(Second of two parts)
For Marty Minto, it’s all about Scripture.
“Marty truly relies on the fact that Scripture is what will make a difference in a person’s life,” said Brian Fuhs, a member of Turning Point Community Church, which Minto pastors.
“He’s not a hellfire and brimstone kind of guy. He doesn’t pound the pulpit or scream and holler. What he does is go verse by verse and breaks it down so even my children, who are in sixth grade, can understand what he’s talking about and absorb it.”
Generally, Minto said, he will go on for an hour that way, following a time of praise and worship music. Add it all up and it makes for a service that runs counter to some contemporary notions that say drama, up-tempo music and abbreviated sermons are the way to reach a generation accustomed to 60-second sound bites and instant Internet interaction.
Minto, though, makes no apologies.
“We are committed here to preaching the Word of God,” he said. “We’re a very loving church, but we’re strong on biblical doctrine, and we want people to know the truth. We go through a lot of Scripture — a LOT of Scripture.
“I’m not a big storyteller, I never have been. I don’t tell jokes. God didn’t call me to be a comedian. I just preach and teach the Word of God, open it up and share with people, and help them to understand what it says.
“One thing that people who have attended a service here always tell me is ‘We have learned so much, it’s unbelievable.’ ”
On the other hand, Minto admitted, biblical truth isn’t always what everyone really wants. Some people have left the church over doctrinal differences, he said, and others have moved on when they have been shown that their lifestyle needed to change because it was in opposition to biblical teaching.
Still others, he said, have told him his messages are “too deep,” and have gone off in search of something they consider less challenging.
“I don’t read a lot about church growth,” Minto said. “I don’t read all the books that are written about it. But what the so-called experts do say is that when you plant a church, it takes five to seven years before you really begin to lay a foundation.
“And they say that sometimes, your whole congregation will turn over two or three times in the process. I’ve experienced some of that, no doubt about it.”
Despite his strict adherence to Scripture, Minto will entertain the occasional misconception.For instance, his congregation’s move six months ago from the one-time City Rescue Mission thrift store on Cascade Street to the former Ray Street Church of God building was prompted at least in part by flawed public perception.
“People in New Castle are very traditional,” Minto said. “A lot of people stayed away from our site because they thought we were a cult. I was told years ago that there’s this mentality here that if you don’t have a steeple and a cross and pews, people will run. They’ll think that you’re Jim Jones and you’re going to make them drink some Kool-Aid.
“We had people ask us all the time, ‘What do you do over there in that building?’ So we thought this would be a good move for us. It has given us a sense of legitimacy, and really, we also wanted to be more a part of the community, down in New Castle, as well.”
Minto, who spend about eight years as a police officer in upstate New York before answering the call to ministry, said that experience helps to shape his evangelistic vision for the area.
“I have a heart for prison ministry,” he said. “It probably goes back to my police days. I understand a lot of them, their mentality. This city is filled with drugs and alcohol and people who need the Lord. We’re hoping to impact in some way a group of people who have been incarcerated and help them get on the right path.
“Really, that sums up our entire vision as church. Right now, we’re a group of people who want to learn, love and reach the people of this city the best way that we can.”
