Holmes Bible College - Echo Yearbook (Greenville, SC)

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Board of Trustees REV. J. LOUIS COWARD DR. PAUL F. BEACHAM MR. BELTON S. THOMPSON REV. HUBERT T. SPENCE MR. W. D. REYNOLDS BISHOP JOSEPH A. SYNAN REV. THOMAS T. LINDSEY REV. H. PADGETT ROBINSON Page Seven

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Histor xi N ill' ll tllls il lll','q!ilx ru I Iflff' 'lily fl l1,,11f111111lf ' fl I I - - ff Il1111lIll', 1 I 'fI1IIll l REV. N. J. HOLMES MRS. LUCY SIMPSON HOLMES The Holmes Bible College actually dates its beginning with a ten day Bible Institute conducted on top of Paris Mountain near Greenville, S. C., in I896 by Rev. N. J. Holmes, formerly a lawyer of Laurens, S. C., and at that time a Presbyterian minister. The next record we have of the school is an account of the term opening October 'l, I898. This is generally considered the first term of Holmes Bible College, which then operated under the name of Altamont Bible and Missionary Institute. The Bible and missionary courses were the main fields of study at that time. The board was fixed at 59.00 a month. In 1900 the school was moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and in 1902 Mr. Holmes decided to go back on the faith plan, and since that time its doors have been open to any worthy young man or woman of any denomination, as long as there was room M H . r. olmes stated We believe it honors God to rest upon Him for everything. In 190 , . ., w ere it was housed in the Oliver Gospel Mission building for two years, then returned to its birth place on top of Paris Mountain. In 'l9I6 when the school was moved to its present site in Greenville the name was changed by the Board of Trustees to The Holmes Bible and Mission- ary Institute, in honor of its grand founder. Mr. Holmes remained at the head of the school until his death in 1919, when by virtue of his own will and appointment, Paul F. Beacham, a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost, who had been his son in the Gospel and assistant for several years, became President of the College. Under his wise guidance and leadership the plant has steadily grown until today it is easily worth S275,000.00. In I946 the school went on a seminary basis, offering to those who satisfactorily completed its courses the degree of Th. B., or B.S.L. In addition to passing the requirements in scholarship, each student must give satisfactory evidence to the faculty and Board of Trustees of trustworthiness and dependability of character, as well as soundness in doctrine. 3 the school was moved to Columbia S C h ' E I 5 I Q I

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A TRIBUTE TO OUR PRESIDENT BY A MINISTER OF ANOTHER DENOMINATION July 31, 1946 DEAR BROTHER BEACHAM: Congratulations to the Pentecostal Holiness Church! I have just heard that they have called you to be a Bishop. Congratulations also to you! Such confidence and respect of the church is a very high honor indeed, and the oppor- tunity very great. This news, however, is not at all surprising to me. Long ago I recognized that you were already a bishop, so for as quality of spirit, and mind, and life are concerned. You may be surprised when I tell you where and when I first saw clearly that you were a bishop. There have been numerous occasions when I might have seen it. It might have been any year at the Falcon Camp meeting as I listened to your powerful preaching, and your clear exposition of the Scriptures. In a sense it was. It might have been when I observed your gifts of teaching and administration in connection with the Holmes Bible Institute and Church. In a sense it was. It might have been when I recognized the sincerity and generosity of your theological, Christian, and ecclesiastical attitudes toward others at a time when they were being consigned to the flames because of their method of de-fleaing a dog was not according to Hoyle firrespective of the fact that the fleas came offi. In a sense it was. All these items have a place in the making up of the picture of you which I have carried for years, but none of them furnish the distinguishing mark which has told me about you. Two incidents bring out this distinguishing mark in a richer light than any of the above mentioned. One of these incidents was an afternoon of pastoral visitation which you made during one of my visits with you in Greenville. I accompanied you on this afternoon. I do not know how many calls we made, but they were a good many. Some of them were simple, friendly calls, but most of them were in the hospital or in homes where there was sickness, pov- erty, extreme old age, or distress of some sort. I noted your sincere desire to do some actual good to these people. Your persistence in every instance, the vital concern you seemed to have for each one, and your gift of understanding helpfulness amid a wide variety of needs. To this day the impressions of that afternoon have remained undimmed. I almost always think of them whenever I think of you. I remember that the last visit was to a lady who was quite ill. The husband was by the bedside full of concern but helpless. The woman's trouble had affected her in such a manner that she did not appear to be able to grasp the situation, or to give much response to your ministrations. It looked as though you had done all you possibly could. It was almost dark, and there was to be a service 'at the church that night. Ninety-nine ministers out of a hundred would have given a parting word or prayer and gone their way. You showed no trace of doing so, you kept on trying. It appeared to me that there was nothing which Christ Himself would have done which you did not do to try to bring the touch of God to that poor woman's mind and body, and you did it all in such a quiet, strong, clear, tender and persistent way that good results of the richest sort could not fail to come. This afternoon was the time I knew you were a bishop, a true shepherd of the sheep. The other incident was the day we went to see your mother. I do not remember iust where she lived, but I remember the house, the room, your brother and family. The main thing was the mutual feeling between your mother and you, and the general atmosphere of love, admiration, and faith in God, and your mother's attitude of loving pride toward you. I felt instinctively that here was no artificiality, nothing but the strong trees, the solid rock, and the clear streams of God's creation. I have always felt since that visit that I knew you better than I ever did before, or rather that I knew more of the sort of material of which you were composed. I have felt that with this background around and within you, enlivened and guided by the Holy Ghost, there was bound to come forth a man of more than ordinary qualities. I imagine that the church at large feels great satisfaction over your election as a bishop. I think they feel as I do, that you will be always a noble representative of Him Who is the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of our souIs. Accept my best wishes. Be assured of my prayers and my abounding faith in you and in the God to Whom you serve. Your brother in His service, C. A. S. Page Eight