As Executive Director Bill Deiss prepares to retire in June, the Anglican Relief and Development Fund introduces the Rev. Dr. Jake Stum as his successor. Read the letter from the ARDF Chairman here.
Dear friends of ARDF,
With great thanks to God and much excitement, I am delighted to announce the next Executive Director for the Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF)! We are pleased that the Rev. Dr. Jake Stum has been called by God to take on this responsibility and opportunity especially in a time such as this. We are confident that he will expand on the excellent leadership of Canon Bill Deiss who is retiring at the end of June.
Bill writes, “Jake has the experience and skills to grow ARDF now and in the future, and the passion to handle this job along with the strong faith in a caring and loving God. I’m very pleased to see him accept this challenge!”
Jake has worked for years with domestic and international non-profit organizations, particularly in Cambodia and Ethiopia, specializing in both community and resource development. He brings to the position a wealth of experience and a proven track record in project management, team building, fundraising, strategic planning, business development, and leadership (bolstered by a PhD in organizational leadership from Regent University, VA). With his wife, Merica, Jake also owned and operated a full service screen printing and apparel development company.
Jake is passionate about assisting the church through the powerful tools of relief and community development and in developing sustainable initiatives. Domestically, he most recently served as the Director of Strategy and Development for City Fields, a community development corporation in Cleveland, TN. Jake is also a priest in the Anglican Diocese of the South where he has served as lead pastor for a church plant that has grown exponentially and will surely continue to flourish.
Jake and Merica have three teenage boys who are very excited about their father’s new opportunity. For his part, Jake says, “I am honored and thrilled to lead ARDF into the future. I am thankful that Canon Deiss and his team have developed a robust foundation from which to build. The world is in desperate need of hope, and I am excited to work together with all of ARDF’s partners to bring the hope of the Gospel to our world by meeting needs in creative and tangible ways.”
Archbishop Foley Beach has been (and remains) Jake’s Bishop. Archbishop Foley serves as the President of ARDF and says, “Jake Stum is just the right person at this time to fill the big shoes of Bill Deiss. Jake’s experience, energy, compassion for the least and the lost, and his track record in Gospel ministry will bring a new level of spiritual leadership to ARDF. The Lord has blessed ARDF!!”
It is a crucial time to fill this role leading the relief and development efforts of the Anglican Church at home and around the world, especially in these days of Covid-19. So we are grateful to God for providing such a strong, passionate, proven leader that has led a life of serving those in most need around the world and leading ministries that do the same.
The majority of the world has yet to see the full impact of the coronavirus, and ARDF is pleased to be partnering with Anglican churches around the world to provide relief and support. While its impact is dramatic in the United States, COVID-19 is devastating in places overseas where the Anglican Church is very present.
Please consider donating to our “International COVID-19 Relief Fund.” You might also consider supporting the operations of ARDF-US in this time of transition, to ensure that Jake has all the resources he needs to keep this crucial ministry moving forward strongly for the sake of the poor and for the sake of Christ in such a time as this.
You’ll be hearing more from Jake soon, and in the meantime, thank God with us! Thank you for prayers through this process. They were heard and abundantly answered.
Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Bill Haley
Chairman, ARDF-US
To learn more about the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, visit https://ardf.org/.
