Doctrinal
Statement
Historical
Perspective
NAPCE
Presidents
Recipients
of the Warren S. Benson Distinguished Christian Educator Award
Doctrinal Statement
- We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible,
authoritative Word of God.
- We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three
Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin
birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles,
in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in
His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to
the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in
power and glory.
- We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful humankind,
regeneration by the Holy Spirit is
absolutely essential.
- We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by
whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live
a godly life.
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost;
they that are saved unto the resurrection of
life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
An Historical Perspective
on NAPCE
The following history was extracted from an extensive paper written
by Dr. Eileen Starr chronicling the historical development of
the NAPCE association.
An Historical Perspective of the North American Professors of
Christian Education
The historical roots of the North American Professors of Christian
Education (NAPCE) can be traced to the National Association of
Evangelicals (NAE) and the need to promote an evangelical faith.
The New England Fellowship, formed in 1929 to promote cooperation
among evangelicals, gave birth to the idea of a national association
of evangelicals. The influence of the liberal Federal Council
necessitated another organization to unify evangelicals. The leaders
who formed NAE in 1942 desired to unite all evangelical believers.
From its inception, NAE was concerned about:
1. Evangelism
2. Evangelicals' relation to government
3. National and local use of radio
4. Public relations
5. The preservation of separation of church and state
6. Christian education
7. The guarantee of freedom for home and foreign missionary endeavor.
The National Association of Evangelicals formed various commissions
and affiliated organizations to address the concerns of the Association.
Among the commissions formed was the Church School Commission.
Many evangelical Christian educators were concerned about the
growing influence of liberalism on the Sunday schools. In 1944,
several Christian educators met with the Church School Commission
of the NAE. The result of the meeting was the formation in 1945
of the National Sunday School Association (NSSA). NSSA began holding
national conventions in 1946. The conventions of NSSA revitalized
Sunday schools in many evangelical churches for a time. In the
1950s and 60s, the work of NSSA was reflected in several commissions.
"Among these were the Research Commission, the Camp Commission,
the Youth Commission, the Denominational Sunday School Secretaries,
the Area Chairman Commission and the affiliated body, The National
Directors of Christian Education."
After a discussion of the needs in Christian education, the leadership
of NSSA formed the Research Commission. The members were to be
evangelical teachers, professors, and writers in the field of
Christian education. The Commission met yearly in conjunction
with the National NSSA Convention. Although Commission members
represented Christian higher education institutions, much of their
work was directed toward improving Christian education in local
churches.
Who should be a part of the Research Commission was an issue for
several years. From the beginning, only those persons teaching
Christian education in institutions of higher learning could be
active members. In 1963, the membership qualifications were expanded
to include persons who teach related subjects and persons who
formerly taught Christian Education subjects and who are interested
in higher education. Initially, the Research Commission worked
closely with the NSSA. However, as the group grew they began to
concentrate more on the needs of higher education.
The 1968 president of the Research Commission, Dr. Paul E. Loth,
reported to the NSSA that Commission members were not satisfied
with meeting at the NSSA conventions. In 1969, NSSA, desiring
to improve communication with its commissions and began holding
annual leadership seminars. The Research Commission held their
annual meetings in conjunction with the NSSA seminars.
The growing concerns of the Research Commission members were expressed
in their desire for a name change in 1970. The recommendation
was approved unanimously by the Commission members and was also
approved by the board of NSSA. The new name being the National
Association of Professors of Christian Education (NAPCE).
NAPCE developed a statement to describe the organization during
1971-72. The new stated purpose of the organization was for fellowship
and mutual enrichment among association members. The function
of the NAPCE is to provide fellowship and dialogue for teachers
of Christian education and related disciplines who serve in evangelical
Bible colleges, liberal arts colleges, and theological seminaries.
Dr. Ron Chadwick, who became the NAPCE president in 1971, was
very concerned about the future of the organization. When he learned
in 1972 of the poor financial condition of NSSA, he contacted
the other NAPCE officers. They decided that the survival of NAPCE
required separation from NSSA.
In 1980, NAPCE severed all ties with NAE and became an independent
association. The Association continued to operate as it had since
about 1972. The NSSA doctrinal statement continued to be used
by the Association. Agreement with the statement was expected
of all members although signing of the statement had not been
required since about 1975.
At the 1984 NAPCE meeting in Kansas City, the officers of the
NAPCE recommended incorporation as an independent organization.
The first board of directors was formed based on a tentative constitution.
Officers were chosen from among the directors.
The membership of the NAPCE has continued to grow. Over two hundred
professors joined the Association in 1986. The financial status
of the organization improved and at the 1986 convention Dennis
Williams accepted the position of a paid part-time executive administrator,
to promote the Association and handle some administrative duties.
Between 1991 and 1992, the name was changed from the National
Association of Professors of Christian Education to the North
American Professors of Christian Education.
The permanent address for NAPCE is 4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado
Springs, Colorado, 80918.
Currently, correspondence may be addressed to NAPCE at 2825 Lexington
Road, Louisville, Kentucky, 40280.
NAPCE Presidents
1952-1954 Rebecca Price
1954-1957 Warren Filkin
1958-1961 Howard Hendricks
1961-1963 Gene Getz
1963-1965 Kenneth Gangel
1965-1967 Edward Hayes
1967-1969 Paul Loth
1969-1971 Clifford Anderson
1971-1974 Ronald Chadwick
1974-1976 Dennis Williams
1976-1978 William Haburn
1978-1980 Robert Wilson
1980-1982 Brian Richardson
1982-1984 Edward Smyth
1984-1984 Bill Bynum
1984-1986 Dennis Williams
1986-1988 Warren Benson
1988-1990 James Plueddemann
1990-1992 Eileen Starr
1992-1994 Fred Wilson
1994-1996 Michael Anthony
1996-1998 David Rahn
1998-2000 Greg Carlson
2000-2002 Mark Cannister
2002-2006 Eileen Starr
2006-
Robert Drovdahl
Recipients of the
Warren S. Benson Distinguished Christian Educator Award
1991 Charles Van Ness; Lois and Mary LeBar
1992 Leroy Ford; Howard Hendricks
1993 Bill V. Bynum; D. Campbell Wyckoff
1994 Warren S. Benson; Ted W. Ward
1995
1996
1997 Kenneth O. Gangel
1998 Dennis E. Williams
1999 Donald M. Joy
2000 Jim Plueddemann
2001
2002 Les Blank
2003 Julie Gorman
2004 Lawrence O. Richards
2005 Gene A. Getz
2006 Edward Hayes; Marlene D. LeFever
Copyright © 2007. North American Professors of Christian Education.
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