The first session of "Service-By-Sharing for Educational Directors" convened on August 16, 1960 at the Womack Lodge in Lake Dallas, Texas.  Bill Patterson and W. Joe Hacker, Jr. were chiefly responsible for arranging the clinic.  According to the report published in the September, 1960 CBT, "Panels and discussion periods for seven and one-half hours each day, with evening programs and after mid-night buzz groups of men sleeping in the large bunk quarters of the Womack Lodge, kept enthusiasm high." (Christian Bible Teacher, September, 1960, p.24)  Twenty full-time education directors were pictured in that issue of Christian Bible Teacher magazine (CBT), though the definition of "full-time" must have been used very loosely.

Such was the formal beginning of our story--the first meeting of what has come to be known as the Christian Education Conference.  But the complete story does not begin with the first meeting. 

BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CONFERENCES
As I look back I perceive the 40s and 50s as glory days for the growth of the Church of Christ in this century. Those years saw much enthusiasm and vigorous activities and the beginnings of a number of new works among our people. A surge of church plantings took place in the states during the 40s. Some World War II soldiers returning from overseas saw the need and the possibility for foreign mission work and many became involved in that work. By 1960, many "swarmings" of small congregations were taking place in order to make larger ones, especially in growing southern cities. 

EVIDENCE FROM DOCUMENTS
A casual look through the early pages of Christian Bible Teacher magazine (beginning in 1956), reveals a picture of a well-developed, although a still-developing church.  Churches were establishing Christian Day Schools and holding area-wide teacher training schools with enrollment of 1,000 or more being reported.  Colleges were beginning to offer summer Bible Teacher's Workshops (the ACU workshop began in 1955), Christian Book Stores were being established, and several publishing companies were publishing Bible school materials for our brethren.  Some congregations, particularly in larger cities, were offering Bible courses in their churches for high school credit.  (That began in Dallas in 1936).

In the perusal of early day Christian Bible Teacher magazines I was impressed with the large number of people who had a remarkable preparation and ability to write articles for the magazine.  There were both men and women, some college teachers, preachers and preacher's wives, etc. -dozens of people who were writing with a vision for the education program of the church.  By the 1960's there were a number of people with doctorates in our colleges.  Those were exciting days in which to live, and I still thrill at the almost unbelievable amount of interest and activity that was generated in behalf of the teaching program of the church.

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