View source for James Martin 1929-2017

James Martin was born in 1929 in Lenaderg, two miles from Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland (NIR). He was the youngest of a family of four, three boys and one girl, with unsaved parents.

==Brethren Intro==
His mother was saved in 1931 after hearing Joseph Glancey, a converted Catholic, preach the Gospel in Victoria Street Gospel Hall, Banbridge, mid-week thru the third meeting. In 1932, James' father was saved after five weeks of Gospel meetings at the same assembly, preached by David Walker, from Aberdeen. During the following years James' parents read the Bible morning and evening, and prayed with the children, and took their children to Gospel and other special meetings.

==Conversion==
In 1940, David Walker returned to Banbridge, and a close friend of James' was saved, and he grew concerned, and asked Mr. Walker to continue to meetings, but he had a prior engagement in Aberdeen. In March 1941, David Craig, Ballymena, came and James attended nightly, deeply longing to know his parents' Savior, but "all seemed so dark" and he concluded there no salvation for him. April 1st, he was working in a grocery store and about 9:30pm, he started reading his Bible and began reading, trying to believe, but all to no avail. In his despair, he closed the Bible convinced that hell was his destiny, but just then Isaiah 53:5 came to his mind, "But He was wounded for our transgressions". He forgot about the believing and was occupied with the One who was wounded, and he saw for the first time that he was in the "our". It was all for him. Six weeks later he was baptized and received into the assembly at Banbridge.

==Earliest Ministry (1940's)==
At a prayer meeting one night, T.H. McCabe gave out the hymn, 'Must I go and empty handed,' and before they sang, he described the writer and the conditions under which the hymn was penned and he said, "we should set our hearts on seeing souls saved." All the brethren got down to pray and with his heart greatly touched, James asked the Lord to guide him to some soul in need of salvation. Three weeks later, he was asked to speak to some children in a Sunday School in his brother's home. Two days later, he was informed of a young mother who was at the Sunday School that was saved the next Monday, which began a longing in his heart to see others saved.

In 1946, James left Banbridge to work outside Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, and was in fellowship with that assembly. After a few weeks, Edmund Johnston asked him to take the gospel meeting. It was the first time he was responsible for an entire meeting but felt the Lord's help. The following Monday, Mr. Johnston phoned to say that a young woman got saved after the meeting on the Lord's day. During the next five years, he had ten series of gospel meetings with fruit seen in salvation.

==Further Ministry (1950's)==
In 1951, James was invited to go to Co. Fermanagh for a long weekend, and the small assembly of two brothers and two sisters pressed him to come for a series of gospel meetings. He objected that it was a long journey and he couldn't work in Ballymoney and preach every night nine miles outside Enniskillen. Mr. Bobbie McClean said, "there's a bed here and a bite to eat and the Lord will take care for your future and your job." So he resigned and worked for six more weeks training a new man for his job.

A brother from Bushmills took James on his motorcycle to Currien, Co. Fermanagh, and he stayed a few days with him. The meetings started with thirteen on Sunday, and five on Monday, which was discouraging and tempted him to doubt. Praying earnestly for divine guidance he visited homes using Mr. McClean's car. When the meetings started, he had £7 and as he paid for petrol and oil, he was soon spending his last £1. On the Wednesday of the fourth week, he was leaving a home after praying with them when a young woman called and told him that she had gotten saved the previous Sunday after the meeting. James prayed with her and thanked God and when he got to the road, he sat in the car with a tear in his eye and thanked the Lord again.  That night a brother put something in his hand, and a sister in the Lord gave him £5 and a poem:  

: "In nothing be anxious. <br />For see how tenderly the Lord is guiding thee, <br />does he not hold thy hands with love and understands? <br />Listening when thou dost plead... <br />supplying all thy need, in nothing be anxious."

So by the middle of the fourth week, James had seen a soul saved and his £7 was restored, which assured that he was in the right way. The next day he promised the Lord that if He wanted him to preach the gospel he would neither write, phone or ask for meetings, and for the next 66 years he has never been out of work or invitations to preach the gospel.

In 1952, while in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, James received a letter from two brethren of the Currien assembly asking him to return for more meetings. He started in October, and the meetings continued for nine weeks. Six professed faith in Christ and the assembly increased from four to nine in fellowship.

==Marriage==
In 1953, James married [[Elizabeth Sherrard Martin|Elizabeth Sherrard]] from Coleraine and lived there for seven years. During that time, the Lord spoke to him from Prov. 24:27: "Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house." In 1962, he purchased a house in Ballymena, and lived there for the duration of his active years.

==Scope==
Over the years, James had hundreds of series of meetings lasting from five to twenty-three weeks, ranging from Northern Ireland, Canada, USA, Nova Scotia, Venezuela and Australia. Among those who were saved include a number that went on to serve the Lord in Northern Ireland (NIR), Eire (IRL), Brazil, South Africa and Zambia.

In James' own words, "As one looks back over these many years, we can, in measure, join with Paul and say, "Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day," (Acts 26:22). He also spoke of "God, whose I am, and whom I serve," (Acts 27:23). We have sought to continue in the pathway of those who said, "We ought to obey God rather than men," (Acts 5:29).

==Later life===
Predeceased by his wife in 2001, he was cared for by his son Wesley and wife Karen. Wesley is a full-time servant of the Lord who labored with his father in recent years until his father’s ill health made this no longer possible.
He is survived by his only son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter, and their spouses, all in assembly fellowship. The assemblies of the Lord’s people remember, with deep affection, the labors of this dear servant of God, whose praise was in the gospel.

His very large funeral was taken by Alan Davidson and John Fleck who were saved as boys while attending gospel meetings conducted by Mr. Martin and other brethren.

==Sources==
* Assembly Testimony 2000 January-February, "My Conversion and Call", by James Martin, adapted to third person.
* [http://truthandtidings.com/2018/02/tidings-257/?highlight=James%20Martin Truth & Tidings 2018 February]