Wayne Hughes is a New Zealand Pentecostal minister. He is the Senior Pastor of the Takapuna Assembly of God in Auckland. A photographer by training, Hughes became Pastor of the Takapuna Assembly of God in 1975. Under his 29 year (2004) leadership, it has grown from 25 members to about 1500 today (2004).
As well as pastoring the Takapuna Assembly of God, Hughes also served as General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand from 1985 to 2003. He resigned as General Superintendent in early 2003 to concentrate on helping his local church achieve its goal of growing to ten thousand members, and to care for his wife, Glenice, who has suffered from a long illness.
As a preacher, Hughes has a strong fundamentalist message and an emphasis on evangelism. Hughes strongly opposes pre-marital sex, abortion, pornography, and gambling, factors that he sees as contributing to the breakdown of 'Christian morality'. He has not publicly endorsed any particular political party, although he frequently does speak out against what he sees as the 'godless values' of leading politicians.
He has a close relationship with the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, and with the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea. Dr Michael Brown and Rev. Steven Hill, both of Brownsville, and Dr David Yonggi Cho, of Yoido, have hosted major conferences in New Zealand under Wayne Hughes's auspices.
Hughes has three sons, two daughters, and a grand-daughter.
