OJM Founder, Tim Stoner, resigns from board to seek new opportunities

After five years as Orphan Justice Mission president, co-founder Tim Stoner has resigned from the board. In a letter to Executive Director, Kyle Douglass, Tim stated that it was time to focus his energies on other endeavors. He stated that he is most energized by being an organizational catalyst and now that OJM was well established and in pursuit of its vision, it was time to let another fill his role on the board. Tim and his wife Patty will stay involved in OJM in unofficial capacities, and we look forward to their contributions.

Tim, a lawyer and Christian author in Grand Rapids, MI, co-founded OJM in 2005 with his friend Bill Terpstra after returning from a visit to Guatemala with a burden to advocate for orphans' rights. After a year of struggling to gain traction in South America, the organization was offered an opportunity to assist a church in southern Uganda in the Rakai district, which had started a school to care for approximately forty orphans. This small project became the Glory of Christ Development Initiative, OJM's first official Direct Care Partner and was the program that helped OJM land on its current vision and methodology. Tim's articulation of release-based orphan care and his passionate call to empowering local communities and avoiding unhealthy dependency played a major role in OJM's maturation process.

The OJM board, staff and volunteers would like to express their thanks to Tim for his work for the organization, indeed catalyzing a small core of passionate Christ followers to fulfill their orphan justice mandate. We pray for all the best as he pursues his other interests and passions and look forward to Tim's future, though informal, relationship with OJM.