Meet Jack Terrell, founder and president of KiDs Beach Club; a non profit organization based in Euless that ministers to children within the culture of their public school. For nearly two and a half decades, Terrell has lead ministry development in cutting edge churches, considering faith development his calling. 

 

In 2003, he created KiDs Beach Club in one Hurst elementary school with about a dozen children. Since then, KiDs Beach Club has spread to 7 states, 124 schools, with nearly 9500 children taking part.

 

 

We wanted to get to know Terrell a bit better, and he was nice enough to answer a few questions about KBC, himself and the communities he continues to serve. 

 

Dawn Tongish: Please begin by telling us about KiDS Beach Club? 

 

Jack Terrell: KiDs Beach Club® is an innovative non profit 501(c)(3) ministry that is dedicated to mobilizing the church to go outside its walls in an effort to fulfill “The Great Commission” found in Matthew 28:19-20. Our vision is to provide every 3rd through 6th grade boy and girls a Jesus experience within the culture of their public school. This is accomplished by establishing after-school, faith-based Bible clubs called Beach Clubs that meet in gyms, libraries and cafeterias for one hour, one day a week, for 24 weeks.

 

DT: What are your duties at KiDs Beach Club and what happens when a child comes to a Beach Club event? 

 

JT: Answer: There are 5 components to a Beach Club and it all happens in an hour! 

1. Snack Time - kids are met as they enter their club by friendly and caring club volunteers who give them a delicious & yummy snack!

2. Worship Time - after  going over the club rules, kids are then led to worship God in a kid-friendly kind of way… motions and dance are accepted.  

3. Story Time -  after worship the kids get to hear a Bible story told as it occurred in the Bible.

4. Memory Link Time - scripture is a big deal; all the kids each week memorize a verse in a fun creative time. 

5. Game Time - the club’s adventures are all wrapped-up in the final few minutes playing review GAMES!  

DT: How did you become involved with KiDs Beach Club, and what drives your passion for the work being done?

JT: The story of how I got involved in KiDs Beach Club® started with a simple challenge. In 2003, while serving as the Minister of Children at First Baptist Church Euless, I was challenged to creatively come up with a way of getting the message of Christ outside the walls of our church. Knowing my target audience was 3rd - 6th grade children and understanding their day is spent mostly within the walls of an elementary school, looking at an after-school program seemed to be the most plausible way to accomplish this challenge. Our first Beach Club met in the spring of 2003 at Bellaire Elementary in Hurst, TX. All 16 kids and 3 volunteers loved it. That club grew to 23 kids with 6 of those kids making Jesus their "forever friend" and that was motivation enough to continue moving forward. Currently, KBC is operating Beach Clubs across 7 states in 124 elementary schools with a growing enrollment of 9,342 kids and 1798 volunteers. Our goal is to be in 175 schools by September of 2014.

DT: Why do you work in the non profit sector? 

JT: I can tell you that I didn't choose the non profit sector. It was a movement, a calling that I fought. I didn't want to go into the non profit world because it would mean that I would need to give up the security of my church position. Plus, I truly enjoyed serving the Lord as a Minister of Children. In the summer of 2005, while attending Flight 360 Student Camp, God made it abundantly clear that His will and His purpose for my life was to serve Him through Beach Clubs. He let me see thousands of clubs with millions of children attending. The Lord only asked that I "trust Him?" In January 2006, KiDs Beach Club® filed for tax exemption status and later that year I stepped in to my current role as President and Founder of KiDs Beach Club®.

DT: It can be difficult to sustain financially. How do you stay afloat? 

JT: The funding for KBC comes from four revenue streams: church partnership revenue, corporate fundraising, major donors and individual contributors.

DT: How can the people of Tarrant County help KiDs Beach Club meet its need for 2014? What are those needs?

JT: Our greatest need in 2014 is ministry partners.  I have already shared with you our goal of being in 175 elementary schools by September of this year. Across the US, there is an estimated 25 million children in after-school programs. Within the DFW area, there are 568 elementary schools and 43 of these schools have a Beach Club. The potential is incredible. To reach our goal, we will need to partner with at least 50 new church partners and recruit a minimum of 750 new volunteers. If you have an interest in joining KBC to help us meet our goal, simply go to www.kidsbeachclub.org and click on the "contact us" tab to gain additional information. 

The 5th Annual Beach Run and Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 12th at Bob Eden Park in Euless, TX is just around the corner. Kids of all ages will be there celebrating Easter through participating in three different age appropriate Egg Hunts, 1mile Fun Run followed by a 5K Run through the park. KLTY will be bringing a local christian artist to perform a concert that morning. The fun doesn't stop there.  A petting zoo, pony rides and plenty of bounce houses will be set up for children to play and have fun. The only cost is to run in the 5K all the other activities are FREE! Go to www.kidsbeachclub/beachrun to register.

 

DT: What is the most memorable moment in your experiences at KiDS Beach Club?

 

JT: The most memorable experience for me came in 2007. It was when I learned of a child taking their new KBC Bible home and while explaining and showing Mom all the neat features of her very own Bible that it happened. This was the 1st time I was aware of this ever happening. In all my 24 years of serving children and families while on a church staff it had never happened - a child using their NEW Bible to lead their parents to faith in Christ!  Cierra did just that. She showed her mom the prayer in the back of her KBC Bible which was the prayer she had prayed only days before, then looked at her Mom and asked her this question, "Mom have you prayed that prayer before?" To which her mother sat down beside her and said, "No, Cierra I haven't." Cierra then asked her Mom, "Would you want to Mommy?" Mom said yes! Cierra had the joy of hearing her mom pray for the very first time and it was the prayer asking Jesus to be her "forever friend." 

 

Giving all the glory to God, I can tell you that since 2007 it has happened repeatedly by many of our KBC kids. It's clear in scripture that God desires that none perish but rather all would come to know Him (2 Peter 3:9 & 1 Timothy 2:4). Today he is using children to do just that. He is not only changing the lives of thousands of children, but He is also having an impact on hundreds of parents. I've never seen anything like this before and to think it is still happening is nothing short of a miracle.

 

DT: What is the first thing you do when you walk into work each day?

 

JT: Each day the first thing I do is to go to my Mac and pull up our online data management page. It allows me to quickly see how many new children have joined Beach Club. It also allows me to see the total number of  kids who have made Jesus their “forever friend” and currently it’s at 751 kids during this school year. To me, that's... Making Jesus Cool at School!®