Press Release
World Relief Announces President Transition
PRESS RELEASE
June 15, 2016
World Relief Announces President Transition
World Relief announced today that its President, Stephan Bauman, has resigned to take up the position of Executive Director at Cornerstone Trust, a foundation based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, seeking to bring transformation to the least accessed and resourced regions of the world. Scott Arbeiter, former Chair of the Board of World Relief and former Lead Pastor at Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin, will assume the role of World Reliefâs President, effective August 15, 2016. Scott will serve alongside Tim Breene, World Reliefâs CEO.
âI am sorry to see Stephan go,â said Tim Breene. âHe has made a huge contribution to World Relief over his 12 years, including his tenure as President and CEO. Stephan played a pivotal role in bringing World Relief back to its core mission and roots. He has overseen the expansion of World Reliefâs footprint both in the U.S. and the Middle East. In the last year in particular, Stephan has been a leading voice on the plight of refugees and the displaced around the world. Stephan, Scott and I have worked closely in defining the next chapter for World Relief. With Scott stepping into the Presidentâs role, we anticipate a seamless transition.â
âThe decision to leave World Relief has not been easy, but I am encouraged by what we have achieved together,â said Stephan Bauman. âAfter much reflection, the time is right for me to take on a new challenge. The role with Cornerstone will give me the opportunity to leverage my years of experience in relief and development towards serving the most vulnerable through philanthropy. My confidence in both Tim and Scott made it possible for me to consider this transition, knowing that I would be leaving World Relief in good hands. I am grateful for their partnership over the years and especially the last twelve months.â
Chair of the Board, Steve Moore, added, âStephan has served tirelessly and faithfully for many years. We are truly grateful for his service and for the progress World Relief has made under his stewardship in standing with the most vulnerable around the world. We honor his sense of calling to his new role.â
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For more than 70 years World Relief has empowered the local church to serve millions of vulnerable people in some of the hardest places in the world. World Relief is a preferred choice among churches, donors and partners.
For press inquires, please contact Christina Klinepeter at cklinepeter@wr.org.
World Relief Restructures
â ANNOUNCEMENT â
Date: 28 January 2016
World Relief Restructures Leadership Team to Seize New Opportunities and Strengthen its Impact
For more than 70 years World Relief has empowered the local church to serve millions in some of the hardest place in the world. Over the past five years, World Relief has stepped out in significant ways. The organization developed a standardized philosophy, curriculum and set of tools to significantly increase and measure its global impact. It expanded its footprint to the Middle East and Europe, positioning the organization to take an important leadership in the current refugee crisis. It launched The Justice Conference, a global movement seeking to meaningfully combine faith and action. And it extended its refugee resettlement program, adding six offices (for a total of 27) throughout the United States. World Relief remains a preferred choice among churches, donors and partners.
Anticipating the next five years, World Relief desires to extend its impact and influence, preparing itself to both learn and unlearn, while envisioning a new wave of growth. But the world in which it operates is changing. âWorld Reliefâs mission has never been more important nor more relevant. Yet our context has never been more challenging. The roles and priorities of the Church, governments, and individuals, as well as the nature of relief, development and philanthropy have significantly changed. But World Reliefâs calling has not,â said Stephan Bauman, President and CEO.
World Relief desires to build on its position that both catalyzes Church engagement and empowers churches and church networks as never before to serve the most vulnerable. In order to realize this vision, the organization is splitting the role of President and CEO into two distinct roles. Our CEO will be responsible for the overall effectiveness of the organization in pursuit of its mission. Our President will be responsible for taking World Reliefâs mission to the next level of relevance, impact and engagement with individual stakeholders, partners, and policymakers to advocate, educate and act on behalf of the most vulnerable.
Effective February 1, 2016, Stephan Bauman, World Reliefâs current President and CEO, will continue as President while former Board member, Tim Breene, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer.
