About Wayne

Wayne Lanier

My mission

Help the Church do more of what it does best.
Disciple people!

The road so far

1986

Full-time ministry begins

20 years

One location grows to 9 campuses and 17,000+ each weekend

2,500+

Care Partners trained to care for people

2015 to 2018

Culture of Freedom Initiative in Jacksonville

Today

Overseeing groups across every campus

My story

I've given my life to pastoral ministry. I've been in full-time ministry since 1986, and most of that time I've been building the kind of groups ministry where people are known and cared for.

I served for 20 years at one of the fastest-growing multisite churches in America, from the early years, growing from a few hundred people at one location to 9 campuses and more than 17,000 in weekend attendance. There I built small groups, marriage and family ministry, and pastoral care, including a Care ministry that trained more than 2,500 Care Partners.

I've also consulted with a church as it moved from an events-driven model to a church of groups. I currently serve at a major multisite church, overseeing groups across every campus.

Marriage and family

Marriage and family are close to my heart. I'm a certified Marriage Educator and certified in Premarital Counseling, and from 2014 to 2022 I served on the board of a Florida marriage education ministry.

In Jacksonville, Florida, I was a key church leader in the Culture of Freedom Initiative, a church-based effort that coincided with a 24% decline in Duval County's divorce rate from 2015 to 2018, according to a report from the Institute for Family Studies, sponsored by The Philanthropy Roundtable. The report's authors say it is highly plausible that some share of that decline may be attributed to the initiative, though they cannot say for sure. The story is also told in the book Endgame by J.P. De Gance and John Van Epp.

Read the full report from the Institute for Family Studies →

Beyond the local church

I'm the founder and president of Labor of Love International Ministries and Chairman of AWKNG School of Theology. Over the years I've worked with some of the nation's leading churches on small groups, marriage and family ministry, assimilation, and pastor care.

At home

I've been married to Diana for 37 years. We have six children, five of them adopted through Florida foster care.

I'm glad you're here.

Let's talk

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