“…be an example to the believers in word, and conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12)

I first met Pastor Martin in 1995 at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey, after he preached on a Sunday morning. That day left an indelible mark on both my heart and mind. At the time, he had already been faithfully pastoring and preaching at Trinity for many years—a ministry he would continue for over 40 years before retiring.

In that season of my life, I was coming out of a broader evangelical background and had never encountered a ministry that was Reformed, confessional, expository, and experiential. Pastor Martin’s ministry was unlike anything I had ever seen or known.

From that day forward, a friendship developed that would span decades. Pastor Martin became both a mentor and a friend, encouraging me through seminary and into pastoral ministry. I soon came to realize that this great pulpiteer—renowned for his powerful preaching—was not only a lion in the pulpit but also a lamb in the pew. Of the many lasting impressions Pastor Martin left on me, three stand out most clearly:

His Person

One might expect that a man so towering in the pulpit—someone with a global ministry, who had preached hundreds of sermons, trained dozens of students through the Trinity Ministerial Academy, and spoken at conferences all over the world—would be unapproachable. One might also assume that a man praised by the distinguished professor John Murray, who called him “one of the ablest and most moving preachers I have ever heard,”[1] would be inaccessible.

However, I found Pastor Martin to be the exact opposite. Week after week, he could be found standing at the back of the sanctuary, greeting people as they left the service, engaging with adults and embracing the children. He was always there, present with his own congregation.

When I was leaving the Christian and Missionary Alliance in 1997-1998 (a denomination from which he also came) and wrestling with questions about pastoral ministry, Pastor Martin invited me to his home. In his study, he took the time to counsel me, offering wisdom and clarity on my concerns.

Even after I graduated from seminary, Pastor Martin continued to interact with me, sending letters and emails—not just to me, but to men around the world. What always amazed me about those correspondences was how quickly he responded. While many ministers reply at their own convenience, he made it a point to answer promptly. He truly lived by the words of Matthew 7:12: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them…”

Pastor Martin was friendly—but, above all, godly. It was clear that he spent much time in prayer and in the Word. If you pricked him, to use Spurgeon’s words, he would “bleed the Bible.” Though he was not a perfect man (like all of us, he had his flaws), he nonetheless sought to live with a clear conscience and emphasized that all ministers of the gospel should do the same.

Pastor Martin had a profound impact on many of us as ministers, particularly through the Pastors’ Conference that Trinity Baptist Church began hosting annually in the 1980s. Retired Reformed Baptist Pastor John Reuther once wrote:

With the expanding distribution of the Trinity Pulpit recorded sermons, the number of letters and phone calls Pastor Martin was receiving from Christians and pastors was increasing. With the load of correspondence Pastor Martin had been sustaining, his fellow-elders suggested that the time had come to consider having an annual pastors’ conference. In such a conference, the men who were writing to him could gather both for a biblical ministry and workshop sessions in which he could address the practical concerns which would often arise in conjunction with the letter writing and telephone ministry.[2]   

This conference has always been especially meaningful to me, and I remain deeply grateful for the invitation to attend. Beyond the excellent preaching, one of the most invaluable aspects was the personal and public question-and-answer sessions with Pastor Martin. In those moments, he addressed, from the Scriptures, the pressing challenges we faced as ministers.

One key matter he often emphasized was this: “The life of a minister is the life of his ministry.” Put simply, the integrity of our private walk before God undergirds the power and fruitfulness of our public ministry. Perhaps this is why, year after year at the Pastors’ Conference, he reminded us of our priorities: that we are first Christians, then husbands and fathers, and only then pastors.

He also consistently stressed the necessity of first tending to our own souls—of spending time with Christ—before attempting to minister to the souls of others. From that vital center, true and lasting ministry would naturally flow (1 Tim. 4:16). This emphasis has been an enormous help to me throughout my nearly two decades of full-time pastoral work.

In this way, Pastor Martin was not merely a helpful pastor—he was a pastor’s pastor—one who shaped not only Baptists but also paedobaptists. In honor of Pastor Martin, Dr. Joel Beeke wrote to him in A Tribute to Pastor A. N. Martin: Eightieth Birthday Celebration:[3]

Over the last 45 years, I have listened with considerable profit and conviction to many of your sermons. Particularly when I was a young minister, I benefited from listening to the entire series of addresses that you gave to young pastors.[4] They were a huge help in forming my own ministerial habits and way of thinking. Then, I listened to most of them a second time when I became a theological teacher about 27 years ago, and they seemed even better to me!

