Pastor Steve Jeffery talks with Dr. Charles Wolford, CEO of the Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County, a Christian ministry in Fort Worth that “offers programs for homeless people to maximize their potential by developing the skills needed to become independent, productive community members” (www.ugm-tc.org). They discuss the history and current work of UGM; the problem with the term “homeless”; the housing crisis; the complexity of the situations faced by those without stable housing; transformational ministry, not transactional ministry; the best way the respond to panhandlers; program aversion; parallels between the the work of UGM and other aspects of pastoral ministry; opportunities for volunteering; and other topics. During the conversation, Dr. Wolford recommended the book Same Kind Of Different As Me, by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent.

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