Finding Her Way Back in a Time of Locusts

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust.”

—Joel 2:25

 

At first glance, it might seem a strange Scripture to keep coming to mind. Jere Hunter did not face literal insect infestation in her life. But she has been plagued with trauma—some of it by her own making. Jere knew God had a message for her as Joel 2 returned to her mind for 17 years.

“I made bad choices, and God still said, ‘I love you. You ripped your own heart by your own choices, and I’m going to be the one to heal it.'”—Jere Hunter

“I made bad choices, and God still said, ‘I love you. You ripped your own heart by your own choices, and I’m going to be the one to heal it,’” Jere said.

Through this Scripture, God called Jere back to her foundation in Jesus—and it would pave the way for the impact she’s currently making through CDF Capital.

jerehunter
Jere (right) with Barbara Pendergrast

Prodigal Moment

Jere was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, and found family at Broadway Christian Church during her high school years. But, like many believers, godliness found its way to the sidelines.

After decades of doing “worldly” things, Jere experienced a prodigal moment. Jere had a breaking point of realization in 1985 when she had a near-death experience. After some bad choices, she was left beaten and bloodied.

“God stopped him,” Jere said, holding back tears. “I know it for a fact. God stopped that man from pulling that trigger. He dropped his hand and said, ‘I’ll see you later.’ It didn’t make any sense. There’s no reason why that switch could have flipped in him. Only God could do that.”

“He removed my heart of stone. Every time I talk about Him, it makes me want to cry.”
—Jere Hunter

Jere fled her hometown to find healing in Charlotte, North Carolina, for 7 years. When she moved back to Kentucky she spent 20 years in the city of Florence. She worked for the Internal Revenue Service as an interpreter for the deaf and used her interpreting skills in the community as well. During this time, Jere also got involved with an amazing church.

She allowed God to grow her understanding of Him. Jere’s return became fodder for her understanding of the potential impact that she could make in the local neighborhood. Jere began tilling Kingdom soil for spiritual growth in her community.

“He removed my heart of stone,” Jere sighed with a quiver in her voice. “Every time I talk about Him, it makes me want to cry.”

Spirit of Generosity

Jere recalls being age 30, living away from her hometown for the first time, and heading to college. She was single and making very little money, yet she felt compelled by God to tithe.

“I arrogantly told God, ‘I’ll tithe and let’s see what you do with it,’” Jere said. “He proved His faithfulness: my car never broke down; material things came to me that I never asked for. God asked: ‘Did you see what I did?’ I told Him, ‘OK, OK, I see!’ Then I asked God if He would ever trust me with His money, I would like to be on the flip side of giving—to do for others what God had called others to do for me.”

In the years to come, she would find just such an opportunity.

While living in Florence, Kentucky, Jere became close with Thomas and Barbara Pendergrast, who became like family. Tom had previously pastored churches in New Mexico and California, including First Christian Church of Victorville. Tom and Barbara continued encouraging Jere to live a life of generosity and give back to the community in any way that she could. They introduced her to investing with CDF Capital.

“You’ll be building churches,” Jere recalled Pastor Tom’s encouraging words to her. “Your money will be used by God, and not man, to build. Your money will be used by God to build churches.”

That’s what excited her most about CDF Capital. Jere was elated to use her resources to see the spiritual realities of life and the tangible Kingdom of God collide in a great way.

“There’s nothing greater than knowing someone else is going to get to know who God is,” Jere said. “Knowing that others will know Him because of the little I’ve given means the world to me.”

“Knowing that others will know Him because of the little I’ve given means the world to me.”—Jere Hunter

In addition to the financial investments she makes through CDF Capital, Jere also spends time helping the senior care program at Bracktown Baptist Church in Lexington.

Currently Jere enjoys the fruits of her labor and continually reflects on the Joel passage that the Lord spoke over her years ago. God has, indeed, restored the years that were taken from her.

“Get this,” Jere excitedly exclaimed. “I now live on Locust Blossom Cove. When you read the Joel 2:25 passage and continue to verse 26, you’ll know how amazing God is.”

Read more from The Cornerstone Summer/Fall 2020

We hope that you are inspired by the stories in this issue of The Cornerstone. Thanks for being a part of God's work to transform churches and lives.