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It’s always exciting when a new church partner starts a Beach Club, but it’s even more exciting when they’re in a new state. This fall, Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Ark., has the distinction of starting the first Beach Club in Arkansas at nearby Albert Pike Elementary.

Grand Avenue recently prepared for this ministry by promoting Beach Club at their Vacation Bible School. Moreover, they gave VBS attendees the opportunity to be involved in the outreach by designating the week’s offering for Beach Club.

“Anybody want to know what that money’s going to help do?” Sherry Goodrum, one of the VBS leaders and a teacher at the church, excitedly asked her young audience. “It’s actually going to go for a really cool activity. It’s called KiDs Beach Club®.”

She enthusiastically explained the purpose of Beach Club to the VBS attendees –many of whom are students at Pike Elementary, and thus potential Beach Clubbers.

“KiDs Beach Club® is an innovative ministry established to mobilize the church to go outside of the walls. You know that the church needs to go outside the walls to make sure that the message of Christ gets to the heart of our communities.”

She also described what kids can expect at Beach Club meetings, “We’re going to tell the truth of scripture at these meetings, every time, in an effort to make sure that Jesus is cool at school.” 

Goodrum presented this information as a lead-in to the offering, which was collected throughout the week in traditional VBS fashion: boys against the girls, with Goodrum getting a pie in the face if the boys won, and a male leader facing the same fate if the girls won.

Despite all the fun and competition, Goodrum ultimately directed the focus back to the unified effort of raising funds for Beach Club.

“The money raised during the VBS will help to purchase Bibles,” she said. “Isn’t that awesome, for others to hear about Jesus’ love?”

At week’s end, they had collected $718 for Beach Club. As for the competition, the girls won, sparing Goodrum from the pie. More importantly though, the kids at Grand Avenue had a valuable opportunity to participate in outreach, learning at a young age to help and pray for one another.

In addition to Arkansas, KiDs Beach Club® will also expand this fall to Ohio, marking the ministry’s 11th state. 

As Beach Clubs around the country enter the new school year, consider how you can create opportunities for your church family – young and old alike – to contribute to your Beach Club. Click here to find out how you can get involved in Beach Club.

Tina Kimbro has joined the KiDs Beach Club® as the independent area strategist for Central Florida.

Kimbro has served as a director of children's ministry for 18 years and is a contract worker for The Florida Baptist Convention, equipping children’s ministry leaders in children's evangelism, Sunday School and missions. She attends Trinity Baptist Church in Apopka, Fla., where she teaches a small group Bible study, coordinates the children's choir program and leads kids’ worship.

Her husband Jay also serves in the church as associate pastor of discipleship, missions and evangelism. He previously served KiDs Beach Club® as an area director in Florida. They have three children and nine grandchildren. In her free time, she enjoys being with family and walking on the beach.

When Sally Hofmann spoke at the Bibles for Beach Club Benefit Dinner and Auction last month, she delivered what many deemed to be the quote of the night.

“I cannot wait to travel back to Nashville and tell them we are auctioning off helicopter hog rides to raise money for Bibles!” she said, referring to one of the hunting packages auctioned off earlier in the evening.

Hofmann is the senior vice president of sales and marketing with HarperCollins Publishing, which publishes the KiDs Beach Club® Explorer’s Study Bible under their Thomas Nelson division. The company has produced Bibles for nearly 220 years, a heritage in which they take pride and still consider to be the heart of the company.

“We obviously consider publishing Bibles a sacred trust, and it’s the center of everything that we do,” said Hofmann, who previously headed up the Bible publishing group.

They produce different Bibles geared toward readers of different ages, the ultimate goal being that readers of all ages have a Bible that they can understand and will enjoy reading. Thus, they are a fitting partner in helping KiDs Beach Club® produce and distribute Bibles that speak to kids on their level.

“Our partnership is just a perfect marriage,” Hofmann said. “It’s blending both of our passions together.” 

She spoke about the development of the KBC Bible, which is based on Thomas Nelson’s best-selling Explorer’s Study Bible. KiDs Beach Club® founder Jack Terrell customized the KBC version by inserting four-color tip-in pages that explain how to use the Bible, how to spend time with God, how to live a Christian life, and, most importantly, how to be saved. 

Hofmann said, “We took an awesome product that we already had created, and Jack and his team were able to just really invest into really making the Bible understandable for the children.”

Despite this praise, the time spent in developing this Bible would be pointless if it were not being put into kids’ hands. This is why Bibles for Beach Club is so important. Hofmann spoke to this outreach, as well.

“I’m so encouraged by the dreams that Jack has had for this organization, to make Bibles available to every child going through the program,” she said.

The reason we are able to put a Bible into every child’s hand is because of donors like you. You are making it possible for kids to learn God’s way at this young age, providing a resource that will help and sustain them throughout their lives.

Hoffman wrapped up her remarks by quoting Proverbs 22:6, one of her favorite Bible verses. It reads, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

She teared up as she said, “To me, there is no better way than by children reading God’s word and having the scripture make a permanent mark in the child’s heart. And KiDs Beach Club® is doing just that.”

The KiDs Beach Club® “Hang 10” Summer Reading Program is about to enter its final month! It’s designed mainly with the Beach Club kid in mind to continue reinforcing the habit of spending 10 minutes every day with God, reading His word or in prayer.

For the past nine weeks, we’ve explored a different character word each week, learning what the Bible says about them and how to apply them to our lives. During August, we will explore five additional character words: Dependability, Respect, Self-Control, Courage and Contentment.

Download the final five weeks of the plan.

The reading plan isn’t just for kids. It’s for everyone. We invite KBC volunteers as well as the siblings and parents of Beach Club kids to participate. We encourage you to forward it to anyone looking to spend more time immersed in God’s word.

