Wes Martin—Pastor

Wes Martin Bio

Wes is currently gladly serving as Pastor of Equipping at Calvary Presbyterian Church of Raleigh, NC and is not seeking a call at this time.

(Inevitably, the question comes up early about the many pictures of me in a clerical collar, "Are you a high church closet Anglican or a Roman Catholic Priest?" The answer is: the collar has been the right thing for the contexts I've been in. I am sensitive to the fact that it might not be right in all ministry contexts, and while I'll always have some in my closet, it's not something I must wear. The collar is actually a Presbyterian tradition the Roman Catholics borrowed from us. Then we quit wearing them. There was a time in the 20th century most Protestants wore them. I know that in the PCA in particular, there has come to be an association with liberal Protestants wearing clerical collars, but that's not actually how people outside the PCA or even in all other denominations receive them. It's like a police uniform or a doctor's coat. It just tells people why I'm there, which has been useful in some of my ministry contexts.)

Wesley Dean Martin grew up on a small farm outside Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Wes was completely unchurched and thought he knew everything, and so was an angry atheist by 18. Wes went to the University of Oklahoma where he received a Bachelors and Masters of Music; but, more importantly, after a story that involves playing trumpet on cruise ships, C.S. Lewis, multiple hernias, and RUF (Reformed University Fellowship, a college ministry of the PCA) Summer Conference, Wes met Jesus and became a Christian through OURUF when he was 21. Wes also met Kaitlin through OURUF, and after a very rocky start (and a story worth telling), they married in May 2010. Wes and Kaitlin have five kids: Abigail (August 2011), Jerram (February 2013), Ezri (Halloween 2014), and twins Lorelai and Killian (April 2016). While in seminary, Wes worked for the #1 DJ company in St. Louis, Rockstar DJs, while still playing trumpet and serving as the chaplain of the Tower Grove Manor retirement community. Wes graduated cum laude in May of 2015 and is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Wes has served as the RUF Campus Minister at the University of Utah, a solo pastor in Canada, and as a chaplain/counselor for a Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center working with those in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation, teaching and counseling; while also serving City Presbyterian Church (City Pres, PCA) of Oklahoma City. He also served as Assistant Pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City and Stated Clerk of Hills and Plains Presbytery for 5 years.

Wes currently serves as Pastor of Equipping for Calvary Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC, and as the Stated Clerk of Eastern Carolina Presbytery .

Wes loves playing complex board games, watching good characters in good stories, reading, and playing trumpet whenever possible.

Wes Martin Resume and Ministry Data Form (MDF)

Basic History Resume/CV

Detailed Resume/CV

Ministerial Data Form (MDF)
This document is from the denominational office of the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America, which is the Bible-believing, theologically Reformed denomination in which Wes is currently ordained).

Kaitlin and I have received approval from MNA (Mission to North America) Church Planter Assessment in 2020. I'm glad to provide you with that report upon request.

According to the Flourish Renewal Pastor Assessment, "The assessment of your past experience in leading renewal indicates that there is a high degree of potential that you would lead renewal in a local congregation." That report is also available upon request.

Sermons

VIDEO and AUDIO of my sermons at Calvary Presbyterian Church can be found here. Be sure to go to SORT OPTIONS and under "Speakers" there will be sermons under both "Pastor Wes Martin" and "Rev. Wes Martin."

My most recent Equipping class teaching (Sunday school) can be found here and here.

Preaching Jesus with clarity, warmth, and just enough weirdness to make it stick.

I'm a good preacher. I sometimes preach too long. I'm learning to be better.

I preaches with clarity, conviction, and comedic warmth. I brings Reformed theology to everyday people with grace-saturated honesty, bold gospel application, and a signature mix of biblical depth and self-effacing humor. My style welcomes doubters and disciples alike into a thoughtful and transformative encounter with God’s Word.

My preaching is gospel-centered, relationally honest, and theologically rooted in the Reformed tradition. I aim to make the deep truths of Scripture clear, compelling, and connected to real life—especially for thoughtful listeners, weary saints, and curious skeptics.

I normally preach through books of the Bible, showing how each passage points to the person and work of Jesus Christ. You’ll hear a blend of biblical depth, pastoral warmth, and the occasional absurd-but-memorable illustration. I try to speak to both the head and the heart—bringing comfort to the broken, challenge to the complacent, and clarity to the confused.

