MAKING AN IMPACT

Brian Fuhs, one of two Turning Point members who are studying in a pastoral training program under Minto’s guidance, remembers his mentor’s radio days.

Indeed, Fuhs said, that’s why he sought out the church shortly after moving to the Harlansburg area in 2004.

“I had heard on the radio that Marty pastored a church, and I went on the WORD-FM Web site to find out about it,” Fuhs said. “I decided to check it out, not because Marty was a talk show host, but because some of the things he said doctrinally really intrigued me. They were things I hadn’t heard before.

“As I started studying things that he had said, they made a lot of sense to me. I just really had a desire to learn more what he was talking about.”

Stories such as Fuhs’ are what help to remind Minto that, despite the way his radio career ended, God still reaped a harvest through him. He recently rediscovered a couple of old emails from Catholic listeners thanking him for leading them to Jesus through his radio show. In his Bible, he carries a New Castle News clipping that tells of two awards he won for his talk show.

He knows he made an impact. But it’s also tough to forget how his abrupt firing impacted him.

GETTING THE AX

“There are certain things I can’t talk about,” Minto said. “I’m not allowed to, legally, because of the problematic issue that my firing caused the company I worked for. The firing became national news, to such a degree that we received phone calls for weeks from all across the nation. So the company and I came to an agreement that certain things would not be discussed.

“But at the same time, did I ever expect it? No. For years, I’d dealt with the issues of Roman Catholicism and other groups’ belief systems. I never thought that it would come to a point where there would be so much venom about it, and that I would find myself fired.

“I look back, and there’s still the part of me that is very surprised, and there’s a part of me that is still greatly saddened by it.”

Minto’s dismissal ended a 14-year career in radio, which he considered a ministry. Though he says the medium holds the same allure for him now as it did at the beginning, he has decided that it is a closed chapter in his life. He is now a full-time pastor, and “it’s enough.”

“There have been some tough times. I’m not going to lie,” he said. “Some real tough times, wondering why at that time in my life — I’ve got a son going to college and we had just received a new baby into our home — that took place. Things were going well and, all of a sudden, the rug gets pulled out.