As President and CEO, Stephan led the organization towards greater clarity and execution of its mission, overhauled its strategy, increased private revenue and expanded its footprint in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Prior to becoming CEO in 2011, Stephan served as World Reliefâs Senior Vice President of Programs where he directed International and U.S. programming. He joined World Relief in 2005 as the Country Director in Rwanda.
Tim Breene served on the Board of World Relief from 2010 to 2015 and has been acting as interim CMO since last September. He brings a wealth of relevant experience to his new role as CEO of World Relief. Timâs business career spanned nearly 40 years with organizations like McKinsey, where he was a Partner, and Accenture where, in over a decade of different global leadership roles, he acted variously as Group Chief, Executive Business Consulting, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer and Founder and Chief Executive of Accenture Interactive.
Tim and his wife Michelle had their introduction to World Relief through their home church, Grace Chapel, in Boston, MA, a long time World Relief partner in Malawi, Haiti, India, and global refugee work. Through their involvement at Grace Chapel the Breeneâs have traveled to World Reliefâs work in various parts of the world.
Tim and Michele have a wealth of international experience including working with Christian leaders in the majority world.
Tim is also the co-author of Jumping the S-Curve published by Harvard Publishing as well as several Harvard Business Review articles. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Gordon College in Wenham Massachusetts.
Together, as President and CEO, Stephan Bauman and Tim Breene, will embrace an agenda to build on World Reliefâs distinct commitment to the Church as the essential vehicle for individual and community transformation while creating a more robust and sustainable engine to power its mission, influence and impact. âI couldnât be more honored to partner with Tim Breene, the Board, our partners, and my colleagues as we look to the future together,â said Stephan Bauman.
âBy restructuring our leadership, we believe we are positioning the organization for significant impact in the future. While we are proud of the progress and impact we have made in the last few years, in order to experience a new horizon of growth, we must invest in our systems and overall economic model to extend our promise to the most vulnerable, our partners and staff. The partnership between Stephan and Tim is critical to our success,â said Steve Moore, Chairman of the Board.
âMaking World Relief a magnet for all who wish to see renewal and restoration brought to âthe least of theseâ requires an organization that not only calls on people but also makes the most of their gifts and passion with a commitment to learning, excellence and teamwork,â said CEO, Tim Breene.
Contact: Jenny Yang // jyang@wr.org // 443.527.8363
World Relief Opposes HR 4038
****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****
Date: 19 November 2015
World Relief Opposes H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act
âThe passing of H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act is a major step back for our U.S. refugee program. Refugee admission already includes the most stringent security process for anyone entering the United States. The goal of the U.S. refugee program has always been to accept refugees based on vulnerability and not to discriminate against any particular nationality. It should remain this way. We need to continue to welcome refugees into our country.â
Stephan Bauman, World Relief
Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, which would create an extra layer of certification in order for Syrian and Iraqi refugees to come to the United States in addition to reporting requirements.
World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, is strongly against this legislation and urges the United States to continue to welcome and protect Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
For 30 years, World Relief has partnered with local churches to resettle over 260,000 refugees to the United States. Since 1975, the United States has resettled more than 3 million refugees â three quarters of a million entered the U.S. since 2001 alone.
âThe refugee resettlement program is a life-saving program that has helped millions of those who have fled persecution start their lives anew in a place of safety. At a time when the U.S. needs to show humanitarian leadership, it would be a mistake to effectively shut down a program that has saved millions of lives,â said Stephan Bauman, President and CEO of World Relief. âIt is vital to maintain the integrity of this program by accepting the most vulnerable refugees, not excluding anyone based on their nationality or religion.â
World Relief strongly opposed H.R. 4038- The American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act 2015 due to the following reasons:
- H.R. 4038 creates a bureaucratic review process that could take years to implement and would effectively shut down refugee resettlement. The bill requires the approval of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Department of National Intelligence for each individual refugee. The certification process will have to be created and agreed upon by heads of each agency and could take years to establish, stalling out the refugee program in the meantime. Under this scenario, refugee populations would continue to swell, languishing in camps and dangerous situations, and Syrian Americans would not be able to reunite with their family members. The ramifications for international refugee protection and U.S. foreign policy interests in the region would be costly.