I’m not interested in hype or performance. I want people to encounter the grace of God and walk away thinking, “Jesus is better than I realized.”

I preach to help people see Jesus as more beautiful and believable than they ever expected—especially those who are tired, skeptical, burned out, or trying too hard.

My voice is relational, energetic, and emotionally engaged—marked by a shepherd’s heart, a storyteller’s instinct, and a theologian’s grounding. I don’t preach to impress or perform—I preach to invite. I want my listeners to feel loved by Jesus, challenged by grace, and safe enough to be honest.

I use humor to disarm, stories to connect, and vivid language to make the gospel linger. But I’m learning to speak more simply, to let one truth carry the weight, and to trust that silence, story, and stillness can do what extra words never could.

I aim for clarity without flattening, emotional resonance without manipulation, and theological depth without drowning. I want people to leave not quoting me—but remembering Christ, craving grace, and quietly believing again.

I’m becoming a preacher who speaks less but says more. Who trusts the Spirit to apply what I can’t control. Who tells one true thing with everything I’ve got—and lets that be enough.

I'm trying to get there by God's grace. And I trust the Holy Spirit that the Word of God will not return void, even though I'm not all I want to be as a preacher yet.

Writing Samples

Writing Sample 1 - Final Project for Doctoral Class - "White Papers" on Controversial Topics meant to minister to the congregation on topics with which they might disagree with one another and help them have a paradigm for speaking to unbelievers

Writing Sample 2 - Weekly Church Pastoral Letter July 2023

Writing Sample 3 - General Pastoral Letter on Christmas Eve 2021

Writing Sample 4 - Excerpts from Jesus Redeems: A Lenten Devotional (White Blackbird Books, 2019)

Writing Sample 5: Not-Ministry-Specific Writing: Board Game Review at the Online Magazine Unfiltered Gamer—Scythe

Writing Sample 6: Not-Ministry-Specific Writing: Board Game Review at the Online Magazine Unfiltered Gamer—Root

Writing Sample 7: Not-Ministry-Specific Writing: Board Game Review at the Online Magazine Unfiltered Gamer—PaleoVet

Writing Sample 8 - Book Review: The Imperfect Pastor, published at Made to Flourish

Getting to Know Me...

I have various personality profiles I have been asked to submit to in different settings, all of which are available upon request. For those who know the lingo, here are some of my results to help you get the barest of snapshots of my personality:

If all this means nothing to you, or you're not sure what it means, don't worry about it! They're categories commonly used by some people, especially business people and church leadership people, who will know what they mean.

My Myers-Briggs preferences are ENFJ, leaning ENFP.

My Enneagram motivations most closely align with 7, probably 7w8. But I'm often mis-typed as a 3 because I enjoy my work.

My DiSC results indicate that I operate as a high-I, moderately high-D.

I probably most closely pastor as a Priest-Prophet, with King being my weakest. I probably most closely think in terms of a Culturalist-Pietist, with Doctrinalist being my least strong trait.

You can view my SOCIAL MEDIA presence at facebook.com/wesleydeanmartin.

Some things to know about me:

I love complex board games. You can see our collection here to find out what I mean.
I used to be a professional musician and still play trumpet—and I will gladly play for you! But I'm very self-conscious that I don't sound as good as I used to. I played on cruise ships through college.
I'm a huge Star Trek fan. I've worked at conventions and met the likes of George Takei, James Doohan, and more.
I grew up on a small working farm and cowboyed (though not necessarily very well) in Eastern Oklahoma.

Books that have profoundly shaped me over the years and form the foundation of how I do things

C.S. Lewis—Mere Christianity; Screwtape Letters; The Weight of Glory; The Great Divorce; Chronicles of Narnia; Yours, Jack (A Collection of His Letters)

Tim Keller—Reason for God

Francis Schaefer—How Shall We Then Live

Jerram Barrs—Learning Evangelism from Jesus

Jerram Barrs—The Heart of Evangelism

Zack Eswine—Sensing Jesus

Eugene Peterson—The Pastor

Paul David Tripp—Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands

JRR Tolkien—Lord of the Rings

JK Rowling—Harry Potter

Stephen Covey—7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Teyber—Interpersonal Process in Therapy

Gerald May—Addiction and Grace