A Lighthouse with him in the Downey Church. After his graduation and the conclu sion of his pastorate in Paramount, Dr. Gould worked at the First Baptist Church of Compton as youth pastor. His vital personality and energetic abilities became more widely known in Southern California when he trans ferred his sphere of activity to the First Baptist Church of Van Nuys. The youth again were his field and Dr. Porter Barrington was the pastor. The , Gould family had grown to include three children by 1953 when the zeal ous leader went to the Temple Baptist Church of Los Angeles as church ad ministrator. It was during their time here that Doris became ill with polio (see King’s Business — Nov. 1958) , which, while leaving her greatly physically curtailed, only served to heighten her good judgment and spir itual stamina which are a real asset to her husband’s ministry. Their next move came in 1954 when Dr. Gould was invited to serve as youth pastor at the First Baptist Church of Downey during the ministry of Dr. Jack Mac- Arthur. Upon the latter’s resignation, Dr. Gould became interim pastor. The pulpit committee, however, felt that they could find no one better qualified to fill the pulpit permanent ly than this man of God. So it was that late in 1954, the members of the First Baptist Church of D o w n e y unanimously called Dr. Gould as pastor. He has led the church forward in many phases and the blessing of God has been felt in many ways. The recent completion of a new youth cen ter (and education building) has been a real milestone in his work. His dy namic preaching and organizational ability are well-known and highly respected. Never satisfied to sit back and watch others work, Dr. Gould is active in the musical program of the church, directing the 80 voice Youth Choir as well as taking part in the educational phases of the church by teaching the young married couples. The busy Youth Pastor at Downey is Rev. Al Johnson (Biola ’49). Bom and reared in North Carolina, Rev. Johnson was stationed at Blythe, Cali fornia during his service with the Air Force. It was here that he met two important people in his life. One was Roland Meyer, who was a vital influ ence and challenge to him in turning THE KIN G 'S BUSINESS
T h e ministry and Christ-centered influence of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles is well-known. In world wide Christian circles. The fact that young people enter Biola’s portals to receive training in Bible and related subjects is a well-known fact to many thousands of people around the world. The side of the story that is most im portant to the people of our communi ties and churches, however, is the dedicated and effective ministry that follows the preparation of the student. It is as graduates go out from the school and into the churches for active Christian services that the ministry of the school begins to take fruit. There are many examples of the min istry carried on by former students and alumni the world over. We illus trate with only one example here. T h e F i r s t B a p t i s t Church of Downey, California, a ninety-one year old monument to the grace of God, has been a lighthouse of the gospel, and a repository of the Word of God for nearly a century. For the past few years it has had an unique and un usual situation in which all of the staff members and their wives are either alumni or former students of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. The church has an active membership of 1300, a forward looking building pro gram, and a lively Sunday School with average attendance of over 1050. Dr. Milton C. Gould, pastor and Biola graduate of the class of ’47 is a man of great energy. He has been active in the Lord’s work for the past 13 years as pastor and minister of youth in several Southern California churches. Reared on a farm in Cali fornia’s San Joaquin Valley, he came to the Southland to live with his sister in Van Nuys when his high school days were over. Next door was the girl who later became his wife. A new C h r i s t i a n , Doris, discussed many things of God with him and each whetted the other’s interest in spirit ual truths until the conviction grew that Bible training was the thing that should occupy their time. Dr. Gould enrolled at Biola. He was first active in Christian work as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Paramount while still a student at Biola. Here he formed a team of students which consisted of himself, Frank Peters, and Thomas “ F.d” Steele who are again working
Dr. M ilton Gould, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Downey ( cen ter), has the honorary doctor of divinity degree conferred upon him at the recent Biola commencement exercises. Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland, president of Biola, reads cita tion, while Dr. Charles L. Feinberg, direc tor, Talbot Theological Seminary, adjusts hood. Dr. Harold L. Fickett, pastor, Van Nuys First Baptist Church, is seated at the left. Staff of Downey First Baptist Church gathers around pastor M ilton Gould. At left is assistant pastor Rev. Frank Peters. Youth D irector A l Johnson is on the right.
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