‘Thank you, Pastor Hans’

The first cut: Pastor Hans watches as wife, Janet, cuts a slice of his retirement cake for grandson, Caleb.

As many as 120 people filled Family Church on Saturday, June 4 for Pastor Hans Martens’ retirement party.
The evening began at 6pm with a potluck supper in the basement of the church. Afterwards, there were numerous tributes to Pastor Hans, most delivered in-person, some virtually by those unable to attend.
Speakers gave heart-felt testimonies of how Pastor Hans had touched their lives and proved transformative. Others told amusing and affectionate anecdotes about the man who arrived from Denmark and created a life in Maple Creek.
There were also pictures of Pastor Hans through the years displayed on a big screen.
The mood was summed up by the words on a retirement cake: “Thank you, Pastor Hans”.
Although Pastor Hans is retiring – officially handing over the running of Family Church to his son, Paul Martens – he is unlikely to be less active in the community. He is also pursuing an interest in writing. This month he published a second book, Rise Up. Available in eBook or paperback, it is being sold by Amazon.ca. It follows his first book, Following Jesus.
Pastor Hans grew up in Denmark as an atheist. In 1979, he came to Maple Creek to work on a ranch, marrying Janet, one of the rancher’s nine daughters. A shared interest was riding horses.
After he attended a Bible study in 1988, Pastor Hans’ outlook on life began to change. Three months into these weekly meetings, he and Janet became followers of Jesus and were better equipped to answer their five-year-old son’s questions about God.
In 1992, Hans became a principal of a Christian school by Brooks, Alberta. Two years later, he felt a calling to be a pastor. After attending an Alliance seminar in Regina, he was asked by Family Church in Maple Creek (then The Assembly of Good) to serve as pastor.
Pastor Hans and Janet have a daughter, Janelle, a singer and worship leader. Their son, Paul, and his wife, Jill, have given them three grandchildren.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get More Maple Creek News →