Born in Kentucky, Chet Jump grew up in Philadelphia and then in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Albright College, Columbia University, and Union Theological Seminary, and received an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. After pastoring a rural larger parish in Vermont, he and his wife (Margaret Savidge) were appointed in 1944 as the American Baptist missionaries to what was then called the Belgian Congo (later Zaire and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). They arrived on the field in March, 1945.

Chet and Margaret served in the Congo for over 17 years. During their first two terms at the Vanga station, they were involved in evangelistic and educational ministries which saw more than 32,000 persons baptized and the school system operated by the Baptist churches in the area grow to more than 20,000 students. Fluent in French and a couple of African languages, they also were involved in literacy and translation work, helping to prepare literacy charts in eight different languages and developing a daily devotional guide in the Kikongo and Kihungana languages. Their third term of service was in the capital city of Kinshasa, then known as Leopoldville, where Chet worked as the field secretary and later also as the area secretary, a position normally handled from the home office in the states. Chet and Margaret jointly wrote two books, Congo Diary (1950) and Coming, Ready or Not (1958) which give an account of their experiences.

In 1962 they returned to the states, with Chet continuing to serve as area secretary for Africa and South India at Valley Forge. In 1965 he became executive director of the American Baptist International Ministries, a position he held until his retirement in 1983. His duties required extensive overseas travel as well as representing American Baptists in relationships with other religious bodies. He was thus active in the outreach of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), serving on its executive committee, and for 11 years chairing the BWA world relief program to which American Baptists generously contribute with funds from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. For five years he served as a vice-president of the BWA. He also served on Church World Service, chairing its finance committee.

After retirement he gave part-time leadership for five years as the director of American Baptist World Relief, overseeing the distribution of funds received in the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. Finally, for one year (1987-88) he served as the interim general secretary of the American Baptist Churches in the U. S. A. He and his wife now reside in Lewisburg, PA, where they are active in local and regional church bodies, and in a number of volunteer organizations.