Impetus

January 2026 Impetus.

There are many things I truly love about my job. I get to work with an incredible team here in the UK and with inspirational leaders across Africa. I’m privileged to see innovative projects take shape, to help build training partnerships, and to travel to remarkable places where I learn so much from the richness of cross-cultural ministry.

But if I’m honest, the part of my role I enjoy the least is the constant pressure to fundraise so that APF can keep its promises to our African Training Partners so they can continue their vital ministries across Africa.

Right now, our regular monthly giving simply doesn’t cover our fixed monthly costs. That means we’re continually relying on unexpected one-off donations, grants, legacies, or fundraising events to make ends meet. It makes planning for the future difficult.

More importantly, it means we can’t confidently give our African Training Partners the mid-term or long-term assurances they need to plan their work effectively. That uncertainty inevitably limits the impact of their ministries.

It also means that a significant amount of my own time is taken up with preparing funding bids, organising fundraising initiatives, and following up potential donors – time I would far rather invest directly in the people and projects we serve.

I’ve done the maths: if everyone reading this edition of Impetus increased their current monthly donation by just £2 – or set up a monthly gift of £2 if you don’t already give regularly – we could close this gap. It really is that simple. And it would make a meaningful difference to the dedicated, yet often marginalised, pastors we support across Africa.

Thank you, as always, for your generosity and for standing with us. As we step into 2026, I warmly invite you to consider this small but significant commitment.

In Christ,

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

October 2025 Impetus.

Welcome to the autumn edition of Impetus. As I write, I’m sitting in my small garden in rural Kent, enjoying the last of the summer sunshine. By the time this edition reaches its close, the shortest day will have passed, and Christmas will be upon us.

In this issue, we’re delighted to introduce Martin Hayter, the newest member of the APF team in the UK. Martin and his family spent 18 years living and working among the Karamojong people in Uganda, one of the most remote and marginalised communities in the country. You’ll discover more about the remarkable growth of the church in Karamoja in this article written by Martin.

At APF, Martin will be strengthening links with eVitabu contributors, encouraging engagement among users, and helping to coordinate online fellowship between APF partners across Africa. Before Martin’s time in Uganda, he worked in charity compliance, so he brings a wealth of very relevant experience and expertise to the team.

Our Christmas ‘Just Trees’ Campaign

We’re also launching our Just Trees campaign. For this Christmas, we’re inviting you to donate the cost (or even part of the cost) of a Christmas tree to help plant seedlings in schools and church campuses in Uganda.

Tree planting brings benefits that last for generations. Beyond providing shade and beauty, trees improve soil quality, protect water sources, absorb carbon, and support biodiversity. In communities across Uganda, they also offer fruit, firewood, and long-term livelihood opportunities, truly making them a gift that keeps on giving.

Read on to find out how to plant hope this Christmas and give the gift of a tree.

Blessings,

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

July 2025 Impetus.

Welcome to the Summer edition of Impetus.

As the summer season unfolds, we’re excited to share our latest news and updates with you all. Don’t miss the powerful article from our partner, Daniel Deng Bol, detailing the opportunities and challenges of ministry in South Sudan.

Enjoy, and thank you, as ever, for your generous and prayerful support for APF.

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

April 2025 Impetus.

Welcome to the Spring edition of Impetus. The first quarter of 2025 has been busy and productive, as I hope you will appreciate as you read our latest news. Enjoy, and thank you, as ever, for your generous and prayerful support for APF.

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

January 2025 Impetus.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to Impetus. January 2025 marks my 10th anniversary as CEO of APF. During that time there have been many encouragements, a few setbacks, a pandemic, and the major innovation for APF being a digital tool – the eVitabu app.

As an organisation, APF has embraced ministry in the digital age in terms of delivery of training and resources in Africa, but also as a tool for communications with donors and supporters in the UK. Whether we like it or not, for the majority of our readers digital media has become an ‘embedded, embodied, and everyday’ fact of life.

With this in mind APF is changing the way we communicate with supporters. Impetus has become a streamlined eight-page journal, and much more regular email and social media updates will be posted online.

