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Religion

Dunedin church won't forget the helpful Hunts

First Christian Church names a building after a family that has donated generously to several area churches.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published February 5, 2005

DUNEDIN - In 1980, a wealthy construction family gave a helping hand to a struggling 15-year-old church on San Christopher Drive.

The Hunt clan, long known for its generosity to local congregations, built the First Christian Church of Dunedin's fellowship hall for the cost of materials.

The gift helped the congregation start a preschool. Church members never forgot the kindness.

On Sunday, they got their chance to thank the family.

That morning, the church dedicated its new 13,500-square-foot Family Life Center to George and Cecile Hunt III, Clark and Nada Hunt and George and Jane Hunt IV.

Called the Hunt Family Life Center, the building is used for contemporary worship services, basketball games, concerts, family dinners, children's activities and more.

"We wanted to thank them for our fellowship hall and for all the help they've given other Christian churches in Central Florida," said the Rev. Curt Swan, senior pastor of the church.

The Hunts have financially assisted half a dozen Tampa Bay area churches.

They donated more than 2 acres and built two additions at First Christian Church of Clearwater, where they were members; gave 5 acres to First Christian Church of Tarpon Springs, paved the parking lot and built its sanctuary; built additions for First Christian Church of Seminole; constructed a sanctuary and a parking lot for Bear Creek Christian Church; and built a sanctuary for Homosassa Christian Church.

All of the construction was done at cost.

The ministry team at the Dunedin church is planning a public open house in about a month.

The modern-looking $1.2-million two-story building features a regulation-size basketball court with a $23,000 rubber sports floor that resists scuffs, a large kitchen with a gas stove and fryer, a 33- by 15-foot stage, a music room, two youth meeting rooms and a sound booth.

Built to withstand winds of 160 mph and accommodate about 500 people, the center could be used by the city as a hurricane shelter, the pastors say.

"It just opens so many more doors for us as a ministry," said the Rev. Marc Smith, First Christian's associate pastor. "We want to have a sports league in here with halftime gospel messages."

While it will be an ideal recreation facility, it has a much more serious purpose: to help First Christian grow.

For years, the roughly 200-member church has been trying to find a way to attract new members. Swan and Smith did some research and discovered that filling pews these days requires more than traditional services and Bible studies.

"Today it's hard to get anyone young or old to hear someone preach and teach on a Sunday morning," Smith said. "In Florida, there are so many activities to do. They would rather go to the beach."

Like many churches throughout the United States, they decided to build a recreation-style center to attract neighborhood children and adults who may not regularly attend Sunday services.

"It will get kids off the street and give them something to do," Smith said. "Dunedin doesn't have many facilities where you can play indoor basketball."

The ministry team, which includes Soebeck Song, the youth pastor, visited Tampa churches to get an idea of what they wanted to build on a piece of land next to the sanctuary where local children used to play football.

At one time, the church even considered moving to a different property, but ultimately decided against it because "our research showed if you moved 5 miles away or more, you'll lose half your congregation," Smith said.

So they stayed put and constructed the center on the land they have called home for nearly four decades.

Because Smith and Song had almost no construction knowledge, they relied on Robert Berg from Harborside Christian Church, which recently completed a similar project.

Swan said he is pleased with how the center turned out, despite some initial concerns.

"I was afraid it would look like we were worshiping in a gym," he said. "But when we turned the lights off and put the stage lights on, it was great."

Eileen Schulte can be reached at 727 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 5, 2005, 00:56:15]