Biography
Hunter was born April 18, 1948 in Shelby, Ohio. His parents were Wilbur Hunter, a decorated World War II veteran, and Jean Hunter, a homemaker. When his father died in 1952, he spent much of his time with his maternal grandparents, Lena and Carl Bashore. He graduated from Shelby High School in 1966 the president of his class and captain of the football team.
He then attended Ohio University. While there, he became involved in the civil rights movement In April 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, he had a crisis of faith and felt called into ministry. He graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
He then attended Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1970, and received his Master of Divinity in 1973. After starting towards his Doctor of Ministry degree, he took his first church appointment as a youth minister at Bradley United Methodist Church in Greenfield, Indiana. There he met his wife, Becky. He stayed at Bradley for one year, and then became a minister at Southport United Methodist and remained there until obtaining his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1974. His thesis, in the field of culture and personality, was about equipping people for ministry. After graduation he became pastor at Mount Auburn United Methodist Church in Greenwood.
Joel and Becky are the parents of married sons, Joshua ('75), Isaac ('77) and Joel D. ('81) and are grandparents to six grandchildren. Joshua is CEO of Hunter Vision a 3D LASIK Center founded in 2010. Joel is ophthalmic surgeon at Hunter Vision. Isaac founded Summit Church in 2001 in Orlando and served as its senior pastor until November 2012.
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