By Jim Leusner & Barry Glenn With Contributions by Dan Tracy, Cheri Henderson, Peter Kerasotis and Michael McLeod Joel Hunter Roberto Gonzalez 1. Joel Hunter Senior Pastor, Northland, A Church Distributed In Hunter's 32 years as Northland's pastor, the nondenominational Longwood-based church has grown from 200 worshipers to more than 20,000 taking part locally and worldwide, including congregations in Oviedo, Eustis and multitudes via the Web.
This past January, Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, along with the most expansive participating number of organizations and volunteers to date, conducted Central Florida's annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. The PIT Count, an actual physical count of homeless individuals, serves as an annual gauge to capture the number of persons or families in a community who meet the federal definition of homeless, as defined by the U.S.
One year ago, 49 people were killed at Pulse nightclub and Orlando was left reeling. A year later, Orlando Sentinel Snapshot talks with those impacted by the massacre: Since losing her son Christopher "Drew" Leinonen in the Pulse shooting, Christine Leinonen has been fighting to ensure what happened to her son never happens to anyone else.
ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) Our natural tendency after a horrific event is to rush too quickly into blame and explanation. After the Pulse nightclub shooting here in Orlando, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, which targeted the LGBTQ community and left 50 people dead including the shooter, I was probably not alone in asking, "Who did this and why?"
Seminole County residents have banded together to form a solar co-op to make it cheaper and easier for homeowners to install solar panels, which can produce major saving on power bills.
Charles Pitts, a retired Lake Mary executive, was attending service athis Longwood church late last year when his pastor launched a recruiting mission for foot soldiers in the battle against homelessness. "I knew immediately I wanted to join," said Pitts, 72, who has lived at both ends of the rags to riches spectrum.
Dr. Hunter served as senior pastor of Northland Church in Longwood, Florida for 32 years. In 2017 he transitioned from that role on a mission to “go from my best interpretation of what the Bible says to my best imitation of how Jesus lived.” In 2018, Orlando Magazine listed him as the #1 most powerful voice for philanthropy and community engagement. And 2019 was his sixth year to be highlighted as one of Orlando's "50 Most Powerful." Now, Dr. Hunter serves as Pastor of Community Benefit at ACTION CHURCH. He is the chairman, of the CENTRAL FLORIDA PLEDGE campaign. Daily, Dr. Hunter can be heard on Z88.3 radio sharing one-minute devotionals that encourage listeners “Let’s go help somebody!”
