Testimonies of Faith from Years Gone By

It is difficult to write about all the eternal dividends of Toccoa Falls because there are so many. . . . Scores of letters thrilled the hearts of Dr. and Mrs. Forrest. As they read the mail, phrases like “How sweet!” “Isn’t this lovely?” and “Praise the Lord!” were often repeated. Hundreds of testimonies praised the work of Toccoa Falls. Homecoming days were a paean of praise as hearts rejoiced for what the Lord had accomplished through His servants. Only a few are presented here.

Practically every person who came as a student claimed to be a Christian, but in many cases, this only meant he or she was a church member. Each year scores of students came to know Christ in a real and vital way, and many were called into definite, full-time service. One high school boy from Jacksonville, Florida, gave the following testimony: “I came to this school unsaved, but am now saved and rejoicing in the Lord. At Toccoa Falls Institute, I was taught to believe on the Lord. So, I can truthfully say that if it were not for this school I would still be in sin and unsaved.” A girl from Illinois testified: “TFI is my ‘spiritual home’ for it was there in 1941, I found Christ and His salvation so full and free.” Similar statements were made by dozens of young people before the end of each school term.

The Bible College students traveled approximately three thousand miles a month in order to reach about 2,500 children a week in services at schools, as well as an uncounted number of adults in street meetings, jail services, church services, visitation work, and other types of contacts. On one Sunday morning, every pulpit in Stephens County was supplied by one of the faculty or student body of Toccoa Falls.

During the summer months, the students helped with vacation Bible schools, toured in quartet work with staff representatives from the school, acted as assistant pastors, worked as counselors in Christian camps, and did many other types of Christian work. Their testimonies were thrilling to read or hear, as can be told from the few included below:

“We praise the Lord for the 79 boys and girls who accepted Christ as their personal Savior in our Bible schools in Alabama this summer. Boys and girls want to know the way of salvation. May the Lord help us who know Him to show them the way!”

“The past three months of presenting Christ to hungry hearts from an old gospel tent have brought untold blessing to our hearts as we have witnessed the working of God’s wonderful grace in the lives of men!”

“During the summer, I served as assistant pastor at a Methodist Church in Savannah, Georgia. Most of the month of August, I was given complete charge. It was wonderful to be able to tell so many of the soul-saving power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to put into practice that which God helped me to learn at Toccoa Falls Institute.”

“We covered something like 3,500 miles, participating in 55 services in 52 days. We started with $10.00, a tank of gas, and a prayer meeting, not once asking anyone for money, food, or shelter, but making our needs known only to God. Not once did we stop for lack of funds, although several times we anxiously eyed the little treasury as it dwindled to a couple of dollars, and the contents of the gas tank as it sank to an alarming level, but God always slipped into the picture at the crucial moment to replenish our store.”

Editor’s note: Shown in the photo above is the Toccoa Falls Institute Gospel Car.