The Vision, Voice and Ongoing Work of Educator and Author Dr. Martha MacCullough
Written by Juanita Fox, director of media experiences and storytelling
When Dr. Martha (Marti) MacCullough sits down to work, she could be finishing up the manuscript for her next book, preparing to help a doctoral student with their dissertation, logging on to Zoom to teach educators in China, Korea, and around the world, or preparing to speak to an early elementary educators class at Lancaster Bible College.
All these connections—near and far—happen from her office in the second bedroom of her carriage home at Garden Spot Village.
“The Lord has given me friends all over the world. I scroll Facebook once a day to stay connected. People from Brazil, for example, have babies and they want me to know. It’s a way to keep in touch with people around the world.”
Marti grew up in Tampa, Florida, the daughter of a lay pastor at a small Cuban church. After becoming a Christian as a teenager, Marti decided to combine her faith with her love of science and enter pre-med
to eventually become a medical missionary.
“My brother was at Philadelphia College of Bible, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and he encouraged me to take a year of Bible at the college. I met my husband Don my first year and transferred to a four-year program, with plans to still pursue pre-med when I was done,” Marti explains.
As a freshman in college Marti was offered a job working for a pilot program for HeadStart. “My only experience in education was that my mom was a Kindergarten teacher, but they said they would train me. I was still expecting to pursue medicine, but this seemed like a good job,” Marti says.
This job not only paid for her college expenses but paved the way for Marti to enter the field of education. After Marti graduated from college, she and Don were married and started their family and their journey together at a small church in northeastern Pennsylvania. Later, while Don was serving as an associate pastor at a large church in the Philadelphia area and attending seminary, Marti taught at a school nearby.
When the couple moved to Carol Stream, Illinois, Marti took education classes at Wheaton College where both she and Don earned their Masters degrees. Philadelphia College of Bible (now Cairn University)
hired Don to serve in the Youth Ministries Department. Marti continued her career in education at a local Christian school in the Philadelphia area. When her husband was recruited to Lancaster Bible College
(LBC) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Marti was asked to serve as the assistant dean of women and teach two courses there, in addition to coaching the women’s basketball team. After one year she was invited to
serve as a full-time professor and asked to start the elementary education program at the college.
In 1980, the MacCulloughs moved to Newtown, Pennsylvania, to serve at Philadelphia College of Bible, where Marti developed the elementary, secondary and graduate education programs, taught education courses and coached the women’s basketball team.
Her ministry to undergraduate and post-graduate students, which spans more than 50 years, has literally taken her around the world. “While I was working for Cairn University, I traveled all over Europe—eastern and western—and the Pacific Rim and Asia, teaching educators. When I moved to Garden Spot Village in the summer of 2012, my neighbors didn’t realize I had moved in,” Marti says with a laugh. “I traveled to
Albania and three other countries that summer to teach for the university.”
“Garden Spot Village is a perfect place for someone like me to live,” Marti says, “When I walk out that door to go somewhere, even just overnight, I don’t worry about anything. That has been a real blessing to me. I love it here!”
These days Marti’s schedule has slowed a little, but she’s still busy speaking, teaching, writing and consulting. In October 2025 she was a guest speaker at Lancaster Bible College, where the early
elementary educators use her textbook, “By Design: Developing a Philosophy of Education Informed by a Christian Worldview.”
Two of her education books have been translated into Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Russian. Her most recent textbook, “Transformational Teaching,” was published in 2023 and is currently in use at several universities.
She’s currently writing her fifth book, which was inspired by her recent teaching at local churches. It is a book designed to help Bible teachers in church and parachurch ministries promote biblical worldview thinking and acting, while distinguishing biblical views from non-biblical worldviews.
She enjoys teaching by Zoom and recently finished teaching a cohort of 30 Korean teachers who are teaching around the world in international schools. Marti hosted the teaching from 8-10pm EST to
accommodate the six different time zones where the teachers live.
She also recently finished teaching a cohort of Chinese teachers. “I was humbled to even be able to
share with the Chinese teachers; their schools are underground and move from location to location; they
teach their students at odd hours. The challenges they overcome are incredible,” Marti relates.
“The opportunities the Lord has provided are amazing. I don’t know how long I will be able to teach and
travel, so I figure that as long as I can do it, and the Lord allows, I will,” Marti says.
Marti was one of several residents who were interviewed as part of our spring 2026 season for the Purpose In Retirement Podcast. You can listen to Marti’s full interview here.
Juanita Fox, director of media experiences and storytelling for Garden Spot Communities, brings a wealth of marketing and storytelling experience. She is the managing editor for Destination Magazine as well as the co-host for Garden Spot’s Purpose in Retirement Podcast.