My Story – Martin Hallett  

Martin Hallett, founder (in 1977) and director of the Christian ministry True Freedom Trust until his retirement in 2009, is a man that thousands of gay men & women will be eternally grateful for, myself included. For 32 years, and more, Martin provided an oasis, a safe place for LGBT people like myself who had nowhere else to go and nobody else to turn to. Martin understood what it is like to be gay & Christian at a time when society and the church were virulently hostile.

Like so many of us, Martin’s own faith was rooted in a traditional viewpoint that for the gay person a celibate life was the only appropriate way for a disciple of Christ. But it was not Martin’s conservative views that helped people so much; it was the fact that his huge heart of compassion, his gentle approach and his capacity to listen empathetically to others, created a safe place for people to find freedom from fear, recover a sense of dignity and self-respect, and continue on their own faith journey.

Since his retirement from TfT, Martin’s own spiritual journey has developed further, of course, because nobody walking with Christ stays in the same place, but goes on growing in understanding, discernment and wisdom.