In 1906 a young men's Bible class was organized in the Immanuel Presbyterian Church by Rev. T. C. Horton, Bible teacher of the church. This class soon took on larger proportions and was named "The Fishermen's Club." A short time later Mr. D. H. Steele, an elder of the same church and manager of a department store, re quested Mrs. Horton to open a Bible class for the young women of his store, offering a large room for the purpose The class grew to large numbers by the coming in of young women from other stores, and was named "The Lyceum Club." From such young people the first students of the Bible Institute were recruited. In the Fall of 1907, Mr. Horton secured the cooperation of Rev. A. B. Pritchard, pastor of Central Presbyterian Chu rch, and some day classes were he ld in the lecture room of that church. It soon became c lear that a building was needed , and several weeks were spent in search of proper quarters. A location was secured on South Main Street, not an ideal location, but the best then offered. On February 25, 1908, a: meeting was called to effect a permanent organization. At this meeting the following persons were e lected as officers : Lyman Stewart, Presi dent; A. B. Pritchard, Vice-President T. C . Horton, Superintendent; R. A. Hadden, Associate Superintendent; B. C. Atterbury, Secretary; and Leon V. Shaw, Treasurer. There was a rapid development of the school. Messrs. Horton, Hadden, and Pritchard formed the Faculty and took up the teaching work. From the beginning, the school was evangelistic in character. Shop meetings were taken over and conducted, Bible Women's work was organized, a work among Jews was commenced, as was also Spanish Mission work and work among the men of the oil fields, and Extension classes were organized in the city and surrounding towns. In 1911 the Board of Directors decided upon an advance movement and called Dr. R. A. Torrey as Dean. Dr. Torrey entered upon his duties in January, 1912. In order to meet the enlarging needs and to provide a more suitable and perma nent home for the school, a new site was purchased at Sixth and Hope Streets and a building was put up, ground for which was broken on June 22, 1912, and the building was dedicated the following year. Dr. Torrey continued as Dean until 1924, when he again entered the evangelistic fie ld. Owing to the growth of the school and the increase of responsibility thereby entailed, a reorganization was effected and the work divided: a President to care for the administrative aspect, and a Dean to handle the eductional phases, working under the Board of Trustees. Dr. Louis T. Talbot is the present President of the school and Dr. S. H. Sutherland, Dean of the Faculty. Legally known as The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated, this institution -with true pioneer spirit-has taken forward steps in the field of Christian education by strengthening its courses materially. In 1936 the Institute applied for and received State authorization for the conferring of certain degrees. Three four-year courses were then organized leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor of Christian Education, and Bachelor of Sacred Music . In 1943, under authority of the State of California, the Board of Trustees of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles established the Bible Theological Seminary of Los Angeles. This move was made in order to provide proper recognition for those stu dents who are doing work of seminary level. This expansion does not mean any departure from the theological and spiritual standards of this institution. The statement of faith to which the founders of the school subscribed is still rigidly adhered to in every detail. (See page 3.)
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