In 1906 a young men's Bible class was org anize d in the Immanue l Presbyte rian Chu rc h by Rev. T. C. Horton, Bible tea cher of the church. This class soon took on larger proportions and was named "The Fi s he rmen 's Cl ub." A s hor t time later Mr. D. H. Steele, an elder of the same church and manager of a department s tore, re quested Mrs. Horton to ope n a Bibl e class for the young women of hi s s tore, off e ring a large room for the purpose. The class grew to large numbers by the coming in of young women from other s tores, and was named "The Lyceum Club." From such young people the first studen ts of the Bible Ins titute were recruited. In the Fall of 1907, Mr. Horton secured the cooperation of Rev. A. B. Pritchard, pastor of Central Presbyterian Church, and some day class es were held in the lecture room of that church. It soon became clear 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 elected 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 broke n 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 field. Owing to the growth of the school and the increas e 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 educational phases, working under the Board of Trustees. Dr. Louis T. Talbot is the present President of the school and Dr. S. H. Sutherland, Dean . Legally known as The Bible Institute of Los Ang eles, 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 Chri s tian 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 establi shed 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 s till rigidly adhered to in every detail. (See page 3.)
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