CENTRAL ALUMNUS LIVES OUT HIS CALLING BY REV. BILL O’NEAL
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n the corner of North 7th Street and Wilkes Boulevard in Columbia sits an older, unassuming brick and mortar church that looks like a small castle. Although it’s 9 a.m., the homeless community has been gathering in the parking lot since sunrise, awaiting their turn to go inside for assistance. Admittedly, the neighborhood is not prime real estate, as many consider this “the other side of the tracks.” This is Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church, home of Turning Point Ministries, and the pastor is Central Methodist alumnus Rev. Brad Bryan, ‘04. The church’s website states, “Turning Point, a United Methodist
16 The Talon | Spring 2023
ministry, welcomes the help of those in our community no matter their religious or non-religious affiliation. Our mission is to promote and restore dignity and hope among Columbians who are facing the possibility of housing crisis or who are currently experiencing homelessness.” The hope and prayer of this ministry is that a significant change will occur in the lives of its clients. What makes this ministry unique is that it fills a very specific need by removing the implicit bias caused by not having a mailing address. “When you’re homeless, no one can find you because you don’t have a mailing address, and when you don’t have a mailing address, getting a simple minimum wage job is extremely complicated, so it’s harder to step up than we know,” said Bryan. “We provide an address, which empowers our clients to work with the Social Security Administration, Health and Human Services, the courts,