News 12-7-15

Longtime broadcaster Peter Sumrall, (at left) who led one of the largest Christian networks in the nation, has passed away. Sumrall, who was the president and chief executive officer of LeSEA, died December 5, 2015 of a heart attack. He was 62. Despite his unexpected death, which has come as a shock to millions of viewers and Christian organizations around the world, Sumrall’s mission to promote the salvation message of Jesus through the many outreaches of LeSEA 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 of the company.”

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 nonprofit 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 based in several U.S. cities and abroad, and millions of viewers and listeners who kept up with his global travels through the network’s flagship program The Harvest Show.