Staff

Meet Pastor Hunter, ThD

Personal Testimony and Resume

Although I grew up attending church regularly, I never experienced a relationship with Jesus personally. My grandfather was a minister; my family was well intentioned in taking me to church. But I was frustrated in that I felt it was expected of me to be perfect, to know how to walk with God, but I didn’t understand HOW to have that walk with God.

I had lived in nearly 30 places by the time I was 18 years of age. Although it gave me a great exposure to people around the northwest and a vivid educational experience that was broader than what many experience, I grew very weary of not having roots, and not having the security of "home."

At the age of 16 I surrendered my life to Jesus. I had friends who invited me to Young Life meetings, and to church. I was offended when a friend told me he would pray for me because I had "gone to church all my life" and I felt I understood "religion." But I was drawn to a personal walk with God, a personal relationship with Jesus. Once I had invited Jesus Christ into my life personally, church finally made sense to me!

I knew I had done enough sins in life that I felt guilty. For the first time that guilt was gone. And I continued to need His forgiveness as I learned to walk with Him. And I STILL need His forgiveness and mercy today as I grow in walking closer to Him, trying to become more pleasing to Him. I am not a Christian or a pastor because I am "good enough;" I am a pastor because He has put that calling into my life from the time I first surrendered to Him, and I understand what it is like to need Him. It is my conviction that those who can help others the most, have most needed Him in their own lives! I personally understand and have received the GOOD NEWS of the mercy and grace of God in my life. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and through His grace alone!

Additionally, I received the experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the resulting personal gift of speaking in other tongues. I am a passionate adherent to the belief that the Holy Spirit is actively involved in His Church and His people today. I discovered the Holy Spirit gave me sustaining strength to grow, to be refined to be more like Jesus, and the passionate power to persevere. Up to that time, I felt as if I’d been given “half a gospel” and when I joyfully embraced the “full gospel,” my walk with Jesus took on a new full hearted involvement. I do not believe this baptism is a “work for getting saved” but a wonderful provision of Jesus given to each hungry believer for continued growth and sanctification.

I attended WSU and received my bachelor’s degree in Radio Broadcasting. I have been involved in sales, public relations, and was the General Manager of a Christian radio station for many years. I was Associate Pastor among five executive pastors of a large flourishing church in eastern Washington for nearly 25 years. While there I received a Master of Pastoral Ministry degree, and subsequently received my Doctorate of Pastoral Theology from Kingsway Christian College in Des Moines, Iowa.

As a long-time staff pastor, at Living Faith Fellowship in Pullman, WA, I was a counsel for the Senior Pastors, Drs. Karl and Sherri Barden, was Vice President of the Bible College and Co-Director of Spiritual Enrichment.

I was a developer of programs and on-going creative Adult Education. I helped develop and oversee an all-volunteer system of church involvement and education, which became a model for many churches. I took special joy in helping to establish believers in a solid foundation in their walk with Jesus Christ, and training up leaders and servants in pastoral ministry.

My passion is to empower, release, motivate, inspire and train people to lead and impact their world and accomplish positive, worthwhile goals and objectives; to lead teams to find their joy in the accomplishment of ends greater than themselves. I am a passionate and energetic motivator and work hard to guide and encourage people to success, both personally and corporately.

In addition to passionately serving as Senior Pastor, I am involved in the marketplace as a Real Estate Broker and owner of Ludlow Bay Realty, a local real estate office in Port Ludlow. I enjoy overseeing teams to accomplish the joy of dream fulfillment in the buying and selling of real estate. I passionately believe in lifelong, on-going education, having achieved both the Accredited Buyer’s Representative and the Graduate Realtor’s Institute designations (ABR/GRI).

Family

I was married to Gale Frances Hunter for 24 years, until she passed away after a long illness in October of 1999. I have three sons, David, Christopher, and Joshua.

Dave Hunter is married to Stacey. They have a son, Devon, and a daughter, Samantha Gale. David is a realtor in Yakima, WA. Stacey works in Bookkeeping/Administration. Both are continuing their education to complete their college degrees over the course of the next few years, in addition to being busy parents and employees.

Christopher and Carmen enjoy their sons, Cole and Corwin, and a delightful newborn named Lorna. CJ works in management training at the East Wenatchee Safeway. By conviction, Carmen is a stay at home mom and homemaker. CJ and Carmen make their home in East Wenatchee, and are passionately involved in both youth and nursery ministry at an East Wenatchee 4-Square Church. Chris is continuing his Bible school education and is in pastoral training at the church.

