On Monday, May 18, 2026, the General Conference of The Wesleyan Church elected Dr. Wayne Otto to the office of executive director of Church Multiplication and Discipleship (CMAD) He had been nominated for that post by newly elected General Superintendent Jim Dunn. The election is for a four-year term and will begin at the rise of the General Conference on Wednesday.
Otto is an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church and serves as an adjunct professor for Indiana Wesleyan University, Southern Wesleyan University, Wesley Seminary and Kingswood University. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a master of Ministerial Leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University and Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Preaching from Clamp Divinity School at Anderson University in South Carolina.
Throughout his ministry, Otto has served in a wide range of leadership roles including assistant pastor, church planter, lead pastor, church multiplication director, assistant district superintendent, regional church planting director, professor and denominational leader. Otto and his wife, Amy, have faithfully served together in ministry strengthening the local church both nationally and internationally.
Raised in a family filled with the volatility of alcoholism, homelessness and constant upheaval, Otto was a young man in trouble when Dale Freed, Wesleyan pastor, followed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to visit Otto’s childhood home. Otto began attending that small Wesleyan church and later gave his life to Christ at the Whispering Pines Wesleyan Camp in North Michigan. Otto’s salvation moment radically transformed his heart, resulting in a clear call to tell the world about the God who heals broken people.
His ministry journey began with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), ministering in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Liberia, West Africa; followed by pastoring and church planting, helping establish numerous churches in Michigan and South Carolina. Deeply devoted to the broader mission of The Wesleyan Church, Otto invested extensively in global leadership development and church multiplication, traveling to Haiti and Puebla, Mexico.
Otto believes God’s call to The Wesleyan Church in this generation is to have conviction and courage to work together as one to reach the world for Christ. His leadership is marked by a deep commitment to prayer, biblical preaching, multiplication and mobilizing the church to engage its communities and the nations with the hope of the gospel.
Otto and his wife, Amy, are blessed with three children and seven grandchildren. Their children all love and serve the Lord — an enduring legacy they consider their greatest accomplishment.
As executive director of CMAD for The Wesleyan Church, Otto steps into this assignment with “profound gratitude for the leaders, pastors, churches, and faithful servants who have carried the mission of evangelism and discipleship forward across generations. My prayer and commitment is to work toward a renewed spirit of oneness in heart and mission throughout our church family. I believe God is calling us into a season where collaboration will overcome division, where shared mission will rise above personal preference, and where together we will pursue the Great Commission with fresh conviction and courage.”
Beth Gormong is administrative assistant for Wesleyan Publishing House.