This will increase the frequency with which we share up-to-date stories, encouragements and prayer needs, but also reduce the amount of printed material and mailing costs to the charity. We are confident this is the trajectory of travel for charity communication and will result in strengthened relationships with supporters.

To receive more regular digital updates by email instead of a printed copy of Impetus, click here and complete the online sign-up form.

I hope you continue to find Impetus informative and encouraging, and we remain grateful for all your support in prayer, giving or any other way.

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

October 2024 Impetus.

Welcome to Impetus.

At the time of writing, I have just arrived in Uganda to prepare for a major conference being hosted by APF at the campus of Pastors’ Discipleship Network in Kampala. The conference will gather around 35 representatives from our key African training partners from across eastern and southern Africa, together with APF personnel from the UK and Kenya.

By the time you are reading this, I will probably be back in the UK and Geoff will have travelled on to Tanzania. We anticipate the conference will have been an important inspirational and strategic opportunity to review APF operations in Africa, especially eVitabu uptake and impact, and explore some future possibilities: hearing the voices of our African brothers and sisters.

The conference is set against the backdrop of the lead articles in this edition: a new round of church closures in Rwanda, and the need to respond and help in appropriate ways; and the sudden loss of our dear friend and long-standing partner, Bishop Lloyd Chizenga in Malawi. No sooner will I return to the UK and, after 40 days of mourning has passed, there is the need to plan an urgent but unexpected visit to Malawi in the autumn. This will be to stand with Lloyd’s family in their loss, and meet with those who will succeed Lloyd as overseers of the 200+ congregations comprising the New Life Christian Church network.

One of my favourite memories of Lloyd was on an early visit I made to Malawi. Driving on the road south from Blantyre to the Shire Valley with Malawi to my right and Mozambique to my left, we paused so I could sample mbewa (boiled salted mice or rats on a stick). I rarely refuse food but, on this occasion, I made my excuses, which Lloyd found hilarious. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

It is always a great privilege to be able to offer personal, pastoral and political support to our African partners but it does mean substantial additional cost, much of which could not have been anticipated. If you are able to make a gift to help meet some of these needs, or were planning to make a gift later in the year but could do so now, that would be a huge help as we prayerfully seek to respond to these, and so many other, needs.

As always, with our thanks and gratitude,

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

July 2024 Impetus.

Welcome to Impetus.

At the time of writing I am taking a break from checking through the footnotes of my final dissertation for the Masters in Digital Theology I commenced a little over two years ago. The title of my research project is ‘The Smart Pastor’ and it is an in-depth exploration of the training needs and opportunities for church leaders in Africa in our digital age.

I want to take this moment to publicly thank the trustees of APF for allowing me the chance to study. I realise this debt of gratitude places me in a similar category to the thousands of African pastors who benefit from access to training, resources and encouragement through the ministry of APF.

To celebrate the completion of my course I am inviting APF supporters to participate in an online digital theology taster session later in the year. This will be similar in content to the sessions I have presented in Africa over the past two years. Details of when these will take place will be published in the next edition of Impetus, but it would be helpful to get an indication of interest, so please drop me an email if you think this might be something you would like to join.

In the meantime, I hope you find the articles and updates in this edition of Impetus inspiring and informative. Thank you, as ever, for your prayers and financial support as APF works to enable effective ministry in Africa through our dedicated training partners.

In Christ,

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

January 2024 Impetus.

Welcome to the first Impetus of 2024.

In November and December, I spent nearly five weeks in Africa engaging with partners, teaching at conferences, monitoring projects and making new connections.

Among the highlights were a few days spent with Walubo Jude in Kamuli district in Uganda. There were two eVitabu workshops in churches, hospitality included six meals in one day, and around 500 trees planted at two different schools.

I planted the mahogany tree in this picture at Bulogo Primary School on one of my first trips to Africa as APF CEO. Its growth is remarkable! Somehow it symbolises the reach and influence of APF, especially through eVitabu and our dedicated African Training Partners in the intervening years.

Let us commit to pray for one another – and all we work alongside in Africa – that throughout 2024 each one might be “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3).

Revd Dave Stedman
CEO