Joshua is happily married to Tamara and both are vibrantly involved in establishing careers. Joshua graduated with his A.A. from Olympic College and is looking forward to completing his 4-year degree in the next few years. He works full time at Costco in Gig Harbor. Tamara is fully employed in real estate, working on the Broker’s Team for RE/MAX Platinum Services in Silverdale.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Jesus is my First-Love and owns my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I passionately serve Him with my love, my life, my energy, and with the gifts He has graciously given me. To the best of my ability I want to “spend and be spent” helping to build His Church and to “bring His kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Pastor Kevin O. Hunter
Port Ludlow, WA. 98365

Phone: 360-821-9680
Personal Mission Statement

My passion is to empower, release, motivate, inspire and train people to lead and impact their world and accomplish positive, worthwhile goals and objectives; to lead teams to find their joy in the accomplishment of ends greater than themselves. I am a passionate and energetic motivator and I enjoy inspiring people; I have dedicated myself to their success, both personally and corporately.

Meet Pastor Sherri Barden, PhD

Personal Testimony and Resume

My life-long avocation and passion is to love Jesus, first, foremost, and preeminently. And, I have joyfully spent over 30 years in ministry teaching others in the Body of Christ to do the same.

I gave my life to Jesus as a young girl, belonging to an “I Am His” club in school. He led me and protected me in my growing up years, and then later, my husband, Karl, and I fully surrendered our lives to Jesus after being challenged by some younger college students as to assurance of our salvation. I had grown up in an Episcopalian background, responded to Billy Graham’s television crusade preaching, and I fully yielded to Jesus as Lord of my life in 1969.

I graduated from the University of Washington in 1961 with a BS in Home Economics. My husband, Karl, graduated in Dentistry in 1962. We resided briefly in Spokane, WA, and then moved to Pullman, WA in 1964, where he established a practice of family dentistry. We were involved in various civic and church events in the Pullman area, but after our full surrender to Jesus, began to host meetings in our home.

It was early in 1971 that Living Faith Fellowship was incorporated as a church. A small Bible study grew to become a precious and flourishing congregation in Eastern Washington. The Lord called us to Pastor the church, mostly of college aged students. We were ordained under the auspices of the Independent Assemblies of God International in 1975. The church grew to minister to people of all ages, and we raised up generations of spiritual leaders, teachers, and solid Christians, established on a firm Biblical foundation, committed to Biblical literacy and an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus.

On-going education and life-long learning is one of my passions, and I received my Master of Divinity in 1988, and my Doctorate of Philosophy in Scriptural Psychology in 1993. I have traveled and spoken in various churches throughout the Body of Christ, both nationally and internationally.

I have authored many teaching materials as well as developed and conducted seminars. Most special to me is the series MIRROR: Maturity in Relationships - Reaction or Response. I have three classes in this subject, which takes a deeper redemptive look at personalities and how we are best able to biblically relate with one another.

Currently I am thoroughly enjoying pastoring at the Grace Christian Center in Port Ludlow. God is carving out a church for His name and by His grace in a place I have loved for over 60 years.

My parents had a cabin in Port Ludlow since I was a little girl and I played here in the summers as I was growing up. I looked forward to my retirement years in this beautiful location, and it is indeed a joy to see that God has birthed a fresh house of worship here in my newly adopted home.

Family

My husband, Karl, is available for ministry throughout the Body of Christ. With his Doctorate of Pastoral Theology and his three-decade life experience as Senior Pastor of Living Faith Fellowship, he has a wealth of understanding and experience in pastoral ministry and a deep well of teaching from the Scriptures to offer.

Pastor Karl is a vital help in counsel and leadership as we continue to build Grace Christian Center. The depth of teaching mantle and ministry remain such a strength for us here.

We have three daughters, who along with their husbands and children, serve the Lord in local church ministry.

Tamara and her husband, Jay, have three children: Jennifer, Andrew, and Brian. Jay is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at the University of Puget Sound, and is extensively involved in the prayer movement. Tamara works as an Administrator in a real estate office. Tamara is also a graphic designer, with her own business, ExtraTime. The Becker family make their home in Gig Harbor, WA.

Karianne and her husband, Phil, are the Senior Pastors of Living Faith Fellowship. We set them into the Senior Pastorate in September of 2001 as we moved into a semi-retirement status. They also have three children. Katania is married to Tommy. Sons, Christian is married to Courtney, and Creighton. Kari also owns her own cosmetology business, Kari’s Sheer Excellence.

Julianne and her husband, David, now make their home in Oak Harbor where David works as an Administrator in a large Veternary Clinic. Julianne’s full-time energy and ministry is as a homemaker and full-time mother, trainer, and home schooler of their three daughters: Danielle, Kelly, and Trianna. Kobelins have been church planters and missionaries in Moscow, Russia and Maui, Hawaii. They have also been senior pastors of churches in Oregon and Arizona.

Personal Mission Statement

I am dedicated to a full-hearted intimate relationship with Jesus, to His Word, and to His people. My passionate avocation is to teach others to know Him in this same way, and to help bring His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. It is not legalistic religion to which I am committed; it is personal relationship with a personal Jesus, and to grace-filled living with His people.