‘I trusted the call was from God’

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This article was published 07/05/2022 (1594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 1997, when Bruce Martin received a call inviting him to become pastor at Calvary Temple, he was both excited and intimidated.

He was excited to be asked to lead such a prominent Winnipeg church. But he was also intimidated to be following in the footsteps of its longtime and much-loved pastor H.H. Barber.

“He had a national reputation, I never thought I was capable of succeeding him,” said Martin, 69, then serving as a pastor in Brampton, Ont.

“But when he asked me to replace him, I trusted the call was from God and said yes to an open door.”

Twenty-five years later, Martin is retiring from ministry at the large downtown church.

“Our time in Winnipeg has been the best years of our lives,” he said of the years spent here with his wife, Miriam, 70, a retired nurse.

“I could hang on, preach for more years, but it is time for a younger person to lead the church now,” he said.

Martin was born in Nipawin, Sask., but moved with his parents to Ontario when he was just six months old.

“I wasn’t in Saskatchewan very long, but I played that card here a lot to chase out the idea I’m just an Ontario guy,” he said with a laugh.

His parents grew up in a conservative Mennonite group near Waterloo, Ont., but left to join a Pentecostal congregation before he was born.

Martin grew up a “PK” — a pastor’s kid — while his father pastored churches in Ontario.

“I had a great upbringing,” he said, adding he felt a call to ministry at an early age. “My parents were instrumental in encouraging my calling. They blessed me in it.”

After earning a diploma in theology from Central Pentecostal College in Saskatoon, Martin went on to work as a pastor in four churches in Ontario.

It was while he was working in that province that he received the call from Barber. “Within a month we were on our way,” he said.

It was challenging to take over a congregation that had known only someone of Barber’s stature for 44 years, he acknowledged.

“Some new pastors might have blown everything up and started new, put their own stamp on the church,” he said. “But I decided to be patient, work with the church, let them help me lead them where they needed to go.”

It worked. While not everyone stuck around, most did and today he counts them among his best friends and supporters.

One thing Martin especially enjoyed about his time in Winnipeg was meeting and working with other clergy. That included at a monthly prayer meeting for evangelical clergy and leaders of church ministries in the city, but also with leaders from other denominations.

“We may not agree on every point, but it is good to be together with others,” he said. “The bottom line is we want to share about Jesus to the world. The rest will look after itself. My goal is to further God’s Kingdom, however I can.”

Other clergy also enjoyed working with him, and hold him in high esteem.

“Bruce has been a very fine team player in interdenominational work. I think highly of him,” said Geoff Woodcroft, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land.

“Bruce has been one of the great champions of the faith in Winnipeg over these past 25 years,” said Mark Hughes, pastor at Church of the Rock.

“He has been instrumental in pulling pastors and leaders together in unity since he arrived in our city. He has an uncanny ability to build bridges across the perceived differences that churches might have, doctrinally or stylistically. He has been at the forefront of virtually every event that has sought to unify our city for the last two decades.”

For Marvin Dyck, former pastor of Crossroads Church, “Winnipeg is richer for his presence and work.”

Added Archbishop Albert LeGatt, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Boniface: “I have come to know Bruce as someone who shares values for the dignity of human life at any and all stages, and for his desire to build up the whole community for the sake of the common good. His warm smile and ready openness have always been an encouragement for me to continue working together amongst the Christian churches.”

Ron MacLean is senior pastor at Gateway Church. “What a gift Bruce has been to Calvary Temple, to our city pastors, to the city of Winnipeg and to me personally.” he said.

“He is a dedicated husband and father, a model elder, an excellent preacher, a committed pray-er, a diligent leader and a devoted follower of Jesus. But most of all, Bruce is a pastor. He has a huge, caring heart — a true shepherd who thinks of others before himself.”

Looking back, Martin can see God’s involvement in his ministry.

“I am certain my life has been God-directed,” he said, and added that included his marriage; he credits Miriam for helping him develop a better understanding of people going through tough times.

“She showed me how to be more empathetic, patient and kind towards those experiencing brokenness in their lives,” he said, adding when he was counselling people, “I was always asking myself what Miriam would say. She was always there in the room with me in my mind.”

Along with learning to be tender towards others, he also developed mental toughness.

“I had to learn as a pastor not to take everything personally,” he said, acknowledging “people can sometimes be hurtful and judgmental.”

One of his great delights about his time at Calvary Temple is how diverse it became over the past 25 years.

“We have people there from 60 different nationalities,” he said, adding that includes many people from countries in Africa. “It’s so refreshing and invigorating.”

After retiring, the couple plans to stay in Winnipeg. One thing they might do is offer marriage workshops for couples, something they have done in the past.

“I’m not going to start a non-profit ministry, though,” he said, repeating what someone told him years ago about his organizational abilities: “Martin couldn’t organize a two-car parade.”

Does he have any advice for Christians? “The church isn’t a self-help group or a do-gooder club,” he said, reciting the first verse of the hymn Amazing Grace. “Its purpose is to share about God’s grace for all. That’s the bottom line.”

Of his successor, Martin said: “I believe God is getting someone ready to lead Calvary Temple now, just like God prepared me many years ago.”

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