Elementary school in Forney named in honor of HPU alumni couple

by Seth Rainey '19

An elementary school in Forney was recently named for longtime residents and former Howard Payne University students Jerry and Helen Griffin. Rev. Griffin is a 1955 graduate of HPU, while Mrs. Griffin attended HPU for one year before transferring. The couple was honored at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility in August 2020. 

The Griffins have called Forney home for more than 60 years and have become vital members of their community. They celebrated their years of service at First Baptist Church of Forney in March 2020. Rev. Griffin pastored the church for 33 years before becoming the director of missions for the Kauf-Van Baptist Association, serving Kaufman and Van Zandt counties, while still residing in Forney. He returned to FBC Forney in 2006 where he serves as pastor to senior adults. Mrs. Griffin taught for 27 years for Forney ISD, teaching sixth-grade language arts for 13 years and leading the Reading Laboratory in an individualized reading program for 14 years. Through their time in Forney, the couple has watched the city grow and celebrated its successes along with other residents. 

“We’ve had great relationships with the people here,” he said. “We love the people here – they have been so good to us. We’re grateful and humbled that this school will bear our name and excited for the impact it will have.”

Mrs. Griffin said that teaching in Forney allowed her to build valuable relationships with students and their families, which helped the couple invest in the people of their community.

“Teaching in Forney was an ideal position for a pastor’s wife,” she said. “The two worked together very nicely as I got to know many of the children and their families both at school and church. Before my retirement, it was fun to teach children of former students. Also, I was blessed to teach my own twin daughters. Many of my students are my best friends today. All these years in Forney have been very rewarding and we have been so blessed.”

Mrs. Griffin and Rev. Griffin married while he was a junior at HPU. Rev. Griffin recalled the great impact HPU had on his life, particularly through the Christ-centered community that was, and still is, an essential focus of the university. 

“HPU has a great spirit,” he said. “I transferred from a state college and, coming here, I was amazed to be at a school where we prayed in class and got to go to Bible classes and so forth. It had a great impact on my life.”

While attending a state college and working in Corsicana, Rev. Griffin met a co-worker who was an HPU alumnus and advised that he look into attending the university. Another friend helped him visit the campus. Rev. Griffin said he was called to ministry during his senior year of high school and, upon visiting HPU, felt led to continue to pursue this calling at the institution.

“I say I really feel like the Lord led me to Howard Payne,” he said. “These two people were the human instruments who He used to get me there. I feel like the Lord worked through them.” 

Once at Howard Payne, the Lord continued to use individuals in his life to help direct and prepare him to be a pastor. Dr. W. Arthur Todd ’30, a professor of Bible, was of particular influence on Rev. Griffin’s path in ministry. 

“Dr. Todd had more influence on me than any teacher I had anywhere,” he said. “He really impacted my life with his practical teaching. He was a great Bible teacher, but he also taught me so much about ministry. He had a course in ministry there that was one of the most practical courses anybody could ever have – I still have the textbook too. I wish every young preacher had it. He was a great man and had a great spirit – he meant so much.” 

Dr. Todd recommended Rev. Griffin for one of his first positions as a pastor while the latter was still a student. These early experiences, leading a small church near Goldthwaite and ministering to congregants, offered valuable lessons for the young minister that helped lay a foundation for the life of ministry that would follow. 

“Those folks were dear to me and really meant a lot,” he said. “They helped me as I was beginning in the ministry, showing me what pastoring a church should look like and what Southern Baptist mission work was all about.”

Rev. Griffin said the opportunities that were fostered at the university laid the groundwork for the ministry that has been his life’s work. 

“It was because of the leaders at Howard Payne that I was able to start serving in churches as a young man,” he said. “Through my life, I’ve always had a place to serve and I’m thankful for that. HPU helped me have those opportunities.”

Photo: Pictured at the groundbreaking ceremony for Jerry and Helen Griffin Elementary School are the Griffins with friends Molly (Nickols) Purl ’00 and Purl’s father, retired HPU faculty member John Nickols.

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