Rev. George D. Martin Jr., Pastor of the Week

By: Rick Carder

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This past week I had the opportunity to meet with Reverend George D. Martin, Jr., pastor of The Sanctuary Church, located in East Indianapolis. I was immediately impressed by his casual, friendly personality. He greeted me with a, “Pleased to meet you brother! How are you?” With a warm embrace and gentle spirit it is not surprising that his church is growing.

Martin shared with me his journey over the years. “The location of the church we are at right now is a God-thing…We can see the hand of God on this ministry,” he shared. After moving from several locations, the church has settled on the east side of Indianapolis. Experience is something that he believes helps develop him as well as his church.

Martin shared his testimony, giving credit to the work of the Lord in his life. He shared, “I was serving as an Associate minister in the church where I grew up in. I accepted my calling into ministry just a few years before. I felt God impress upon my heart the vision of a church with multiple ethnicities and gave me the mission ‘Many Nations, One Body, In Christ’.”

According to an article in the Indianapolis Recorder,

Martin’s journey to the Eastside place of worship is long and one that required him to have unshakable faith in God’s plan for him and the ministry. In 1999, he was already a developing minister at Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, but he said the Lord began speaking to him about starting a church for people who needed to be restored.

Keeping this vision at the forefront of his ministry, he has said that one of the biggest challenges he faces in his ministry is, “Planting an urban church ministry with no formal guidance or preparation plan”. Add to this situation that there were only five individuals and their children in at the time, and you realize this was ordained by God.

The ministry continues to reach out to the local community. Martin’s ministry is very active in their church and community. He said, “The Sanctuary Church was established in March 2002. The name comes from Exodus 25:8 ‘And let them make me a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them.’ The Sanctuary Church is striving to be an earthly reflection of the community of heaven.”

The Sanctuary Church is a part of the Crossroads District of The Wesleyan Church.

 

Pastor Martin is married to Toyin and they have four children, Jeremiah, Tylin, Tyah, and George III.

 

Written by Rev. Rick Carder, Director of Alumni & Church Engagement at Indiana Wesleyan University.