- The process, once established, would add months or years to the security screening process, which is already the lengthiest and most robust in the world, routinely taking between 18 and 36 months. In addition to obtaining approval from three heads of federal agencies for each refugee, the bill requires reporting to thirteen congressional committees on each refugee that is considered for resettlement. This is unreasonably burdensome and will effectively end the program. Furthermore, for reasons of security and safety, security and medical clearances are only valid for limited periods of time. During the certification process, these clearances will expire. This will mean that refugees will be caught in an un-ending loop of security clearances.
- Refugees are already the most vetted non-citizens in our country. All refugees undergo thorough and rigorous security screenings prior to arriving in the United States, including but not limited to multiple biographic and identity investigations; FBI biometric checks of applicants’ fingerprints and photographs; in-depth, in-person interviews by well- trained Department of Homeland Security officers; medical screenings; investigations by the National Counterterrorism Center; and other checks by U.S. domestic and international intelligence agencies. Supervisory review of all decisions; random case assignment; inter-agency national security teams; trained document experts; forensic testing of documents; and interpreter monitoring are in place to maintain the security of the refugee resettlement program. Due to technological advances, Syrian refugees are also undergoing iris scans to confirm their identity through the process.
- The bill is a waste of resources. Funds used to establish and run this certification process would be better used in conducting actual security reviews of refugees and others who are vetted by these agencies.
- The bill is a pretext and requires differential treatment of refugees from Syria and Iraq without providing a justification for the additional verification. This would effectively stop refugees from two countries long beset by internal conflict, including refugees who have been in neither Syria nor Iraq for years.
To turn our backs on refugees now would betray our nation’s core values to provide refuge for the persecuted and affirm the very message those who perpetrate terrorism would seek to send.
www.worldrelief.org
www.wewelcomerefugees.com
Contact: Jenny Yang // jyang@wr.org // 443.527.8363
Official Statement on Recent Attacks
World Relief Official Statement on the Recent Attacks in Paris and Beirut
âWhile many U.S. state governments are calling for a moratorium on refugees coming to their states, we urge local communities to continue to welcome all refugees.â
Stephan Bauman, World Relief
We are deeply saddened by the horrific acts of violence that recently occurred in Paris and Beirut. We join Christians throughout the world in praying for the victims and their families, as well as the survivors, that they may find peace and safety again in their countries. We also pray for the ongoing loss of life in Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere where conflicts rage. These are the areas from which people are fleeing to find security and safety, leaving behind their countries, their families and their lives to start anew.
âAs information about these attacks continues to pour in, we ask that Christians and churches across the United States continue to pioneer the way for a compassionate response to the ongoing refugee crisis,â said Stephan Bauman, President and CEO of World Relief. âThe only way to fight this darkness is by offering these refugees the love and light of Jesus Christ. Instead of allowing ourselves to be consumed by fear, we must ground ourselves in love and open our arms to these refugees. It would be a mistake to shut out all refugees who have been victims of the same sort of terror inflicted last week upon Paris and Beirut based on these concerns,â he continued.
While many U.S. state governments are calling for a moratorium on refugees coming to their states, we urge local communities to continue to welcome all refugees. For over 30 years, the United States has resettled thousands of refugees who have become vibrant, integrated members of our community. In thepast 5 years, the United States has received less than 2,500 Syrian refugees. Each refugee who comes to the United States has undergone a thorough vetting and security screening process that generally lasts at least 18 months.
The U.S. refugee resettlement system continues to be a lifeline to desperate individuals fleeing violence and conflict from all over the world. Most of those resettled in the United States are women and children. Last year, the United States resettled more Christians than any other religious tradition primarily because Christians have been uniquely targeted for persecution in various parts of the world. Welcoming carefully vetted refugees is an important way to assist these persecuted individuals, where the United States can and should do more in the face of increased persecution.
