Cline Paden

Who was Cline Paden?

Cline Rex Paden was a prominent Churches of Christ evangelist and missionary who, in 1962, founded what became the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas. The institute offers college-style instruction in Lubbock and a series of satellite schools in forty-six states and in such countries as Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Bermuda, Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, England, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, and Trinidad. Such schools allow individuals to study the Bible in depth with instruction adapted to their schedules and particular circumstances.

Paden was born in Wagner in northwestern Hunt County near Dallas, to Oscar Paden and Lona Paden. The population of Wagner never exceeded fifty persons, and it is no longer listed on road maps or gazeteers. In 1927, the family moved to Lubbock County, where Paden later graduated from Idalou High School. In 1947, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, the seat of Taylor County, Texas.

Paden delivered his first sermon in Hawley in Jones County in west Texas. In 1949, he joined a missionary team to Italy.