Our legacy began with Reverend John Theisen, then Pastor of Northwestern Gospel Church in Detroit, under the auspices of the Detroit Christian Businessmen’s Association, to form a group to encourage the growth of Sunday Schools. That first step of faith Monday evening, June 24, 1946, at the downtown Detroit YMCA was originally called the Greater Detroit Sunday School Association. As efforts reached beyond the Detroit metro area to Lansing, Saginaw, Port Huron, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Traverse City, and Iron Mountain we became the Michigan Sunday School Association. Later, in the late 1970's, when mini-conventions began to be held in Toronto, Manitoba, St. Catherines, Winnipeg, Newfoundland, Canada, it became clear that God's plan for the organization had an international scope, we became the International Christian Education Association.

 

For more than seven decades, God has seen fit to provide ICEA with leaders and teachers with passion to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by serving churches and para-church organizations. Today, as the truth of God's Word in 2 Timothy 3:1-6 unfolds all around us, we choose to renew our commitment. We stand upon the legacy of those who have gone before us and continue to provide training to this generation that equips the Body of Christ to share the truth and love, as well as the mercy and grace of Christ using every tool available to us.