January 1929
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taneous Mission held on the Friday evening previous to the opening of the campaign. No public notice was given of the meeting. Had the doors been thrown open to the public, the great building would have been rushed. Ad mission was by card only, the cards being strictly con fined to one person, and issued only to actual Christian workers. So the gathering was, to quote Mr. Pearce Carey, ‘a picked meeting.’ It was constituted of the spir itual elite of all the churches. Never before, perhaps, in Melbourne, has such a company of praying, fervent men and women met under one roof.” Another writer closes his review of the mission with these words: “Thus ended the most wonderful mission ever held in Melbourne.” The Town Hall, in which the opening meeting was held, seated 2,500; The Drill Hall, in which the mission closed, seated 8,000 and was packed. After Melbourne, the other leading cities of Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand were visited, and everywhere great crowds were attracted by the unusual singing and mighty preaching of the missioners, and over 20,000 persons publicly professed conversion. Leaving New Zealand, “India’s coral strand” was touched enroute to the British Isles, where Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander were destined to spend three strenuous years, and to reap the harvest of souls already mentioned. The largest halls in Liverpool, where the campaign commenced, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Belfast, and London itself were packed night after night, and week after week. “All sorts and conditions of men,” women and children (for special meetings were held for the children) attended. But the limits of a magazine article forbid any attempt to tell at length the story of this wonderful campaign. E vangelistic W ork I n A merica Returning to America, Dr. Torrey continued his evan gelistic work, although he would have been welcomed back to the Bible Institute in Chicago gladly. He was also in demand for Bible conferences. Dr. John M. Maclnnis, now Dean of the Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles but then pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Montrose, Penn., invited Dr. Torrey there. He drove him around the beautiful little town and then took him to what is now known as Conference Hill, which overlooks a beautiful valley and lake. Taking in all the landscape, Dr. Torrey turned to him and said, “This is the most beautiful site for a Bible Conference I have ever seen.” The two men of God knelt down and took posses sion of it by faith. Now the Montrose Conference is one of the leading conferences in America, being recognized as the place where a peculiar emphasis is placed on Bible exposition and prayer. C alled T o L os A ngeles In the summer of 1911 Dr. Torrey accepted the call to become Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, which position he filled until June, 1924. The Institute had been organized some years pre viously by the Rev. Thomas C. Horton, an old Minne apolis friend of Dr. Torrey’s, and had been operating in what had been a pool room on the second floor of a cloth ing store on Main Street. Mr. Lyman Stewart, President of the Union Oil Co. and an elder in Immanuel Presbyterian Church, his brother, Mr. Milton Stewart, and other Christian laymen had become interested in establishing a Bible Institute on the Pacific Coast, and turned to Dr. Torrey with the plea that he lay aside his evangelistic work and duplicate in
end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). “ J O, I am with you all the days”— The sad, dark day of sorrow, The glad, long, bright tomorrow; Through all life’s changing ways, Faithful the Lord who says, “Lo, I am with you”—then look up and praise. Yea, all the days as they succeed Each other, swiftly gliding, For here is none abiding; The hours have their own meed Of sunshine, shadow, need— Rejoice, that Christ is ever near indeed! “Lo, I am with you”—He gives rest; Strong is His Arm upholding, Changeless the Love enfolding Close to His pitying breast. Tho’ hearts are oft distrest, In Him is peace, calming their long- sought quest. Yes, Jesus with us all the days Of earth—and then for ever In heaven, where grief comes never; Here, in the shadowed ways, There, in the sunlight rays Of perfect bliss, and joy’s eternal praise.
Los Angeles what he had done in Chicago. Seeing the need, and believing the call to be from God, Dr. Torrey accepted it. Money was contributed and a start made with the building, only to be hindered and delayed by the con ditions arising from the world war. During the nearly three years that were occupied in putting up the splendid building in which the Institute is now housed, classes were held in rented quarters, the students living in homes or- hotels where they could find accommodation. With the advent of Dr. Torrey students began to come in larger numbers from all over the country, and from other coun tries, and when the new dormitories were ready for use, the student body had increased about fourfold. C hurch O f T he O pen D oor The Church of the Open Door was organized by a body of Christians representing various denominations who felt the need of a strong interdenominational down town church. This is an organization distinct entirely from the Bible Institute, but using the Institute’s beauti ful auditorium, which contains 4,000 seats, for its Sunday services. Dr. Torrey was called as pastor of the church, and held this position until his resignation as Dean of the Institute in 1924. During his tenure of office as Dean, the Institute became widely known as a well-equipped, well-staffed, safely conducted, evangelical and evangelistic training
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