Wayne and his wife, Sarah, (last names withheld for security reasons), along with their four children, have lived in Bangalore, India, since 2004, when he was appointed as Foursquare Missions International’s (FMI) area missionary to South Asia.

Serving in South Asia is something Wayne did not originally envision for himself. He graduated in 1991 from Life Pacific College (then LIFE Bible College) in San Dimas, Calif., after interning for two years at the Angelus Temple Hispanic congregation. Following that, he and Sarah were married and served on the pastoral team of Iglesia La Roca, a Hispanic church plant, while Wayne also worked on the staff of Cornerstone Foursquare Church in Anaheim, Calif.

In 1998, Wayne was hired by FMI to assist with missionary training and deployment. Wayne and Sarah knew God had called them to the mission field, but Wayne reflects: “I always assumed God would call us to Latin America, as we both speak Spanish.”

However, in 2003, Wayne was asked to serve in India and South Asia. This was quite a surprise, but both knew it was God’s direction.

“The Lord made it clear through several points of confirmation that we were to pursue this path” Wayne explains. “And it has been a wonderful and fruitful experience of learning from and serving with the Foursquare pastors and leaders of South Asia.

Wayne partners with the Foursquare national leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal in their efforts to reach the lost, disciple new believers, train leaders and plant new churches. He has the privilege of serving alongside the apostolic leadership of Rev. Leslie Keegel, national leader of Sri Lanka.

“I’m in South Asia because I want to experience God more deeply, and I want to see the lost come to know the Savior who loves them,” Wayne affirms. “When we step out beyond ourselves to embrace God’s will for us, we get to see Him show up in ways we could have never accomplished on our own.

“I love working alongside the national leaders and missionaries here,” he continues, “teaching, coaching, encouraging and resourcing them. I am part of an incredible team of dedicated people who are introducing tens of thousands of people to Jesus Christ. Many of those people had never even heard that name before.”

He is also excited about the potential for more missionaries coming to the region. In 2010, FMI will deploy two new missionary couples, and three more are preparing to go in 2011.

In a region where 85 percent of the 1.5 billion people are Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, sharing the gospel in a large “tent meeting” fashion is only possible in some of the settings, due to strong persecution. Throughout South Asia, many pastors and church members experience ongoing threats against their lives or physical assault. Some have even given up their lives in serving Jesus.

But outreach continues in the midst of difficulty. In Pakistan, two city churches are currently being planted, and a Bible institute is training leaders. In Nepal, missionaries are raising up young church planters, starting several churches, caring for the orphans and widows through two children’s homes and vocational training programs, and offering gospel recordings and indigenous music through a recording studio.

In Bangalore, India, the Foursquare churches have found an effective strategy to reach families through ministry to children. They offer evening tutoring sessions for about 300 children as well as Vacation Bible School (VBS) programs that touch even more kids; these represent two of the church’s most fruitful efforts to reach the community.

Three out of four of these children live in Hindu families, and they represent hundreds of family units who receive practical personal ministry, through home visits and training on hygiene and parenting. Pastor Thomas (last name withheld) notes the children are becoming active disciples of Christ who are taking the gospel into their homes, praying for their families, and sharing Jesus within their own family structures. Some are now pastoring or leading other ministries.