The Rev. P.H. Crumpler, a Methodist, is more or less given credit for forming the Effingham County Sunday School Association. It is said that at the close of Methodist Camp Meeting, he expressed a desire to invite other churches and Sunday Schools to join together for a meeting.

The first Sunday School Association of Effingham County was held on Wednesday, May 28, 1879 at the Methodist Campground in Springfield. Of the 25 Sunday schools in the county, 15 were represented.

The 137th annual convention of the Sunday School Association of Effingham County will be held May 1 at 10 a.m. with participating Sunday schools ready to march under the tabernacle at 9:45 a.m. The convention will be held at the historic Effingham County Methodist Campground.
With this being the Christians (DoC) year to host the convention, President Marshall Reiser of Guyton Christian Church has secured Dr. Robert L. Harris, president of The Disciples College (Christian College of Georgia), to be the guest speaker.

Harris was born into a family where agriculture was the daily lifestyle, and it included lots of fishing. He grew up in Cochran and he entered a personal and saving relationship with the Lord at the age of 7, baptized in April 1959. His life revolved around family, church, the outdoors, scouting and religious education.

The Harris family moved to Lawrenceville, in 1964, where he continued to be actively involved in his church, in youth programs, in scouting and in music. His dream was to be a member of the Redcoat Marching Band at the University of Georgia. The closest he got was a chair in the concert band.

After this disappointment Harris turned to the study of religion and education. He was a school teacher, a seminarian, a husband, a minister, a college teacher, and eventually a father of three sons and a daughter. On son lives nearby in Athens; the other three children live in Denver, as do four of his five grandchildren. His oldest son is senior minister of one of the largest Disciples of Christ congregations in the country.

Harris attended the University of Georgia (from which he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees), the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Michigan State University where he earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration.

If your Sunday school is interested in participating, contact Stuart Exley at 754-3402.