor at in Georgia. Their elementary age son was going to a club at his public school. They told me about this thing called KiDs Beach Club® and left a flyer on my desk, where it sat for a long, long time.

I was intrigued but was way too busy to start a new ministry.

As a children's minister, it wasn’t uncommon for people to come and tell me about the latest, greatest ministry idea. Our senior pastor would say, ‘Your passion, is not my burden.’ Meaning just because it's a good idea, doesn’t mean you can do everything. That was until one day when that same family came to church and their youngest told me he was saved at school, a public school.

Now, I was more than intrigued; I was invested. I had to see KiDs Beach Club® in action. I was beyond impressed. It was run like a good children’s church program but done in the public school, and they had more than 100 kids! How priorities change.

I was now too busy not to do this.

In early 2011, I accepted the children’s minister position at a church in Kentucky and we moved. When we got settled in, I called KiDs Beach Club® and told them I wanted to start a club. But there was one issue, there was no area director for Kentucky. Through some changes, my wife became the area director for a short period and helped me launch the club. Shortly thereafter, she accepted a fulltime job and I was grateful to connect with another very talented woman, who then became the area director. The Lord blessed that club and brought some great families to our church. The following year we added another church partner and club.

Then in 2014-2015, we added two more clubs. Things were going well.

Meanwhile, while all this growth was happening, both my family and the current Kentucky area director moved out of state. Since there was no longer an area director, I asked to step into that role knowing that I could still help the clubs prosper from my new home in Ohio. During the last two-plus years, I have managed KBC operations in Kentucky from afar and was also able to get it started in Ohio. It was fun being able to introduce KBC to two different states!

As we prepare to transition to yet another role, missionaries to the Dominican Republic, when we ask our son how he feels about going overseas, he says happy and sad. That’s exactly how I feel about saying goodbye to KiDs Beach Club®. I am so happy to hand off KBC to someone that is a Kentucky lifer, who is so passionate about KBC, who you almost have to tell her to slow down to catch her breath. But I’m also sad, as KBC has been part of my life for the last eight years.

I’m still holding out hope to one day be KBC’s first international club in San Pablo, Dominican Republic.

We know you’ll be joining us in praying for Chris and his family as they head off to their next mission field this summer. Glenna Hockensmith will be taking over the reins for KiDs Beach Club® in Kentucky. She has been a fantastic club leader at Peaks Mill Elementary School in Frankfort, Ky. We will give her a proper introduction in next month’s newsletter.

Volunteers, how is sharing the gospel impacting the school where you serve and your community? Have you since seen Jesus move in the lives of the kids in you club? Parents, have your kids decided to use KiDs Beach Club® as a way to tell their friends about Jesus? We want to hear your stories about the impact of our ministry! Use #MyKBCStory in your social media posts or email us at news@kbcmail.org.

Club leaders and volunteers, do you remember the day you signed up to serve in Beach Club? You probably felt an array of emotions; excited, nervous or unsure, but expectant of the work the Lord would do through your club.

Most club leaders and volunteers are excited to begin, but they don’t know where to start. Or you might be a volunteer making the switch to club leader for the first time and you’re feeling lost in the transition. Either way, we know you have questions, but you don’t know who to ask or who has the answers you are seeking.

As a seasoned club leader or faithful volunteer, you soar in such areas as the Bible story, games, fun snacks, church involvement, Lifeguards and making Great Treasure Day special. You have ideas to share from those areas where you excel that would inspire leaders in other Beach Clubs.

We want you to know we’re listening to our volunteers. At the suggestion of many, we have created a new Facebook Group called KiDs Beach Club Leaders and Volunteers designed for you, the volunteers, to have as a place to share your ideas, collaborate, ask questions and offer encouragement!

This group is designed to be run by you and for you. If you have an idea, post it! Share your club ideas, pictures, questions for each other, prayer requests and other related things. Let this be a resource for you to encourage one another and explore new ways to do the ministry of Beach Club.

How to find this group:

1. Login to your personal Facebook page
2. Go to the search bar and type in KiDs Beach Club Leaders and Volunteers or click here
3. Click on the +1Join directly to the right of KiDs Beach Club Leaders and Volunteers

It is that simple! An administrator of the group will approve you to join, then you are free to browse through the posts of ideas, questions and pictures. Don’t forget to make posts of your own!

Also, don’t be surprised if some of your great ideas end up on our blog or in future newsletters.