Annual Christian Educators Convention Draws Thousands to Washington
The 53rd annual convention of the Greater Washington Christian Education Association, one of the largest Christian education conventions in the country, gathered nearly 3,000 Local Christian educators and churchgoers from the Greater Washington area.
BELTSVILLE, Md. – Nearly 3,000 Local Christian educators and churchgoers from the Greater Washington area gathered on Friday and Saturday for workshops and sessions dedicated to strengthening instruction for all ages.
The 53rd annual convention of the Greater Washington Christian Education Association, one of the largest Christian education conventions in the country, brought together dozens of teachers from the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland and some from Pennsylvania who instruct others how to guide their congregations and church groups.
“Providing Christian education – that’s our goal,” said Robert Tome, chairman of the GWCEA. “We’re here to help people who come to learn so they can go back to their churches and do a great job for God.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
With nearly 300 hour-and-a-half sessions planned for the two-day event at High Point High School in Beltsville, Md., there was something for nearly everyone, including class sessions on evangelism and missions. Also available to attendants were Christian products from over 60 exhibitors.
In addition, instead of one keynote speaker in the main auditorium, this year's event featured three speakers who focused on the issues of men's, women's and children's ministries.
Positive Developments
With only a few hours remaining before the end of the event, Tome observed that among the positive developments that took place in the two days were the interactions between people.
“The relationship with people naturally brings about a positive reaction,” he said, “and as I watch people interact, I think the relationship building is great.”
The classroom sessions featured a wide variety of speakers. In between sessions, the halls and exhibition areas at the school were teeming with attendants. However, as the sessions began, many – though not all – rooms were filled to the limit.
God’s Plan for Marriage
On Friday evening, marriage counselors and married couple Duane and Valerie Sawyer from Grace Fellowship Church in York, Pa., told a packed class about the basics of a biblically sound marriage, starting with the example of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis and continuing to the New Testament, where Christ is described as the Church’s husband who sacrifices himself for his bride.
“You look at that relationship and anytime Scripture is dealing with our relationship with God, we can make that same application between each other,” said Duane after the class. “God treats us with grace and mercy, and we say that you treat your spouses with grace and mercy.”
He said his goal was to whet the appetite of attendants in the introductory class so that they could begin their own search and gain direction.
“One young fellow who was here tonight came up to me, asking, ‘Tell me the books you’re reading that helped you along the way.’ So I listed several of them and gave him direction to others. I believe he will go home tonight and begin that process himself," Duane said.
Valerie, who co-ministers with Duane at marriage seminars and in counseling, said that speaking about their personal experiences helps those listening to better relate.
“We think that people can see themselves and realize that a marriage can get really bad and God can still fix it,” she said. By understanding that God has a plan and a purpose for marriage, while also being willing to “do marriage His way, He can take a bad marriage and turn it around. He can take a good marriage and make it better.”
She also explained that after the evening session, a young couple they met the first time they led a session at the convention six years ago returned to tell them that their relationship was faring well.
“They were in one of our classes and they talked to us and said, ‘Can you help us? Our marriage is in real trouble.’ They actually came up to Pennsylvania to our house, where we spent the whole day helping them. They have a wonderful marriage now,” she said.
“[W]e had a part in that. It was so cool because later, here they are, [wanting] to say ‘hi’ and let us know they're doing well. So that makes it all worthwhile,” she added.
Teens Learn about Overcoming Poor Self-Image through Gospel
Teens also had the opportunity to learn about overcoming personal difficulties by trusting their lives to Jesus for healing at a separate session on Saturday afternoon.
Dan Ham, an evangelist to youths and assembly speaker who works through his organization, Dan Ham International, explained the importance of speaking in a straightforward manner to teens.
“You’ve got to communicate on their level, being real, transparent, and not elevating yourself over them,” he said. He added that during his more than two decades of ministry he has learned that young people can best relate to people who are “real” and “not phonies.”
During his presentation to nearly 50 youths at a conference room in a nearby Holiday Inn, Ham urged the teens not to compare themselves to others. The mistake often made, he said, is to “compare my weaknesses” to someone else’s strengths, which brings inner turmoil.
“When God created you, gang, He did not create you to be like anybody else. He created you to be yourself,” he said. “In some of you, there may be things, physically, that you don’t like about yourself. You think you’re too tall, or too short, or too big or too skinny.”
Ham also spoke about difficulties they would encounter in faith comparing the struggle to that of an Olympian who needs to press ahead by training for competition to reach top physical condition.
“There will be times that you don't feel like reading your Bible. There will be times you don't feel like praying. There will be times you don't feel like doing what God wants you to do,” he said.
But in those times, he added, “whether you feel like it or not, you know you have to stay with Word.”
"You know you have to stay in prayer; you have to stay in fellowship with each other. Because that's the way you can stay in top spiritual condition to win His prize.”
At the end of his time, Ham asked the teens to bow their heads and pray together with him and, if they wished, to ask to be freed from pain, and hurt, ending the prayer in Jesus’ name.
The convention lasted through Saturday afternoon.
