Alva Review-Courier -

Donnetta Hunter is a fiery ball of energy, ideas, passion and optimism.

She knows it's true. “I'm kind of like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh – a bit hyper,” she said. “I get so bored if I'm still!”

But then, that probably hardly ever happens.

In Woodward, along with her duties at the church, Hunter works for Humanity Hospice; is lead chaplain to the Woodward Police Department, where she's been a chaplain since 2000; and is chaplain for Alliance Health Woodward, where she's also a board member.

She's very keen on working with youth. She's the chaplain (and a board member) at Mooreland's White Horse Ranch, which bills itself as a healing place for girls. She's developed a teen suicide and self-harm prevention workshop that she holds at area schools. And she is very involved in summer youth camps in Austria, Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland where she's served as counselor and camp evangelist since 2003.

When she became outreach pastor at Woodward First Assembly in 2009, she organized an annual event that brings women in from the surrounding communities for a day of free pampering. She started teaching parenting and anger management classes – and these are now the court-ordered classes being taught in that county. To help Woodward families, Hunter took training from the Oklahoma Supreme Court to become a family and divorce mediator.

She is a busy individual. In fact, the Review-Courier caught up with her by phone just before she set off with a carload of kids for youth camp.

“We rented out the Laverne campground, so the Alva kids are headed to camp today,” Hunter said. “I'm bringing a carload of kids, and I teach a class each morning.”

Just hearing about all her activity can make a mere mortal want to sit down and pant. But all that riot of activity doesn't mean she can't focus or be faithful.

A Lifelong Devotion

Hunter has been married to her husband, Dan, since 1977 and the couple have a son and a daughter, each of whom has married and produced a boy and a girl of their own. Hunter's degree is from Global University (Pentecostal) in Springfield, Missouri.

She's been with Woodward First Assembly her entire life – first as a member, attending with her father from infancy, and then on the staff since 1996, when she became youth pastor. She was ordained in 2002.

She's learned that changing pastors at a church can take a big toll on the congregation.

“During those 20 years, I served under seven different pastors,” she said. “I'd try to help those left behind pick up the pieces; it almost feels like a divorce when a pastor leaves a church, even when he leaves with a very good reason. It still leaves a lot of hurt, so I always thought I would be good at that, being an interim pastor.”

In 2018, she thought she might like a change of pace.

“I was with Assembly of God–Woodward for 20 years,” she said, “so I thought I wanted to try flying solo, have a bit of an adventure. I've been at Assembly of God–Woodward my whole life.”

Since then she's been filling various evangelical pulpits and continuing with her other, related passions, such as her work preventing teen suicide.

“We've been told to hush – not talk about it,” Hunter said. “It is a concern that talking about it might give kids ideas. However, in the death of a 14-year-old who committed suicide, no one was talking to him about it, he just did it. I think we do more damage by sweeping it under the rug and hoping they don't do it,” she said.

“I do a life saver swimming ring thing, and I teach them to be a life saver. How we can be an encourager and notice when our friends are having hard times,” she said. “As a pastor, I know the answer is Jesus, but when I get in schools I can't say that, so I have to come up with other ideas, and there are a lot of other things we can do.”

She's doing a class on teen depression and cutting this week. “These kids need love. And there are things kids can do to help each other. Kids (with the pandemic going on) have been in their bedrooms for six months, what do they find to do or think about? It is scary, and you've got parents who've lost jobs, how are they going to eat, and kids worry about stuff like that. And if you're a 16-year-old boy living at home with mom and mom can't work … they think suicide is the answer and it's not.”

This work is precious to her, she said.

“That's why I hesitated to take the senior pastor job (at Alva) because it might keep me from doing these things that I love. But God's just worked it all out. We're here 'till Jesus tells us to do something different.”

New Adventure In Alva

“In September I was asked if I'd fill in at Alva. I was to fill in Sept. 8 and 15 and I've never left. So they've asked me to take the church full time. I haven't said yes yet; I love the people there, but I feel like I'm too far away. But with COVID, it's kind of the way everything's happening.”

It's not the drive that makes her feel like she's too far away; she doesn't mind the commute a bit.

“I don't mind the drive. Sunday morning in that car is kind of my time to be alone with Jesus. I pray and think about what I'm going to talk about, and meditate on God, so it is kind of a cool deal.”

She seems excited to bring her boundless energy and abiding passions to the service of Alva, though a fair amount of juggling appears to take place.

“I want to be here when my people have an emergency, I try to make every other Ministerial Alliance meeting. There was a fire in the parsonage after Thanksgiving, so that's been a big mess and I'm doing my best to take care of it from 65 miles away. But I stayed for the Thanksgiving service. And I was one of the speakers during Holy Week.

“I'm trying my best to be everything they need me to be. I have a girl who has completed studying for her pastor's license. Good things are happening. I do have some students coming to Alva this fall for college. Maybe we can figure out an evening where we can do something with the college kids.

“I don't have a Wednesday night service in Alva yet; that's something I'd like to get going. We don't have a Chi Alpha Campus Ministry on campus either,” she noted.

She'd like to do even more, so much more.

“Back-to-school bashes and … I love to do events. Fundraising events – if anyone in Alva wants some help with fundraising, I'm open to anything that Alva needs me to be,” she said. “That's what I want to be.”