July 17, 2025
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Slade Johnson, Associational Mission Strategist for the Golden Isles Baptist Network, has a rich and fascinating heritage. His great-grandfather was Reuben Archer Torrey (better known as R. A. Torrey), born in 1856 and died on October 26, 1928.
Torrey was a mighty prayer warrior, an American pastor, evangelist, educator, and writer. A graduate of Yale University and Divinity School, Torrey was the second president of the Moody Bible Institute and simultaneously served as the pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago.
Johnson explained, “Dr. Torrey was my maternal great-grandfather. My grandfather, R. A. Torrey Jr., was my mother’s father and my great-grandfather’s only son (he also had four daughters). R. A. Torrey, Jr., was a remarkable champion for Christ in his own right. He was a career missionary to China. He started his ministry in China just as Lottie Moon was ending hers.
“My great-grandfather has been a larger-than-life figure in our family all of my life. We were greatly influenced by his theological legacy and, of course, his writings. My grandfather and then my mother and her siblings made sure we knew his story and were committed to his life being a great and pervasive influence on the spiritual development of me, my siblings, and our cousins.”
Johnson continued, “Because he majored on the fundamentals of the faith, that was the legacy that was passed on, and we were beneficiaries of that strong foundation. We would often be given his books as gifts and encouraged to read and digest their rich content. All of us had the usual rocky pilgrimages of youth, but most came back to the foundations that heritage provided.”
Torrey had a deep love and devotion for his family. Johnson recalled, “The loss of his daughter, Elizabeth (my grandfather’s favorite sister), at a young age devastated him and influenced his own theology in profound ways
“Most people who know his work know his great focus on prayer,” Johnson emphasized. “One family story that gave us all great encouragement was that he would regularly pray for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren yet unborn. That thought brought many of us, especially in my generation, great comfort when facing the inevitable life challenges.”
Torrey was a prolific writer, and many of his books are still available today and have continued to bless countless people almost 100 years after his death. Johnson acknowledged that he has been influenced by his great-grandfather’s books from his youth, citing his book on The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit and his treatment of the doctrine of pneumatology as being particularly helpful.
He commented, “That book was a great help to me in my ministry because it is a somewhat neglected subject among evangelicals to our great detriment. A ‘full-bodied’ and thorough biblical theology of the Holy Spirit is essential to the understanding and empowerment of the church and frankly, an orthodox grasp of the Trinity.”
Johnson testified, “His example of a dedicated and profoundly consistent prayer life has carried me through many life storms and challenges. Perhaps especially, it has had the effect of bringing me to a regular conviction of the weakness of my own prayer life and the need to constantly commit to a posture of utter dependence on the Lord. Even a man of his stature and gifts saw acutely the need to stay on his knees before the Father.
“R.A. Torrey had the reputation for being austere and serious, characteristic of men from the Edwardian age, but my grandfather said he had a great sense of humor, especially when around the family. They would laugh and have great fun together as a family. I have one photo that shows him sitting on the ground at a picnic with some family members and others, including my great-grandmother, his wife Clara. My grandfather told me that when he and his sisters were young, his father would pick all four or five of them up and carry them up the stairs laughing and showing them ‘how strong he was’, much to the consternation of my great-grandmother!
“In 1893, when my grandfather (R.A. Torrey, Jr.) was five years old 1893, and my great-grandfather was the dean at Moody Bible Institute (then called the Bible Institute of Chicago), he hosted a world missions conference. My grandfather told me that his dad brought him along to a luncheon during the conference. Seated at their table were John G. Paton and Hudson Taylor! My little five-year-old grandfather was enthralled and never forgot it. When it came to answering the call to missions, his memory of hearing Hudson Taylor's stories was what inspired him to go to China."
Torrey’s legacy is almost as rich in terms of Christian service as that of Jonathan Edwards. Johnson stated, “His only son was a career missionary, one daughter taught Bible at a conservative evangelical college. Of his nine grandchildren, five were in vocational ministry.
“Among his great-grandchildren (my generation), seven were in vocational ministry or married to men in ministry. At a gathering of R.A. Torrey’s descendants, several years ago, of the 70 present, including children, every person present was an evangelical representing several denominations and actively serving in their respective churches. A revealing testimony to his legacy."
Two quotes of Dr. Torrey have had a great impact on Slade Johnson’s life. They are: “The Word of God is pure; it is a sure foundation. Upon it we can build with absolute confidence,” and “God’s plan is not to abandon this world, but to win it back to himself. His method is not revolution, but regeneration.”
At R. A. Torrey’s funeral, William Houghton, the fourth president of Moody Bible Institute, described him, saying, “But those who knew Dr. Torrey more intimately knew him as a man of regular and uninterrupted prayer. He knew what it meant to pray without ceasing. With hours set systematically apart for prayer, he gave himself diligently to this ministry.”