The Global Refugee Crisis
The Global Refugee Crisis: A Unique Moment for the Church
By Stephan Bauman, President, World Relief
In 1944, in response to the devastation and displacement of millions of refugees caused by World War II, the people of Park Street Church in Boston resolved to forego meals and send the money they would have spent on food to what they called the âWar Relief Fund.â With other churches linked through the National Association of Evangelicals joined in the effort, they collectively raised $600,000âin todayâs dollars nearly $8 millionâto help rebuild Europe. Over time, as that sacrificial compassion extended to serve other regions plagued by poverty and conflict, the War Relief Fund became known as the War Relief Commission and, later, World Relief.
World Reliefâs roots in the local church have remained central to our mission: throughout the world, we empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable. Today, as the world faces the most significant refugee crisis since World War II, with more than 50 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people worldwide, we are challenging, mobilizing, and equipping the Church to rise up in new ways to respond to this profound crisis.
Standing with the Persecuted Church
Today, in various locations throughout the world, followers of Jesus are facing persecution because of their faith in Christ. In Syria and Iraq, historic Christian communities have been decimated by ISIS and other extremist groups, threatening the existence of Christianity in regions where it has been present since the days of the first apostles: many have been killed, others kidnapped, and many have fled. When one part of Christâs global body suffers, we all suffer (1 Cor. 12:26).
Many of our brothers and sisters who have been forced to flee their homes have found temporary safety in neighboring countries such as Jordan, which now hosts over a million refugees from Syria alone, half of them children. In many cases, these refugees are ineligible to work and struggle to meet basic human needs. The Christian community in Jordan is not large, but local churches there are standing with persecuted brothers and sisters, partnering with World Relief to provide basic necessities and to establish âchild friendly spacesâ to holistically meet the trauma support needs of hundreds of refugee mothers and their children.
We also stand with the Persecuted Church through the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Over the past three decades, World Relief has partnered with the U.S. State Department and thousands of local churches throughout the United States to welcome more than 250,000 individuals identified by the U.S. government as refugeesâthose who have fled a credible fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, political opinion, national origin, or social groupâand to help them to integrate into American life.
Many of those we welcome are persecuted Christians: in the past five years, for example, around 40% of the approximately 320,000 refugees admitted by the U.S. government to the United States have identified with a Christian tradition (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, etc.), more than of any other single religion. Many of those have been individuals who were particularly targeted because of their Christian faith: of 125,000 Iraqi refugees admitted since 2007, for example, more than 35% have been Christians, even though only about 5% to 6% of the total Iraqi population were Christians as of 2003.
As persecuted Christians seek refuge in our nation, how could we not welcome them in? Jesus Himself was a refugee, escaping Herodâs genocidal tyranny and fleeing to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15). He tells us later, in one of the most explicit discussions of divine judgement in the gospels, that when we welcome a stranger who is among âthe least of these my brothers and sisters,â we welcome Christ himself. When we close our hearts against them, we do so to our Lord (Matt. 25:31-46).
While we serve the Persecuted Church in the Middle East, World Relief is also urging the United States government to increase the number of refugees admitted in the upcoming year. At this unique moment in history when so many refugees globally have been forced to flee, and as U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East have committed to taking in unprecedented numbers of those seeking refuge, we have challenged the U.S. government to accept 200,000 refugees in the coming year, returning to the approximate number of refugees that the U.S. accepted in 1980. By doing so, the U.S. government through partnership with World Relief and other resettlement agencies, along with local churches, will have the opportunity to welcome many more of our persecuted brothers and sisters.
Serving All in Christâs Name
As Christians, we have a particular concern for the Persecuted Church, but our faith also compels us to respond with compassion to all those fleeing violence and persecution, regardless of their faith. In our programs in Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere in the Middle East, where the majority of the population are Muslims, World Relief and the local churches that we empower provide the same care and support to Muslims, Yazidis and other non-Christian religious minorities as we do to fellow Christians. As hundreds of thousands seek refuge in Europe, we are equipping local churches to respond with compassion and without discrimination. Likewise, our refugee resettlement programs throughout the United States provide services to refugees of all religious backgrounds.