His Preaching

Pastor Martin was, without question, a uniquely gifted preacher. His preaching left a lasting impression not only on his hearers but also on many gifted and respected preachers. The late John MacArthur once remarked, “I find Al Martin’s preaching to be sound, compelling… He cuts it straight.”[5] The well-known writer Iain Murray likewise noted, “I esteem Al Martin very highly and have seen something of the worldwide influence of his ministry. Consistency and simplicity in his personal life are among his characteristics—he is in daily life what he is in the pulpit.”[6] And the late Pastor Edward Donnelly of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, wrote:

His preaching is powerful, impassioned, exegetically solid, balanced, clear in structure, penetrating in application. He is able to combine profundity with simplicity, so that all are fed. I have seen him touch audiences of several nationalities, of all ages and social backgrounds, ranging from well-instructed believers to pagans. His ministry is often attended by a peculiar degree of unction from the Spirit.[7]

Donnelly goes on to describe an amazing scene that occurred at the South-Eastern Reformed Baptist Family Conference in the summer of 1990 at William Jennings Bryan College, in Dayton, Tennessee:

The main auditorium was filled with six or seven hundred people and he was preaching on Jesus in Gethsemane. Towards the close of his sermon, all the lights went out and Pastor Martin finished preaching in the dark. As he led in prayer at the end, the lights came on again. It was discovered that the building was equipped with a system for switching off the lights when there was no one in the auditorium. The large audience had been so gripped by the preaching that there was, literally, not a single movement among them. The engineers had not calculated that it would be possible for people to sit so motionless and the instruments were calibrated accordingly. When Pastor Martin had announced the closing prayer, we must have leaned forward in our seats and triggered the lighting. It was a startling example of the power of the Word. I regret to say that the lights did not go out while I was preaching![8] 

Pastor Martin’s preaching has impacted people internationally. His method of proclaiming, explaining, and applying the Word—modeled after Puritan preaching—was richly blessed by God to the benefit of thousands. His exegetical and homiletical skills have been used to both sanctify believers and save unbelievers.

I am thankful that God raised up such a man as Pastor Martin, giving many preachers a pattern to follow in their own preaching. Yet, aware of the strong influence his preaching had on other ministers, he often reminded those who learned from him: “Be yourself, be yourself, be yourself.”

In fact, the church today doesn’t need more people who sound like Pastor Martin, but rather those who preach with the same deep conviction, humility, and faithfulness to God’s Word—men who, while remaining true to who they are, are shaped by the same reverence for Scripture, dependence on the Holy Spirit, and love for Christ that defined Pastor Martin’s ministry.

His Perseverance

It is a sad reality that today, we often hear of prominent gospel ministers falling into sin and bringing great shame to the name of Jesus, our wonderful Savior. Such failures have caused tremendous harm to the cause and the Body of Christ. Perhaps it is for this very reason that when people asked Pastor Martin how they could pray for him, he would often respond, “That I would finish well.”

Thankfully, we can say that by God’s grace, he did finish well—his race is now complete. Pastor Martin labored diligently for the glory of God, striving to be a worker unashamed (2 Tim. 2:15). May his life, labors, and legacy therefore serve as a lasting model for all of us as we, too, seek to live for and honor the same Lord he so faithfully served all his days.

Rob Ventura is one of the pastors of Grace Community Baptist Church in North Providence, Rhode Island. He is the author of Expository Outlines and Observations on Romans and Equipped to Evangelize, and is the coauthor of A Portrait of Paul and Spiritual Warfare. He also served as the general editor of A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689.

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[1] David Charles and Rob Ventura, eds. A Workman Not Ashamed: Essays in Honor of Albert N. Martin. Free Grace Press, 2021, p. 37.

[2] Ibid., p. 49.

[3] Chet Jelinski, ed. (Self-Published), 2014, 82.

[4] Dr. Beeke is referencing Pastor Martin’s Pastoral Theology lecture series, now published in book form by Trinity Pulpit Press.

[5] Brian Borgman, My Heart for Thy Cause (Fearn, Scotland: Mentor Books, 2002), 9.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid., p. 10.

[8] Ibid.