Jack Hunter (1916 – 1994)
Jack Hunter was born on the 31st August 1916. His father and mother, William and Mina Hunter, arrived in Scotland from Limavady just after the turn of the century when work was scarce. They settled in an area of Coatbridge called Gartsherrie and lived in the houses near the blast furnace works in North Square. William and Mina at that time were unsaved and William was the Grand Master in the Orange Lodge. They had three sons, Glen, Jack and Robert and the boys would assist in holding the banner during the marching seasons.
In 1937 Jack Atkinson, known as the boy preacher, came to Shiloh Hall, Coatbridge for a series of gospel meetings and during these meetings William and Mina were saved. Jack, as a young man, had little regard for divine things but accepted an invitation to the meeting and on the second time of hearing the gospel was gloriously saved along with another young man by the name of Ben Bent. Jack was a proficient billiards player but upon his salvation gave the game up and focussed his attention on greater things.
On leaving school our brother had trained to be a barber but when the war years came he was a conscientious objector and was sent to work in a hospital in Glasgow. It was during this time he met his wife Margaret who worked in R.S. McColl's in the city. They were married in the house in Coatbridge by William Morrow, an overseer in the Shiloh Hall assembly. Jack came into fellowship in Shiloh Hall assembly in which two men - William Morrow and Moses Lonsdale were a godly influence, not only on him, but on the assembly as a whole.
The assembly at this time was large and thriving and when they returned from the open air, they would have to sit on the platform because of the large numbers in the hall. During this time many gifted brethren visited the assembly, among whom was the late W. W. Fereday and his ministry proved a real challenge to our brother in these early years. When he was first received into fellowship he was quiet at the meeting but soon he began to contribute in worship, prayer and ministry after the breaking of bread. It was during these times that our brother's diligence in the study of the Word and his desire to know more of divine things became obvious and he was encouraged by the overseers in Shiloh Hall assembly to devevelop his gift. In these early years our brother was also encouraged by the ministry of other young men of that time, namely the late John Lightbody and Robert Scott.
Our brother began moving out in the ministry of the Word and preaching the gospel throughout Lanarkshire in the 1940's and was invited to speak at his first conference at Porch Hall, Glasgow. Around this time a young Salvation Army officer came to Kilmarnock, and when in conversation with one of the elder brethren of Elim Hall she mentioned she had a brother-in-law who was in the assembly at Coatbridge and had recently ministered at Porch Hall. The brethren in Elim Hall made enquiries with the Porch Hall brethren about Jack and commended our brothers' ministry. As a result Jack was invited to Kilmarnock where he began a life-long friendship with the late A.M.S. Gooding.
Following this meeting, Mr Gooding came to speak at Shiloh Hall conference which in that particular year was at Hebron Hall. After this meeting Messrs Hunter and Gooding had a long conversation and Mr Gooding invited Jack to take up a position with John Ritchie, the Christian Publisher. During his long association with Ritchie's, he worked in despatch, cutting and typesetting, becoming a director with the company for many years.
During the time of his employment with John Ritchie, Jack Hunter ministered to God's people throughout the UK and Ireland for a period of around 25 years. As an eminent teacher of the Word, and widely used, a great deal of sacrifice was involved; much travel and hours of study, so as to bring the people of God food convenient for them. During this period he also conducted a number of gospel campaigns with Mr Gooding, using a tent in the local areas. A number professed faith in Christ as a result of these meetings. Our brother would be less well known as a gospel preacher than as a Bible teacher but all his preaching came in much power. On three separate occasions when he was conducting a gospel meeting someone rose and came to the front and indicated that they desired salvation. One of these occasions was with the assembly in Forth where he was booked to conduct some ministry meetings. Having made these arrangements, the brethren in Forth had an exercise before God to change these to gospel meetings. One man who had heard the gospel on the previous two nights came out to speak to Mr Hunter at the beginning of the second hymn. At this point Mr. Adam Aitken took the man to another room and before the meeting ended the man was gloriously saved.
After spending 25 years in employment at John Ritchie's, God called Jack to full-time service for Him. He was given the full warm-hearted commendation of the assembly in Kilmarnock, and in 1970 he was commended to the grace of God to serve in the ministry of the Word and preaching of the gospel. This gave our brother the opportunity to serve the Lord in a more extensive field. In the course of his service for the Lord he made 17 trips to USA and Canada, where he was widely accepted and appreciated. His wide sphere of service did not, however, cause him to forget his responsibility to the local testimony where he served the Lord as an overseer for many years. Many assemblies from which such men come, sadly seem to lose the benefit of their own brethren, but with brother Jack Hunter there was constant concern for the local company. During one particular time of difficulty in the local assembly he cancelled some engagements and took his place again among the oversight and continued with this responsibility until the Lord called him home.
Jack Hunter will be remembered most for his ministry. He was a man of outstanding gift and a power of expression unique to himself. His ministry was expositional, devotional and practical. In addition to his wide sphere of ministry, Jack Hunter left two commentaries, part of the "What the Bible Teaches" series. He wrote on Galatians and First Corinthians. It would be remiss not to pay tribute to our brother’s `helpmeet', his beloved wife Margaret, a true companion and fellow-labourer. For our brother to have served the Lord in such a wide sphere, his wife must have spent much time alone apart from her husband. Whilst many know and recognise the service our brother engaged in, not so many might know the sacrifices his wife made. Margaret's willingness to sacrifice this way will most surely be rewarded in 'that day'.
In the early hours of July 23rd, 1994, our brother passed peacefully into the Lord’s presence, his course finished. His funeral service took place from Elim Hall in Kilmarnock. Mr Gooding spoke with great fondness of him from 2 Timothy 4; "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course I have kept the faith." The family of our brother Jack chose as a tribute the words recorded of Apollos "who when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace" (Acts 18.27). We salute the memory of a mighty man of God and thank the Lord we were privileged to know and love a truly faithful servant, whose faith we should surely follow.
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