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“The Children’s Trust is not an effort to discredit the millions of dollars Orange County currently spends on our children,” said Dr. Joel Hunter, former Senior Pastor at Northland Church and current Chairman of the Community Resource Network.
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Central Florida tackles homelessness: Onward, and upward, homeward
Shelley W. Lauten was tapped to be chief executive officer of the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness in October 2016. The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board recently reached out to Lauten to ask about the rewards and frustrations of her tenure. Q: Looking back, what was your greatest challenge?
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Faith and Nonprofits: Can you create a partnership?
Dr. Joel Hunter of the Community Resource Network explains how nonprofit leaders can partner with the faith community.
• Pastoring •
Life after Northland Church
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• Poverty •
Church network seeks to guide homeless families to self-sufficiency
When homeless people come to Altamonte Chapel, the congregation welcomes them to worship and offers the help it can: a meal, a ride, maybe some new clothes. But the small church doesn't have the resources to get them off the streets permanently.
• Culture Wars, Pro Life: Outside the Womb, Reconciliation •
Evangelicals Join Forces in October to Pray for Victims of Gun Violence on Survivor Sunday - Standard Newswire
The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute joins with prominent church leaders and the Prayer Warriors Against Gun Violence social network to launch nationwide remembrance on October 15, 2017"God bless Prayer Warriors Against Gun Violence, Rev. Rob Schenck and the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute for organizing a national prayer effort appropriately titled Survivor Sunday.
• Poverty, Interfaith Dialogue •
Iconic pastor comes to Apopka on a mission to eradicate homelessness - The Apopka Voice
By Reggie Connell/ Managing Editor of The Apopka Voice Hurricane Irma slammed into Apopka last week with unexpected fury and jarred the community to its core. Streets flooded, trees fell, and the vast majority of residents lost power at their homes, but when the wind and rain subsided, Apopka came together and began the process of recovery from the devastation that Irma inflicted.
• Immigration •
Evangelical leaders in Florida press Trump on DACA
Evangelical leaders in Florida press Trump on DACA | Tampa Bay Times Trump to decide fate of 800,000 immigrant children on Tuesday Advocates for Dreamers continue an aggressive public campaign to influence President Donald Trump and now Florida religious leaders have joined the fray.
• Poverty •
Seminole County Leaders Discuss Solutions To Homelessness
Community leaders met Thursday to talk about ways to help the homeless in Seminole County. The Symposium at Harvest Time International brought together leaders from government, the faith community and the non-profit sector. Central Florida Commission on Homelessness CEO Shelley Lauten said one of the challenges is making it easier for the homeless to get access to care.
• Poverty •
Intersection: State of Homelessness in Seminole County
The Central Florida Commission on Homelessness has taken a housing first approach, trying to get families into homes so they can get the services they need. How's that strategy playing out in Seminole County? County Commissioner John Horan and Shelley Lauten and Joel Hunter from the Commission on Homelessness discuss the way forward.
Dr. Joel C. Hunter is the Pastor of Community Benefit at Action Church, a multi-site congregation based in Winter Park and his one-minute daily devotionals can be heard worldwide on Z88 radio. He is the Chairman of the Central Florida Pledge campaign; a call to action for residents of Central Florida who are tired of hateful discourse and want to create a safe and inclusive community for all. The pledge asks residents to commit to treating all people with kindness and respect, especially those with whom they disagree. To learn more: https://www.centralfloridapledge.com/
He is a nationally and internationally known advocate for the poor, the marginalized, and those dealing with disabilities. He served a three-year term as the Chairman of Central Florida’s Commission on Homelessness. And, after 32 years as the senior pastor of Longwood, Florida’s Northland Church’s congregation of 20,000, he spent five years leading a non-profit in networking with churches and local charities to locate available resources and benefit the struggling in our community. Orlando Magazine highlighted his efforts naming him as the #1 most powerful voice for philanthropy and community engagement. And listed him among “Orlando’s 50 Most Powerful” six years in a row.
Approaching today’s challenges in a biblical and balanced manner, Dr. Hunter is neither partisan nor politically oriented, but often relates to public officials in a pastoral role; he served as a spiritual advisor to President Obama during his eight years in office.
Dr. Hunter has served in leadership roles of the World Evangelical Alliance, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, and the National Association of Evangelicals, serving more than 40 denominations and thousands of churches.
Married for 53 years to his wife, Becky, he is the father of three sons, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of two.