We do so precisely because we are followers of Jesus, and we believe in the biblical teaching that each person is made in the Image of God and has inherent dignity and worth (Gen. 1:27). The Apostle Peter commands us to âshow proper respect to everyone,â not just to fellow Christians, and we can practice Jesusâ âGolden Ruleâ by treating others as we would want to be treated if we were forced to flee our country, with compassion and respect (Matt. 7:12).
We are driven by Jesusâ Great Commandment, to love God and to love our neighbor; Jesusâ response to a legal scholarâs questionâwhat we know of as the Parable of the Good Samaritanâmakes explicitly clear that our âneighborâ cannot be narrowly defined to include only those of our own religious or ethnic group (Luke 10:21-37). When anyone is in needâwhich includes a great number of both Muslims and religious minorities right now in the Middle Eastâour response must be to love them as our neighbors, with compassion and mercy.
That is why we serve those of non-Christian religious traditionsâwhether abroad or within the United Statesâas an opportunity to live out the Great Commission, extending the love of Christ in tangible ways and sharing the hope of the gospel. We never do so in a coercive way, but as âan answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have,â always shared âwith gentleness and respectâ (1 Pet. 3:15).
The reality is that, particularly in the U.S., where Christianity is the majority religion, the response of the Church to the arrival of Muslim refugees and other religious minorities will have an enormous impact on how they perceive Jesus. As Christ followers, we want to welcome and befriend refugees so that we can be âthe pleasing aroma of Christâ to all (2 Cor. 2:15). We have witnessed God working in this way through decades of resettling refugees from diverse religious traditions.
To the contrary, if the response of the American church to non-Christian refugees is one of fear, misplaced suspicion, and hostility, we will effectively reinforce their negative understanding of Christianity, while being unfaithful to the biblical commands to love our neighbor, to which we are bound regardless of their faith.
While I do not understand why God allows the horrific human suffering that has forced so many to fleeâand I pray that he will restrain evil and bring peaceâI also trust that God has a purpose in the movement of people. We read in the book of Job that âHe makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses themâ (Job 12:23) and Paul teaches in Acts that God does this âso that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find himâ (Acts 17:27 NIV 1984). God has sovereign purposes in the migration of people, and he invites his Churchâhere in the U.S. and throughout the worldâto join him in that mission.
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
As passionate as we are at World Relief about the missional opportunity raised by the arrival of refugees to the United States, I am not naĂŻve to the reality that this topic provokes fear in many Americans, including many Christians.
It is important to know thatâdespite some myths that have circulated quickly on the Internetâeach refugee admitted to the United States undergoes a thorough vetting process to ensure both that each case meets the legal definition of a refugee (fleeing persecution for particular reasons, not those driven only by economic interests) and that they in no way present a national security or public safety threat to the United States. This thorough reviewâwhich can take many months and sometimes yearsâincludes checks from the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and State, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Refugees undergo a more thorough security check than any other category of immigrant or visitor who comes to the United States, and, having admitted more than 3 million refugees in the past several decades, there has never been a terrorist attack successfully perpetrated on U.S. soil by an individual who was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee.
In our experience, having resettled tens of thousands of Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and other non-Christian refugees in partnership with local churches since the late 1970s, the vast majority of refugees are people of peace who are incredibly grateful to the United States for having received them when no other country would do so. They are, in most cases, the victims of terrorism and tyrannical governments: having lost their homes and, in many cases, friends and family members, they are the strongest opponents of extremism. While we have important theological differences with people of other religions, it is simply false, and slanderous, to imply that most people from other religious traditions are violent or intent on doing harm to the U.S. or to Christians.
