Everyone at The Church Page was saddened by the death of Rev Dr Martin (Marty) McNeely after a period of illness.
Native to County Tyrone, Marty served his ‘assistantship’ under Rev Nobel McNeely at First Holywood before being Ordained and Installed as Minister of Ballykeel Presbyterian Church, Ballymena on 25th November 2008.
During his 16-year ministry on the mainly Loyalist estate, the former journalist has played his part in creating a positive atmosphere there.
Speaking to The Church Page just before he left the area in January 2024, Rev Marty McNeely remembered:
“When I arrived, Ballykeel had been condemned by a lot of people, but I never let myself be burdened by that fact. I achieved this by affirming the culture there where I could. Whenever I found something positive in the area such as boxing, football or even the Flute Band I would support it. I really rejoiced in doing that and I hope I have played a part in people recognising that Ballykeel is a good place to live. There are a lot of problems but there is huge positivity now. One of the ways that I have been able to reinforce that is through the local primary school; I think that the staff there are doing a brilliant work. We, as a Church have always been very closely linked with the school and that has been very beneficial too.”
Such was the impact of Marty’s ministry that the Church at Ballykeel witnessed steady numerical growth during his tenure there. Of the 94 people who signed his ‘call sheet’ 40 people have died or moved on. Despite this, 120-130 people attend Sunday Morning worship. The number of children present on a regular basis has increased from seven to thirty during that same period.
Marty was particularly passionate about seeing men come to faith in Jesus and cited this as a highlight of his ministry in Ballykeel. He said: “Some guys have been through desperate tragedies including lost loved ones and other immense challenges and yet have come through as solid Christians. That has been a real inspiration for me so I will never forget that. I think just generally worshipping on a Sunday morning with my own children and seeing people grow in faith and praise the Lord is a real privilege. Every Sunday is a memory in and of itself.”
Marty and his family left Ballykeel in January 2024 to take up the reins at Fahan Presbyterian Church in Donegal. He had also looked forward to being involved in a new ‘Church Plant’ in Buncrana. Sadly Marty took ill, and after a period of time, we heard the sad news on 22nd November that Marty had passed away.
Tributes to Marty came pouring in on social media as the news broke on Saturday evening. Joe Boyd, from the Church Page remembered a ‘brilliant minister and a great man who had a plan and strategy for reaching people for Christ.’
Dessie Blackadder, Editor of the Ballymena Guardian, expressed ‘sadness’ at the news of Marty’s death, describing him as; ‘a man who was well aware of the challenges presented by today’s society.’
Our thoughts and prayers are with Marty’s wife, Julie and his children, Joshua and Martha at this sad time.
