The Purpose of the Brother Bryan Mission is to lead unsaved homeless men to Christ by employing the example set by both our Savior and by Brother Bryan, himself -- the man considered "Birmingham's greatest citizen." In addition, the Mission provides a place to call "home" and an atmosphere of safety and rest. It is a place where men can wake up refreshed and ready to go to their jobs which are "springboards" to their becoming productive members of society again. The Mission strives to provide men the opportunity and the guidance needed to build confidence and self- esteem, to restore human dignity and to assist them in generating "changed lives." Also, by developing among the men a pride in ownership for the Mission, responsibilities that go along with that ownership, and holding them accountable for their actions, the Mission plants, nourishes and, by the Grace of God, harvest men capable of bigger and better things for the Lord and for the community.

Thank you for choosing to donate to this mission! You are a truly generous and kind person who cares about this country's homeless men. God will bless you for this selfless act.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please send us an email with your name and address. You will receive a quarterly newsletter and a thank you letter with every donation. We are careful to thank all our contributors. Please give what God is leading you to.

For your convenience, we have provided multiple ways of donating to this mission. If you have a food, clothing, furniture or a donation of any other items, you may

a)Deliver the items to the Mission at:
1616 Second Avenue North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
b)Call us at 205-322-0092
c)Email us at staff@brotherbryanmission.com.

If possible, we will be glad to pick up your donation. We are, however, working with limited resources due to a vehical and driver shortage.

For a monetary donation, we have provided two options. You may, through your credit card, send a donation directly to our Pay Pal account. Simply click on the Pay Pal logo and follow the instructions given. You may also send a check or Money Order to:

Brother Bryan Mission
P.0. Box 11160
Birmingham Alabama 35202

Thank you for your interest!
All donations are Tax Deductable

If you are local and would like a tour or a speaker for your group, please call us! We would be delighted to send a representitive to tell about our mission and share our many sucess stories!

Current Newsletter

Spring 2008

Previous Newsletters

Winter 2007
Spring 2007
Winter 2006
Summer 2006
Spring 2006

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Links

Garret Cox (the designer of this website)

If you would like us to include your link on our page, please e-mail us at staff@brotherbryanmission.com

To the left are several informative links:

Read about the early days of the mission under Mission Founding.

Learn more about Brother Bryan himself, as well as his close friend Judge Snyder.

Finally, we have made available a poem for your enjoyment.

Mission Founding

Brother James A. Bryan was probably the best known and most well thought of man ever to have lived in Birmingham. He was an ordained Minister of the Word and a walking example of the quotation in Acts 10:38 - "He went about doing good." During his life, he did more for the homeless of Birmingham than anyone before him. (See more about Brother Bryan at our page dedicated to detailing his life and good works.)

Before he died, Brother Bryan made one last request, he asked a few of his closest friends to find a place that would take the poor and unwanted men of Birmingham off the streets and give them food and shelter. His request was granted and Birmingham Alabama's first mission for the homeless was born!

The Brother Bryan Mission was founded in 1940 by a few dedicated and prayerful individuals. Its first location was limited to five rooms on the top floor of a building located on 20th street. The mission had only six twin-sized beds. How we have grown since then! In 1945 the mission made its first move to a larger facility thanks to Robert Munger who pledged to donate $10,000.00 bearing that the mission workers would match the given amount. With God's help and much work, the amount was raised. Now after four moves the mission is finally lodged at: 1616 Second Ave. North Birmingham Alabama, 35203. We are now sixty-seven years old and shelter sixty-six residents. We are non-denominational and have never received any aid from the city, state or federal government. If you would like to give to this mission, simply click on the donate button. We have provided a number of ways that you can help us to continue to "change lives" of the homeless men in Birmingham spiritually, physically and emotionally.

Brother Bryan

Brother James A. Bryan was not a rich man. He was not a great composer or inventor. He never broke any records. He didn't even pastor an especially large church. However, in his own right, Brother Bryan is the most successful, famous and well thought of man to ever set foot in the city of Birmingham.

What made this man, out of all the others, so great? Brother Bryan's light of Christ's love illuminated countless lives. While he was alive, there was hardly a soul in Birmingham who had not been blessed or helped in some way by the soft-spoken minister. He did not devote his attention to any specific group. In just a few hours, he might go from ministering at a prison cell to a highly exclusive school. During the flu epidemic of 1918, he visited homes of the sick and performed numerous funerals at the risk of his own health. He broadcast six radio addresses weekly to an eager audience. The telephone was his assistant, the phone book his rolodex.