As Christians, we must put into practice one of the most frequent commands of the Bible: âbe not afraid.â Scripture tells us that âperfect love casts out fearâ (1 John 4:18), and that must be our motivation. Those who give into fearâoften based on rumors and false stereotypesâwill miss an opportunity to reflect Christâs love to individuals whom God loves, for whom he sent his Son to die. By calling for limitations on the U.S. refugee resettlement program, they may also unintentionally be turning away persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.
It is wrong to consider refugees of other religious traditions to be enemies. The vast majority are people who love their families and are simply seeking safety. But as we empower local churches to serve refugees in the Middle East, in Europe, and in the U.S., if we end up serving and showing kindness to someone who subscribes to an ideology that guides them to want to harm us, then we will be doing exactly as our Lord instructs and modeled: He commands us to love, pray, and provide food and drink to our enemies (Matt. 5:44, Rom. 12:20), just as we were welcomed in by Christ when we were his enemies (Rom. 5:10).
Now is a unique moment for the Church. Faced with the greatest refugee crisis in seventy years, the Churchâthe greatest social network on the planetâhas the opportunity to rise up to stand with our persecuted brothers and sisters and to extend Christâs love and compassion to those who might otherwise never encounter him. Guided by the love of Christ, not fear, I pray we will rise during this historic moment to create a legacy marked with faith, love and humility. When generations of Syrians and Iraqis and so many others look to us, may they experience the embrace of Jesus, the comfort of his Spirit and the relentless love of God.
Local Churches Stand Ready
****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****
Statement from Stephan Bauman – President of World Relief
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Date: September 21, 2015
WORLD RELIEF, LOCAL CHURCHES STAND READY TO WELCOME MORE REFUGEES
âThe American church is ready and willing to extend open arms to those fleeing war and terror in the Middle East, without discrimination. Whether itâs hosting refugees in our own country, or supporting churches serving them in other countries, the Church has chosen to act.â
Stephan Bauman, World Relief
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States will increase the number of refugees admitted into the United States from the current level of 70,000 to 85,000 in Fiscal Year 2016. Iâm encouraged by this step, and World Relief stands ready to equip our local church partners to welcome refugees as they arrive.
However, as Secretary Kerry acknowledged, 85,000 refugees next year pales compared to the scope of the need, as the world faces the worst refugee crisis since World War II. World Relief continues to urge the U.S. government to accept 200,000 refugees in the coming fiscal year. Each should undergo the thorough vetting and background checks currently in place to ensure that those admitted meet the legal definition of a refugee and pose no threat to our nationâs security; we urge Congress to appropriate sufficient funds to ensure that these checks are done expeditiously. At the same time, World Relief is on the ground in Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq, equipping local churches to respond to the needs of refugees in those regions most impacted by this crisis.
As we have done for decadesâhaving partnered with the U.S. State Department and with local churches to resettle more than 250,000 refugeesâWorld Relief welcomes refugees of all religious traditions without discrimination. Our approach is guided by our own commitment to the biblical commands to practice hospitality and to love our neighbors. Jesusâ own words make clear that our âneighborâ should not be defined in narrow ethnic or religious terms, but to all who are in need.
The arrival of refugees provides an opportunity for local churches in the U.S. both to stand with persecuted Christiansâwho make up a significant minority of those displaced from Syria, and the plurality of all refugees admitted to the U.S. in recent yearsâand to treat with compassion and respect those of other religions, practicing Jesusâ âGolden Ruleâ by treating others as we would want to be treated if we were forced to flee our country. We believe that each person, regardless of their faith, was made in the Image of God and possesses inherent dignity and potential.
As Christians, we cannot be driven by fear, but must take to heart one of the most frequent commands in Scripture, to âbe not afraid,â trusting that âperfect love casts out fear.â Our motivation must be the compassionate hospitality that we believe was personified for us in Jesus Christ.
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Stephan Bauman
President/CEO – World Relief
www.worldrelief.org
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Contact: Matthew Soerens // msoerens@wr.org // 920.428.9534
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