Todd Dean Hunter (born 1956) is an American author,

church planter Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

, and bishop in the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

(ACNA). He was the founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

(2009–2019). Prior to being received into Anglicanism in 2009, Hunter was a leader in the

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

Vineyard movement. He has also been affiliated with a number of evangelical movements and organizations during his career, including the

Jesus Movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the l ...

Calvary Chapel Calvary Chapel is an association of evangelical churches, maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. Beginning in 1965 in Southern California, this fellowship of churc ...

, and

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

. Hunter is the author of Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance, The Outsider Interviews, The Accidental Anglican, Our Favorite Sins, Our Character at Work, and Deep Peace.

Early career and the Vineyard

Hunter was converted to Christianity in 1976 as part of the

. He completed his B.S. in business administration from

Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''name'' section of this article for more infor ...

and in 1979 moved to

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

, with his wife, Debbie Hunter, to plant a

-affiliated church. The Wheeling church later became affiliated with the Vineyard, and Hunter was hired by

John Wimber John Richard Wimber (February 25, 1934 – November 17, 1997) was an American pastor, Christian author and musician. Initially ordained as a Quaker minister, he became an early, pioneering pastor of charismatic congregations, and a popular tho ...

in 1987 as a Senior Associate pastor at Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship and to help start the

Association of Vineyard Churches The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian denomination.Despite the fact that some might see denominational labels as divisive, the founder of the movement John Wimber said ...

. In 1991, Hunter moved to

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, to oversee Vineyard churches in the Southeast. While there, he completed an M.A. in Biblical studies at

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers ...

. He returned to Southern California in 1994 as national coordinator of the Vineyard, and after Wimber's death in 1997, served for four years as president of the Vineyard.

Church planting

In 2009 at the urging of AMiA chair Chuck Murphy and in recognition of his role as an overseer of churches in the West, Hunter was consecrated as a bishop in AMiA. Archbishop

Emmanuel Kolini Emmanuel Mbona Kolini (born Belgian Congo, 1945) is a Congolese-Rwandan Anglican bishop. He was the second Primate of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, named Anglican Church of Rwanda in 2007, from 1998 to 2011. He is married and a father of eight ...

of Rwanda was the chief consecrator, and

Rick Warren Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American Southern Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in Lake Fore ...

preached at the consecration service.

Transition to ACNA

In late 2011 Hunter was one of nine AMiA bishops to resign from the Rwandan House of Bishops after a controversy between Murphy and new Rwandan archbishop

Onesphore Rwaje Onesphore Rwaje (born June 6, 1953, in the Sector of Kinyababa, Burera District, Northern Province of Rwanda) is a Rwandan Anglican bishop. He was the Primate of the Anglican Church of Rwanda from 2011 to 2018. He is married and has five childr ...

over AMiA oversight. In 2012, Hunter expressed regret over his actions, reporting "that he had asked for and had received forgiveness from... Rwaje for 'my part in actions, attitudes or communications that were hurtful to him or to my brother bishops in Rwanda.'"

Notes

Bibliography

*''Giving Church Another Chance: Finding New Meaning in Spiritual Practices'' (InterVarsity Press, 2010) () *''Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others'' (InterVarsity Press, 2010) () *''The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church'' (InterVarsity Press, 2010) () *''Our Favorite Sins: The Sins We Commit and How You Can Quit'' (Thomas Nelson, 2012) () *''Our Character at Work: Success from the Heart of Servant Leadership'' (Wheatmark, 2016) () *''Deep Peace: Finding Calm in a World of Conflict and Anxiety'' (Zondervan, 2021) (ISBN 978-0310120438) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Todd 1956 births Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America Western Seminary Christians from California