He dedicated his life to the poor, downtrodden and unsaved in Birmingham. He was a man who had a heart for the poor and knew how to help them. He ran two soup kitchens to feed and clothe the homeless of Birmingham. The only requirement was that before the hungry man received food he must attend a prayer service. He would often give his shoes and clothing to help the homeless. Mrs. Bryan soon learned she would have to hide money and clothing from her husband in order to feed and clothe her own family.

On Christmas morning before the sun was even up he would be off doing his work. With a bag of stockings over his shoulder and his white beard, it's no wonder some children called him Santa Claus! He visited homes where he knew that there would be little Christmas cheer. He always liked it when someone gave him a toy so he could give them to poor children. He would always tack a note to a child's stocking. "God sent you Santa, he sent you Jesus too. Santa wants you to love God and be a good little Christian and give your life to Jesus."

There is both a statue and a park dedicated to Brother Bryan. The Brother Bryan Park is on the southside of the city and the statue kneels at The Mill Restaurant in Five Points South. The words one heard most often falling from his lips were, "Let us pray." He was the only man who ever lived in Birmingham who could walk into the roughest, toughest dives, quietly ask for prayer and every mans cap would come off and every head would bow.

In January 1941, Brother Bryan breathed his last. His final request was for a place where the homeless men of Birmingham could go to receive food, shelter and God's love. The Brother Bryan Mission, founded shortly before his death, is an answer to that request. The spirit of Brother Bryan continues at this mission and through the thousands of people he touched in his life. As one woman so accurately put it, "To remember him is to wonder that so much goodness can take mortal shape."

Brother Bryan's biography, Religion in Shoes, is once again available! To secure yourself a copy, please send an order via mail or e-mail to us. Our address is on the donation page.

Judge Snyder

As written by Dr. Roger Snyder Watkins:

This is the story that I remember, growing up in the Snyder household from 1940 through 1946: Roger W. Snyder and Brother James Bryan arrived in Birmingham on the same day, and they started their businesses as young men, Bryan's growing to become Third Presbyterian Church (The Presbyterian Church U.S. or "Southern Presbyterian Church" at the time, now PCA), and the Judge was a founding and lifelong member, becoming an Elder and later Elder Emeritus during the pastorate of Jimmy Cantrell. It was Judge Snyder who was a leader among those who responded to Bryan's request that the homeless of Birmingham have a ministry directed at their needs, who organized, did much of the fund raising, and eventually chaired and served on the Board (when there was one) until he retired from the practice of law (his offices were in the Title Guarantee Building) and became the manager of the mission. At his death the mission lost a persistent advocate.

Brother James Bryan, beloved pastor and friend of our family, died shortly after he baptized me one Sunday evening in June of 1940. Partly because of his love for Bryan, Judge Snyder "railroaded" me into the Presbyterian ministry! Yet, the Brother Bryan (Rescue) Mission was in part his expiation for the harder side of his life. Having been poor himself, having "ridden the rail" and eaten at soup kitchens in his youth, Judge Snyder understood the life of the street and road, and shared with Brother Bryan an urgency to meet the basic needs of the homeless and spiritually lost. The "soup and a sermon" paradigm followed Bryan's prescription of a "helping hand and a prayer."

It was Judge Snyder who guided the Brother Bryan Rescue Mission through the rough and tumble years of the 1960's when the steel mills began to close and the economy in Jefferson County had to retrench and revamp itself. He often from his own pocket sustained the mission when donations were hard to gather. He was at times tireless in writing letters asking for donations from different civic groups, church Sunday School Classes, and wealthy individuals. He preached in every pulpit to which he could gain invitation, and the mission was always a part of his address.

Dr. Roger Snyder Watkins
Greenville, SC.

Poem

I was taking a stroll on the south side of town,
The sky was chilled and gray,
When I noticed a homeless man nearby,
Huddling in a cold doorway.

There a God fearing pastor passed our way,
With a cheerful spring in his step.
He suddenly stopped and turned to the man,
Without a request for help.

I paused and watched, somewhat amazed,
As the man watched the pastor approach.
For then, with the smile of a spirit filled child,
Brother Bryan removed his coat.

He slowly draped his coat around
The shivering hulk of a man -
Then knelt and raised his face to heaven
As his prayer to His Father began.

I listened intently to hear the words
Of this man with the loving touch,
And heard his voice in the wind as he prayed,
"Oh Father, how could you love us, so much.

-L. Self