Introducing the Staff

Kent Hunter
Kent Hunter is the founder and leader of Church Doctor Ministries, Corunna, Indiana. He is an ordained Lutheran pastor and has Ph.D and D.Min degrees. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has consulted over 1,200 churches in 63 denominations. He is heard daily through the Christian radio program The Church Doctor™. He has taught pastors and leaders in numerous countries around the world.

Kent has served churches in Florida, Indiana, Michigan, and Adelaide, South Australia. He says his reason for being born is to help Christians and churches fulfill the Great Commission.

Kent lives in northeast Indiana on a certified tree farm with his wife, Janet, who is a preschool teacher at the church they attend. Their daughter, Laura, is married. Their son, Jon, isstudying for a year in the FORM program at St. Thomas' Church in Sheffield, England.

Jonathan Zinnel
Jonathan Zinnel started serving churches through Church Doctor Ministries in December 2006 as the Help Desk person on staff.

Jon’s major responsibility involves helping pastors and leaders in congregations and churches with questions and concerns related to the services that Church Doctor Ministries offers. He is there to help guide them in the proper area and service that will benefit their churches best. Additionally, he establishes unique opportunities through regionally conducted “round table” discussions that focus on current trends and help the local churches and their leadership with their own immediate needs and issues.

Jon brings 23 years of ministry experience with him to Church Doctor Ministries. He has been involved in almost every area of congregational life. He received his BS degree in Elementary Education in 1979 from Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska, with majors in Social Science and Mathematics. He also holds a Master’s Degree from Indiana University, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Jon and his wife, Beth, have three boys: Jeremy, Joshua, and Jonathan.

Jason Atkinson
Jason Atkinson has served as the Business Administrator for Church Doctor Ministries since October 2005. He is primarily responsible for managing the staff and managing day-to-day operations while the consultants are in the field.

Jason came to Church Doctor Ministries after earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Media and Broadcast Communications from Huntington College in 2004.

Jason lives in Auburn, Indiana, with his wife, Laura. In his spare time, Jason enjoys reading, hiking, watching and playing sports, and watching movies.

Shelly Hinkley
Shelly Hinkley has served Church Doctor Ministries since January 1993. She currently serves as Special Projects Coordinator. Her primary responsibilities include preparing and maintaining the ministry’s master calendar; arranging and organizing Board of Directors meetings, Church Doctor Institutes, and other on-site and off-site events; preparing Dr. Hunter for speaking engagements; and preparing and managing large-scale projects associated with denominational consultations.

Prior to her current position, she served as Consultation Coordinator from 2002 until 2005. From 1993 until the fall of 2002, she served as managing editor of Strategies for Today’s Leader magazine, published by Church Doctor Ministries.

Shelly received a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education in 1993 from Indiana University, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Shelly enjoys most outdoor activities and spending time with her family and friends.

Olive Hinkley
Olive Hinkley has served part-time at Church Doctor Ministries since 1996. Her primary responsibilities include filing, copying, mail distribution, scoring surveys, ordering supplies, and keeping the office organized.

Olive has been married to her husband, Bill, since 1954. Together, they have two children: John and Shelly, and three grandchildren: Meghan, Andrew, and Graham.

Olive enjoys staying active by working around her house and yard, as well as spending time with family and friends.

Neil Bachman
Neil Bachman is the accountant for Church Doctor Ministries and has served in that capacity in various ways (full- and part-time) since the inception of the ministry in 1978. He has worked as a CPA for an accounting firm in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for 20 years and comes to the Church Doctor Ministries office once a week to oversee finances and compile financial reports.

Prior to becoming a CPA, he served as a pastor in a central-city church in Detroit, Michigan, and as a part-time pastor in Kendallville, Indiana.

Neil received a BA degree from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1971 and an M.Div from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1975. He later received an accounting degree from Indiana University in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Neil and his wife, Joyce, reside in Kendallville, Indiana. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters.

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