Paul Edward Loth was born in Buffalo, New York, on April 12th, 1915, the middle of three children. He attended public schools in Buffalo and faithfully attended Sunday School and church at the First Methodist Episcopal Church. It was in fourth grade Sunday School class that he met a lovely little girl, Janet Slacer, who would later become his wife.

When, as a teenager, he asked Janet for a date on a Sunday evening, she said she’d be glad to have him accompany her family to church. They had been attending Hunt Avenue Baptist Church. It was during that service that Paul heard the message of the gospel of Christ and at the conclusion of the service he received Christ as his savior. He and Janet became active members of the youth group there. This was the beginning of a life of faithful service to his Lord.

Because his father passed away when he was twelve, Paul helped support his mother and family through his high school and early adult years. He attended Columbia Bible College from 1936-1940, where he was president of the junior class. Upon graduation, with a BA in Biblical Education, he joined the faculty of Buffalo Bible Institute, where he was appointed Assistant Dean and Registrar. At Bethel Baptist Church, on June 26, 1941, Paul was ordained to the gospel ministry. The following year, on June 26, 1942, Rev. Loth married his childhood sweetheart, Janet Marie Slacer. They had a loving marriage for 59 years until she passed away in February of 2002.

During the decade following their marriage, he was a faithful pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, a North American Baptist church in Buffalo. Pastor Loth had an effective ministry at Bethel and was loved by members of all ages. Three young people were sent to the mission field from the church during that time. Also, while he was there he began the Sunday Evening Park Vespers. He served the denomination as the Moderator of the Eastern Conference of North American Baptists and as a member of the General Council of NAB.

It was also during this decade that his three children were born, Joanne Marie, Esther Carol, and Paul John. In addition to being a new father, he directed the Buffalo Bible Conference; during that time he also earned an MA in Theology from Winona Lake School of Theology, a BA in history and government from the University of Buffalo, and an MS in elementary education from the State University of New York College at Buffalo.

In 1955, he moved his family to the Philadelphia area when he joined the faculty of Philadelphia College of Bible as the Director of the Bible-Christian Education Program. In these years he also earned the Doctor of Education degree at Temple University. This combination of education and practical experience in the pastorate and teaching gave him an exceptional grasp of Christian Education and he became a recognized leader in the field. Dr. Loth was elected by his colleagues as president of the Research Commission of the National Sunday School Association. He served from 1967 to 1969 during a significant time of transition in the organization and was instrumental in forming the National Association of Professors of Christian Education.

In 1961, Dr. Loth was called to the ministry of Evangelical Teacher Training Association and served as President for over 25 years until his retirement in 1987. He conducted many seminars on Christian Education and spoke at many institutions of higher education throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world. Frequently he participated in Sunday School Conventions and church conferences. Under his direction, new programs to further leadership preparation were instituted. As a result, ETTA experienced growth in every aspect of its ministry, expanding membership, developing world programs, revising all training materials, and producing teacher guides for courses, overhead transparencies and video instruction.

Close to Dr. Loth’s heart was his ministry in the Caribbean. He was the Chair of the founding committee of the Caribbean Association of Bible Colleges, having helped to organize a conference on theological education which led to the formation of the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean Islands and the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology, the only graduate school for evangelical theological study in the region. He continued to minister to and encourage the schools, believing that the future of the growing church in the Caribbean was closely related to the training tomorrow’s leaders are receiving in today’s schools. Dr. Loth was pleased to see this association grow and develop into a thriving group emphasizing Caribbean theological education. In 1989, he was honored with a citation of appreciation. The citation read:

“To Dr. Paul E. Loth, in recognition and appreciation of your outstanding contributions to theological education in the Caribbean region over the past twenty years and your invaluable role in the founding and development of Caribbean Evangelical Theological Association.”

Dr. Loth ministered in 26 countries and each inhabited continent. He received an honorary D.D. from Trinity College of Florida in 1981, and his abilities as a Christian educator have been recognized in Who’s Who in the Midwest and Who’s Who in Religion.

Throughout his retirement Dr. Loth provided a wonderful testimony of his life for the Lord through his loving care and service to his wife. Even though God had called Dr. Loth to a ministry of teaching and education, he never lost his pastor’s heart, ministering to those the Lord had given to him, most importantly his children, grandchildren, and close friends at Village Green Baptist Church and Windsor Park Manor. He faithfully sent birthday cards to his friends and never passed someone without a smile, friendly hello, and word of encouragement.

Upon the completion of his life of fruitful service to the Lord he loved, Dr. Loth could say with his namesake, Paul, the Apostle, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Since Paul Loth's lifelong passion was for schools in the Caribbean, ETA has decided to put together a memorial to the Christian Education Fellowship Fund in honor of Paul's legacy. CEF is devoted to shipments of resources to impoverished regions of the world. If you would like to participate in this memorial, please send checks to:

If you knew Paul E. Loth or his life has touched you in some way, please e-mail Yvonne Thigpen and share your story so that we may include it in our reflections as we celebrate ETA's rich history.