June Hunt (born Ruth June Hunt, December 31, 1944) is Founder and CSO (Chief Servant Officer) of Hope for the Heart, the nonprofit

Christian ministry In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith, the prototype being the Great Commission. The '' Encyclopedia of Christianity'' defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", in ...

she founded in 1986. Hunt is the author of the ''Biblical Counseling Library,'' a 100-volume collection of topical, Biblical counseling manuals, that serves as the foundation for Hope for the Heart's international broadcasts,

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

, publishing,

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

and biblical counseling ministry. Hunt has two radio broadcasts—''Hope in the Night'', a live 2-hour call-in counseling program, and ''Hope for the Heart'', a half-hour teaching program.

Early years

Hunt was born as daughter of

H. L. Hunt Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon. By trading poker winnings for oil rights according to legend, but more likely through money he gained from successful speculation in oil leases, he ...

and Ruth Ray. She grew up in Dallas, where Hunt attended the

Hockaday School The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day school for girls located in Dallas, Texas, United States. The boarding school was for girls in grades 8–12 and the day school is from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. The ...

. Hunt then graduated from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

in 1966 with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree, and later earned a Master of Arts degree in

Counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

from

Criswell College Criswell College is a private Baptist Christian college and divinity school in Dallas, Texas. The college's stated mission is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as Christian leaders thro ...

Career

Hunt initially worked as Junior High Division Director, and later as College & Career Director, at First Baptist Church in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, overseeing the spiritual formation of 1,200 members combined. As a part of this role, Hunt created curriculum for a multi-year Bible survey course. Between 1989 and 1992, she developed and taught ''Counseling Through The Bible'', a scripturally-based counseling course, which addressed 100 topics in categories such as marriage and family, rocky relationships, emotional entrapments, Christian

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

, as well as addictions and abuse. Since then, the

coursework Coursework (also course work, especially British English) is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can e ...

has been refined to form the basis for the ''Biblical Counseling Library'', composed of 100 topical training manuals, each called ''Biblical Counseling Keys''. The ''Counseling Library'' has served as the foundation of the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

's expansion, including the 2002 creation of the ''Hope Biblical Counseling Institute'' (''BCI''). Initiated by Dallas'

, the ''Institute'' equips spiritual leaders, counselors, and other caring people to find solutions for emotional, relational and spiritual problems. During this time, Hunt also appeared as a guest on numerous national TV and radio programs, including

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

''. She also toured overseas with the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

and was a guest soloist with the Billy Graham Crusades.

Hope for the Heart

''Hope for the Hearts ''Biblical Counseling Library'' provides a foundation for Hunt's two daily radio programs, ''Hope for the Heart'' and ''Hope in the Night''. ''Hope for the Heart'' is a half-hour of interactive teaching. ''Hope in the Night'' is a live two-hour call-in counseling program. Together, the programs air worldwide on nearly 900 radio outlets. T ''Biblical Counseling Keys'' have been published in more than 30 languages in more than 60 countries. HOPE-sponsored walk-in counseling centers operate internationally. In Canada, the ministry aired a Chinese language version of HOPE's radio briefs, ''Moment of Hope'', and sponsors a

call center A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...

through which Chinese-speaking listeners receive biblical counsel. In 2008, Hope for the Heart created a new Chair of Biblical Counseling at Criswell College. The ''Biblical Counseling Library'' is required curriculum for counseling students enrolled in this program.

Recent Updates

Hunt is the founder and CEO of The Hope Center in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Hist ...

, a permanent home for nearly 50 nonprofit Christian ministries that share space under one roof. Hope for the Heart is the Center's

anchor tenant In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...

and offers walk-in counseling by appointment at the Center. Hunt has been a regular guest professor at colleges and

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. She trains peers annually at the

American Association of Christian Counselors The American Association of Christian Counselors, Inc. (AACC) is the largest organization of Christian counselors in the world.Brian Lang, Bill Wilson, ''A christian parents' guide to making the internet family friendly'', Nashville, Tennessee: Th ...

conference and speaks at numerous other national and international conferences, as well as religious and broadcasting events each year on topics such as

forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may initially feel victimized or wronged, goes through a change in feelings and attitude regarding a given offender, and overcomes the impact of th ...

anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

childhood sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whether ...

, and

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

. In 2011, her article "Beyond Cancer: A Survivor’s Story”, appeared in the Vol. 18 No. 1 issue of the American Association of Christian Counseling magazine ''Christian Counseling Today''.

Awards and honors

National Religious Broadcasters National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint comm ...
(NRB)

*1986: ''Hope for the Heart'' radio broadcast, ''Genesis Award'', "Best New Radio Program" *1989: ''Hope for the Heart'' radio broadcast, "Radio Program of the Year" *2010: Hope for the Heart ministry, "Media Award for International Strategic Partnerships” *2011: June Hunt, "board of directors Award” *2012: Hope for the Heart ministry, "Radio Impact Award”

Others

*1991: June Hunt, honorary Doctor of Law degree, Criswell College *1993: June Hunt, honorary Doctorate in Literature, Dallas Baptist University *2002: Selected ''Biblical Counseling Keys'', translated into Russian, "Best Inspirational Book of the Year" *2008: June Hunt, "Excellence in Communications Award," Women in Christian Media *2008: June Hunt, "Reintegration Award", Eli Lilly *2011: June Hunt, "Caregiver Award", American Association of Christian Counselors *2012: Advanced Writers & Speakers Association, "Golden Scroll Lifetime Achievement Award"

Selected works

Trade books

*Aging Well: Living Long, Finishing Strong *The Answer to Anger, Practical Steps to Temper Fiery Emotions, *The Biblical Counseling Reference Guide: Over 580 Real-Life Topics, More than 11,000 Relevant Verses, *Bonding with Your Child through Boundaries, *Bonding with Your Teen through Boundaries, *Boundaries: How to Set Them-How to Keep Them, *Bullying: Bully No More, *Caregiving: a Privilege, Not a Prison, *Caring for a Loved One with Cancer, *Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook, *Dealing with Anger Bible Study, *Envy & Jealousy: Taming the Terrible Twins, *Finding Self-Worth Bible Study, *Handling Stress Bible Study, *Hope For Your Heart: Finding Strength in Life’s Storms, *How to Defeat Harmful Habits: Freedom from Six Addictive Behaviors, *How to Deal with Difficult Relationships: Bridging the Gaps That Separate People, *How to Forgive ... When You Don't Feel Like It, *How to Handle Your Emotions, *How to Rise Above Abuse, *Keeping Your Cool … When Your Anger Is Hot!, *Men's Trail Guide, *Overcoming Depression Bible Study, *Seeing Yourself Through God's Eyes, *Understanding Verbal & Emotional Abuse Bible Study,

Music CDs

*Songs of Surrender *Hymns of Hope *The Whisper of My Heart *The Shelter Under His Wings *The Hope of Christmas

References

External links

Hope For The HeartJune Hunt on FacebookJune Hunt on Twitter
*
Listen to Hope For The HeartListen to Hope In The Night
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, June American Christian writers American radio personalities American evangelicals Criswell College alumni Hunt family Living people People from Dallas 1944 births Writers from Texas Hockaday School alumni