Sandra Martin, Pianist Who Worships
“The piano is where I feel alive,” says Mrs. Sandra Martin, pianist for Faith Temple, Taylors, SC. She and her husband, Mr. Jerry Martin, live in Travelers Rest and have two adult children: Chelsea Glissman (married to Chris) and Adam. Sandra’s parents are the Rev. Venning Long and Mrs. Frances Truett Long of Mayesville, SC.
Sandra and her younger sister, Mrs. Wanda Jordan, were born in Sumter. Mrs. Jordan also lives in Mayesville with her husband, Mr. Tommy Jordan.
“Both my parents were from large families: Mama’s family had 10 children; Daddy’s had 9,” Sandra says. “They are the last living members of their families. Daddy’s daddy was a Christian, owned a farm, and trained birddogs. Granddaddy lived in Andrews, SC, and when we would go down to visit him, he always had a whole candy bar for each of us girls.”
Sandra was born in 1955. Her father became a full-time Pentecostal Holiness minister when Sandra was in 8th grade. Before that, he preached but also worked full-time: Korn Industries (furniture making), Cover Manufacturing (carpet making), Phoenix Furniture (retail support), etc. In addition to his full-time job, he transported fuel in the evenings and some Saturdays, driving a large tanker truck. At times, his daughters rode in the cab while he drove from Sumter to Savannah and back.
“Mama always worked to help the family: drapery manufacturing, clothing manufacturing, retail sales, etc.,” Sandra says. “Daddy was an evangelist, called to preach at age 16.”
At meals it was customary for Sandra’s family to kneel down for family prayer and then bless the food. As a youngster, her parents did what they felt best to protect their children from unwanted influences: “No movies, no TV in the house, we could play ball with our cousins but didn’t go to ball games,” she says. “No make-up. We wore dresses or skirts. My parents believed in ‘Forsake not the assembling.’ It was nothing to get home at 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. from a midweek service.”
Sandra accepted the Lord around 4th grade and began piano lessons at about age 10.
“Daddy bought an old upright piano from his uncle,” Sandra says. “My teacher was Mrs. Katherine Weatherly. I loved her. She would tell me, ‘What a talent the Lord has given you.’ I practiced lots and performed in competitions. I later played piano and Daddy played guitar at meetings.”
Sandra liked English and Home Economics. Because she was so involved with piano, her parents thought it best that she not participate in band at school, though she wanted to play trumpet. She was the pianist for her high school chorus in 9th-12th grades. (At 30-35 years old, she bought a flute from a pawn shop, learned, and played in a community band.)
Her first jobs were housework and babysitting for relatives. At age 15, she began working at a pawn shop’s office on Saturdays. At age 16, she sold shoes at Clark’s, a Sumter department store.
Mr. Jerry Martin, who became a Christian while in the Air Force, began working part-time as a security guard at Clark’s while he was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base. A Californian who had previously served in Anchorage, Alaska, Jerry met Sandra, who by then managed the Clark’s shoe department. Sandra lived with her parents until she and Jerry married on March 1, 1975.
Jerry served two more years in the Air Force after they married and then served part-time with the Army National Guard. (He rose to the rank of Command Sergeant Major before retiring.) After exiting the Air Force as a young man, Jerry worked full-time for Kaydon Corp. (makers of metal bearings).
“Our kids came along, and I stayed home and taught piano lessons,” Sandra says. She worked as a church secretary for a number of years and took her children to work with her. When they entered school, she worked part-time jobs in order to be a presence in their classrooms and schools. Most of their schooling was in Greenville because the family moved to Greenville in 1991. They attended the TR Church of God until 2003 and then attended Redemption World Outreach Center. Sandra worked there full-time in accounting for 15 years, then another 3 years in accounting at Relentless Church, before retiring to care for her elderly parents. Sandra and Jerry were Praise Cathedral members before coming to FT.
Sandra likes singing about God and “to” God. “Sing to the Lord,” she says. “Life and death is in the power of the tongue. Stop caring about what people think you sound like. Let loose of ‘self’ and sing to God. He inhabits the praises of His people. Whatever we say, sing, or do, let it give glory to God. At the end of the day, we want Jesus to be praised.”
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