The Summer Reading Program continues through August and you can always go back and see what you might have missed by visiting our website. God loves you and invites you to meet with Him by reading the Bible and praying.

Do you know Jesus personally? Has there ever been a time in your life when you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and place your faith in Him alone to save you? If you haven’t, it’s as simple as A-B-C! ADMIT you have sin. BELIEVE Jesus died on the cross to save you and forgive you of your sins. And make the choice to CHOOSE to follow Jesus by inviting Him into your life. You can read more about the A-B-C’s on the tip-in pages of your child’s KBC Explorer’s Study Bible between pages 626-627.

We want to encourage you to call KiDs Beach Club® and let us know if you have questions or if you have something we can pray about for you. Please share your story of how KiDs Beach Club® or your child’s KBC Explorer’s Study Bible has impacted your child, yourself or your family. You can even send us photos of you and your children reading their KBC Study Bible to news@kbcmail.org. We would love to hear from you.

In August 2015, Sarah Hensley was attending a back-to-school night with her then third- and fourth-graders at Peaks Mill Elementary in Frankfort, Ky., when they noticed a KiDs Beach Club® information table. At that table, she recognized the pastor of Peaks Mill Christian Church, who had performed her wedding ceremony the year before.

Peaks Mill Christian turned out to be a KBC partnering church, and as the pastor talked about Beach Club, the Hensleys became interested in what they were hearing. At the time, they did not have a church home, so they were excited about the kids being able to attend Beach Club and hear God’s word there.

Hensley enthusiastically told a KiDs Beach Club staff member recently about the way her kids would come home from Beach Club each week and share what they had learned. This continued throughout the year; then, as the school year came to a close, one of the Beach Club leaders invited them to the church’s Vacation Bible School.

The Hensleys responded to this outreach, and the kids attended VBS throughout the week. Then, Hensley and her husband joined them for the closing-night ceremony. Hensley recalled that, during dinner, her son’s VBS teacher came over to speak to them and asked why the family didn’t attend church there.

Hensley said, “She told us that the kids were hungry for the word of God.”

It was at that point that they made the decision to get their blended family into church. A week and a half later, the Hensleys attended a service at Peaks Mill Christian – and they’ve been going back ever since.

As a result, Hensley, who received Christ and was baptized as a youth, has seen the rest of her family join her during the past year. She teared up as she discussed it, explaining that her husband and three eldest children – Dustin (12), Tyler (10) and Montana (10) – were baptized in August 2016, while her youngest, Emily (6), was baptized this spring.

Moreover, Hensley is now a Beach Club volunteer herself, serving with her church in her children’s school. She just attended the Leadership Luau in Frankfort and is preparing to begin her second year with Beach Club.

This family’s journey exemplifies the impact that KiDs Beach Club® strives to make in its communities. By partnering with churches, KiDs Beach Club® is able to share Christ with children directly in their public school. This, in and of itself, is an awesome opportunity. However, the larger goal is to be able to reach these children’s families, ultimately connecting them to Christ by attending a partnering church, just as Peaks Mill Christian Church did with the Hensley family. 

If you would like to become a volunteer with KiDs Beach Club® and help make an impact in the lives of children and their families, go to kidsbeachclub.org/volunteering for more information.

Earlier this month, Hillcrest Baptist Church in Frankfort, Ky., hosted the first KBC Leadership Luau of the year, despite potential distractions.

“That church, to have opened their doors to us right now, was amazing,” Christy Hughes, the regional manager for KiDs Beach Club®, said.

Hillcrest pastor Tom Troth, and his wife, Karen, suffered a loss in the days leading up to the Leadership Luau when Karen’s father unexpectedly passed away. Both Tom and Karen are involved in Beach Club and were intending to participate in the Luau. At the same time, Hillcrest was heavily into preparations for Vacation Bible School, scheduled to begin the next evening.

However, Hillcrest members were not deterred. Hughes credits this to the value that Hillcrest places on KiDs Beach Club®. They carried on, allowing KBC staff to facilitate a successful day of training for the area’s three partnering churches – humorously, with a beach-themed luau taking place against a polar backdrop provided by Hillcrest’s “Operation Artic” VBS theme.

“Training was good,” Hughes said. “There was a sweet spirit in the room of people wanting to interact with each other about KiDs Beach Club® and learn from each other.”

Such connection and sharing ideas are two of the main reasons that Hughes believes it is so important for KBC volunteers to attend their area Leadership Luau.

“It builds an enthusiasm and energy for the new school year as you move into Club,” she said.

One of Hughes’ favorite parts of the day was when each church led a song that they sing at their Beach Club. She gives a shout-out to Chris Dove, the ministry’s independent area strategist for Kentucky, for this and other activities that made the day so enjoyable.

Hughes was not alone in her enjoyment. Volunteer Sara Hensley, who gives her time in support of the Beach Club at Peaks Mill Elementary, which is also in Frankfort, said that training was more than what she expected. “I expected it to be bookish, like sitting in class – but it was fun!”

KiDs Beach Club® encourages all volunteers – new and veteran alike – to attend a Leadership Luau in their area each year. As Hughes points out, an important part of networking at this event is volunteers sharing ideas that have been successful in their club; this cannot occur without veteran participation.

In addition to providing an opportunity for you to connect and share ideas with fellow volunteers, top-notch KBC leaders are eager to share three new promotion and registration tools designed to grow your club and streamline the registration process:

• New online registration
• Individual web pages for every Beach Club
• New tools to promote your Beach Club

If you have not yet registered for Leadership Luau, go to kidsbeachclub.org/luau to locate and register for an event near you. You won’t want to miss this time of worship and celebration!