Guest Column: A tribute to Pastor Tom Hunt

These coming days, Mansfield will be bidding farewell to one of the most mild-mannered, winsome, and upstanding citizens in the city: the Reverend Thomas Hunt.

In just a short time, Pastor Hunt and his beloved wife will be moving to the Deep South to be more accessible to family and next door to warmer temperatures.

In my pause for reflection, this lead pastor of Providence Baptist who the City of Mansfield will be honoring was truly a “chip of the old block” from his mentor the late Reverend Verdell Larsen.

Pastor Hunt’s habit for “crossing the aisle” was really: right up his alley. Tom always had a heart for reconciliation which would later gain him great favor with those in his community.

At the time when some believed Sunday morning was “Our most segregated hour,” Reverend Hunt became one of the most sought out urban pastors with churches on the south side of town. Many times Pastor Hunt’s congregation held joint services or partnered with other local congregations to bring racial and denominational reconciliation.

When the flood that devastated Mansfield’s north side occurred, it wasn’t just the Black Fork that was knocking on Providence Baptist’s doorstep: it was also many others in the community that Pastor Hunt touched that came to help.

Through all of that (building repairs), Pastor Hunt’s congregation rose to the occasion, and became stronger. In fact, his congregation never borrowed money during that flood fiasco!

And speaking of rainy days, when the rubber met the road, it was Pastor Tom Hunt, a retired GM employee, who helped lead eighty three area pastors for a countywide day of prayer and repentance after General Motors shut its doors.

While some said our community could never survive without General Motors, Tom Hunt proved otherwise.

“Keep fighting, get involved with your community,” Pastor Hunt says.

In an unusual way, Pastor Tom’s field of vision went beyond just the four walls of his church.

Serving with the Lexington Sports Boosters, Tom helped get the ball rolling for an all-weather track at Lexington High School. Serving on the boards of: Youth for Christ, Children’s Services, Foundation Academy, North Central State College, North End Community improvement Collaboration and Community Action Program most assuredly made it hard to keep up with him.

But when we did catch up with him, many of us found a gentle man that didn’t like the limelight, who desired to serve others, and became a great role model for all of us.

”I’m not retiring, I am only re-tooling,” says Pastor Hunt.

Success Pastor Tom as you change gears, you will be sorely missed; I am glad our paths crossed. Thank you for leading all of us to the Cross.

Benjamin Mutti is Coordinator with Richland Community Prayer Network (RCPN) and a faith-based advocate for the advancement of family values in culture.