Profile: Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County

In 1888, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Fifth and Taylor Streets in Fort Worth served as the first home of the Union Gospel Mission. Known as the Bethel Mission, the Mission coordinated the relief activities of Fort Worth Churches, maintained a cooperative welfare department, and established a non-sectarian downtown church. From the very beginning, the Mission recognized the need for a close working relationship between area churches and the Mission, which did not compete with the churches but served as an auxiliary to them in order to reach "the rabble of the city and the outcasts in the slum districts." In 1889, Bethel Mission became known as Union Gospel Mission.

Mr. H. W. Stone, first Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and Warren Collins, owner of Collins Art Company, were among the small group of ministers and businessmen instrumental in founding the Mission. Mr. Collins served as the first superintendent.

Edward Henry Manwarring, a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, recorded the earliest known history of the Mission as his thesis for a Master of Theology degree. Personal interviews served as the core of his work; therefore, he captured an important era in the Mission's history. Manwarring discovered that the YMCA influenced the Mission's focus, primarily because most of the staff at the Mission were also active in the YMCA. He wrote, "Mr. Stone was interested in the welfare of humanity and especially from an evangelistic point of view. . . .The primal idea of the Mission was evangelistic."

A large demand for the Mission's services developed from the early 1900s through World War I. Fort Worth's population had grown faster than the city could support. People were in need of food, clothing, shelter, and advice. The Mission was able to minister to those needs.

The Mission's motto, "No creed but Christ; No law but love," was adopted on June 17, 1909, at a public meeting held at the First Methodist Church. Three of the ministers associated with the Mission during the early 1900s included Dr. George W. Truit of Dallas, Dr. L.R. Scarborough (former President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), and Dr. Forrest Smith (Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church).

During the same time period, the Mission moved to a building on Jones Street near 16th Street and later to a building at 1502 Main Street. In 1928, the Mission acquired the Old Landmark Building at 14th and Main, which was used for evangelistic and missionary work, and the UGM Railroad Hotel at 15th and Houston. The UGM Railroad Hotel is now the Tarrant County College Administration Building. By 1979, all operations had moved to the to UGM Railroad Hotel building even though it was in need of extensive repair. The current Men's Building at 1331 East Lancaster was funded through the efforts of four men: M. J. Neeley, Babe Fugua, J. C. Pace and Clark Nowlin. In 1982, Mr. Neeley, in exchange for the old location, assisted in raising the required funds needed to purchase, remodel, and expand an old nursing home behind the Men's Building. The new building became the Family Center for women and children.

As the century was coming to a close, the Mission continued to expand; therefore, in 1993, it built McFadden Hall, located next to the Family Center, to house elderly women. In early 1999, the Mission purchased a 15,000 square foot building, located across Lancaster from the Men's Building, to use as a collection and distribution center for donated clothing and housewares. Later that year, the Mission began an on-going campaign, the New Beginnnings Capital Campaign, to invigorate, increase, and improve its services to the community.