Based in Girona, Spain, he is dedicated to walking alongside professional athletes, offering support, encouragement, and discipleship, with the goal of pointing them towards Christ and a purpose that goes beyond their sporting careers. Professional cycling is in need of integrity, character, and heart transformation that comes from a personal relationship with Christ. Lucas spends his time developing relationships with athletes on bike rides and over coffee, traveling to races across Europe, and meeting with believing riders for Bible studies and discipleship.

College is a crucial time in a person’s life, and each fall, more than 12,000 new students set foot on Ohio State’s campus. Over the course of four years they will establish habits, choose careers, form lifelong friendships and relationships, and make decisions about Jesus. Then those students will graduate as future leaders of our world. The Waanders desire to see those graduates sent out from Ohio State as citizens of God's kingdom who bring the love and the good news of Jesus to every workplace, neighborhood, family, boardroom, church, and community.

Paige serves as the Women’s Ministry Coordinator on campus at Ohio State and Matt directs the ministry’s weekly meeting where hundreds of students gather for worship and teaching. They both also mentor students on South Campus. 

They have two sons- Will (2019) and Jack (2021).

We moved to Italy in January 2018, we have been so blessed to watch the church plants start, new ministries start, and mentoring/discipleship take place. My (Jessica) official title is Artist in Residence with a non-profit organization. Our team is spread all over Italy, but we live here in Rome. We provide workshops for evangelical artists in the church to equip them with tools on how to support their church with the arts to reach people. We just opened our first studio space in the center of Rome. Where we put on workshops, future conferences, and provide mentorship for the artists. We also help out with a community art group, where evangelicals and non-evangelicals work together. Resources are hard for Italians to get in the Italian language. So, I want to help provide resources for the church to support their people better. This year we will be publishing a devotional book for artists and Bryan will be publishing a children's book. Through the beauty of all God has done, there have been days when it is very hard. So, we speak over our family Psalm 16:11, "In your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand, there is pleasure forevermore." People need to see God is good, He is full or joy and forgiveness.

There are still entire people groups NOT represented around Christ’s throne. D&A initially desired to go to a more “amenable” region of the world, yet the facts related to lost regions in the world did not care about their feelings. They were compelled to go to the lost, against any fleshly desire and against the wisdom of men. Facts showed that a region of the world called the 10/40 window is where 96% of unreached people groups live and where the church needs to focus its global evangelistic efforts, yet as a whole, it is neglecting its Great Commission. D&A could not neglect this reality any longer. They found that the global church is sending nearly 97% of its missionaries to reached nations – nations who have a healthy, growing church that can evangelize the rest of its people groups (those nations are not in the 10/40 window). They began to ask themselves: so, 3.39 BILLION unreached people who live in the 10/40 window only get 3% of the church’s sent missionaries? That was crazy to them. They found that on average, only 6% of church donations goes to global missions. And of that 6%, only about 1.7% goes to unreached people groups (UPGs, unique groups of people that lack a community of Christians able to evangelize the rest of the group). Clearly put, only 0.102% of all church finances go to the most unreached, lost, populated, and underserved areas of the world. We are sending our people and our finances to reached nations and leaving the lost to their own demise. Once these facts had been seen, they could not unsee them.

D&A never felt “called” (and still do not) to a people group, a country, a language, a religion or anything like this. Upon a deep study of God’s heart for all peoples, they felt “called” to simply be obedient to what He has been desiring since Genesis: that all nations would be blessed (i.e. reach salvation through His Son). This is not a new Matthew 28 teaching, it has always been His heart! As such, D&A focused on the 10/40 window due to it having the greatest need for the Gospel. From there they identified South Asia as the most lost area within the 10/40 window. Within South Asia, they identified the most unreached nation. From within the most unreached nation, they found a few missionaries they could link arms with who live in one of the highest concentrations of UUPGs in the world: this meant that this area would be arguably the darkest place on earth. They decided if they have but one small candlelight of a life to burn, they should burn it in an area where it could mean the most amidst the darkness. Then they moved, never visiting or touching foot in this country before they arrived with three small children. For the sake of the lost, and so that His glory might go into all the world.

Their primary focus is to locate people groups that have no known gospel work being done in them and see healthy reproducing churches planted. They help lead an exploration division that sends out both expats and nationals all over South Asia to find where these people groups are because, as of now, no one knows their actual location. Simply through government census’ do we know they exist. So, in order for the Gospel to go to them, D&A find and identify them, and partner with regional missionaries or national partners to adopt these people groups to get the Gospel to them. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” Romans 10:14-15

Micaiah (2013), Judah (2015), and Adelae (2018).

We also have the privilege to offer mentoring to Southern students who are looking to learn from our experiences whether good or bad.  Our hope is similar to what we find from Peter in 2 Peter 1:12, "Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have."