Beloved Feed The Hungry President dies at 62

It is with heavy hearts that Feed The Hungry Australia announce that President of Feed The Hungry and President and Chief Executive Officer of LeSEA, Peter Sumrall, passed away on December 5, 2015 of a heart attack. He was 62.

Despite his unexpected death, which has come as a shock to Feed The Hungry and LeSEA ministry partners around the world, Pete’s mission to promote the salvation message of Jesus will continue.

“We all loved my father,” said Drew Sumrall. “It goes without saying that Pete Sumrall cannot be replaced, just as his father before him, Dr. Lester Sumrall, could not be replaced. We will move forward with the vision.”

Peter Sumrall became a full-time employee of LeSEA in 1973. He worked his way up the ranks in the company, learning every aspect of the business, from TV production and programming, to working with other nations to stamp out hunger through the company’s not-for-profit arm, LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry, Inc. In 1982, he was promoted to general manager of the network, which at the time consisted of two television stations and one FM radio station. In 1996, Sumrall became president of LeSEA when his father and the founder of the company, Dr. Lester Sumrall, passed away. In 2005, Sumrall assumed full leadership of the companies, which has grown exponentially in the last 30 years. Today, the multi-faceted ministries of LeSEA reach more than 90 percent of the world’s population through television, radio, satellite TV, and shortwave radio.

Sumrall leaves to mourn four adult children, two brothers, hundreds of employees across the world.

Peter Sumrall stands among the global leadership group in 2012.

I have been privileged to serve alongside Peter Sumrall for the past 10 years. Working tirelessly to feed the hungry – body, soul & spirit. His presence and impact has been profound among the most vulnerable in this world.

I want to bring special attention to our ‘Full Life” feeding program that today is responsible for feeding more than 100,000 children every day around the world in more than 20 countries. However, Peter was never one to rest on his laurels. There has always been a holy discontent about our achievements to date.

Recently he has been heard exhorting the Feed The Hungry staff to press towards the mark because…

“Millions are starving…
So we need to ask God to open more doors…
So that we can give more children a full life!”

– Peter Sumrall, CEO & President Feed The Hungry, 2nd November 2015

He will be deeply missed by all staff and friends.

Voice for the hungry,

Ben Evans
Director FTH Australia

Click here for more information about Peter Sumrall

A Note from Stefan on the impact of Peter Sumrall’s passing