A Greene County pastor shares his experiences with a fallen Fort Dodge pastor. 

Pastor Dennis Martens of Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson was friends with the Pastor Allen Henderson of St. Paul Lutheran Church. Pastor Henderson was found unresponsive last week from an alleged attack, and he later died from his injuries. Pastor Martens met Pastor Henderson 12 years ago and he describes his first impression of him.

“He was kind of larger than life, very witty (and) very aware. You couldn’t pigeonhole him in one particular way or another. He’s kind of like the Apostle Paul, he wanted to be all things to all people for the sake of the gospel and the message of faith in salvation in Jesus. So he was phenomenal in that way.”

Pastor Martens tells Raccoon Valley Radio that he’ll never forget what he learned from Pastor Henderson about his ability to prayerfully listen to others and how he responded to people in need, maybe not having all the answers, but trying to be an encourager and passionate towards others. 

“He would say he wasn’t perfect, none of us are, but God used him in a real, perfect way. So when he was listening to you, you felt like he was listening. And when he responded with comments that they were heartfelt and he meant them, and would do what he could to help bring that to fruition.”

Pastor Martens attended the funeral services Saturday in Fort Dodge. He was part of the “color guard” wearing white robes and red stoles to signify a fallen brother of the Lutheran faith.