In On the Other Side , well-known gospel recording artist Candy Christmas tells stories of changed lives from her years leading The Bridge Ministry, an outreach to the poor and homeless in inner city Nashville. Walking up to a pizza stand with her children at a downtown arena in Nashville, Candy looked just past the server to observe the menu options before ordering two slices of pepperoni pizza. Miss Candy! the server cried, looking at her. With a questioning look, she gazed back at the server. Don t you recognize me, Miss Candy? says the server with an excited smile. I have a job. . . . I m doing well. . . . I had my baby. . . . you know me. We met under the bridge. Candy Christmas has met many needy people under the Jefferson Street Bridge in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee over the past ten years. It was ten years ago that Candy left the road as a recording artist, something she had been doing since the age of thirteen when recording her first album as part of her family s group, The Hemphills. A friend took Candy to that inner city bridge where homeless people abound. And she found herself beginning to feed them. I realized that the biggest portion of them had no gloves, socks, or coats. It was January, so we went to Walmart and Dollar General to buy scarves and coats. By the next week the ministry began to grow, and it hasn t stopped. Some nights we ll have five hundred people under that bridge. This book tells powerful stories of changed lives, including Candy s own story of how God gave her a ministry that has blessed thousands. Artists like Amy Grant, Gloria Gaither, Vince Gill, and other country and Christian performers come and perform for the homeless and share the gospel of Christ. This book is filled with true and gripping stories of lives confronted with the Christ who loves them under the bridge.
