Our Pastor
The Reverend Juan Josue “J.J.” Martinez is the pastor of United Methodist Church of the Cross and University United Methodist Church in Salina, Kansas.
J.J. earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, summa cum laude, from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry, summa cum laude, from the Boston University School of Theology (STH). He was a research fellow for UTEP’s Humanities Collaborative, and a graduate assistant for STH’s Raíces Latinas Program on Theology, Leadership, and Research.
While at STH, J.J. was president of the Wesleyan Student Association, preached at the historic Boston University Marsh Chapel, and was awarded the Student Leadership Award for Wesleyan/Methodist Spirituality. His studies focused on Wesleyan historical, liturgical, and sacramental theology, and the histories and doctrines of American Protestant denominations.
J.J. is a provisional elder in the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church, commissioned in 2025 by Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas—the largest binational community in the Western Hemisphere—J.J. finds joy in a hot mocha (with soy milk), a good book, and Handel’s Messiah and Vivaldi’s Gloria.