Elected by the Board of General Superintendents and ratified by the General Board, Rev. Mark Louw has been selected prayerfully to lead the Asia-Pacific Region with effect on 1st September 2012.
Mark and his wife, Linda, together with Alexandra, 10, their youngest of four daughters, will be moving to Singapore to join the team. They have three other daughters, Kathryn, Kirstin and Johanna. Kathryn has completed university and Kirstin and Johanna are still at Trevecca.
Since June of 2011, the Louws have been global missionaries in the Church of the Nazarene, living in South Africa. A native of South Africa, Mark serves as regional education coordinator for the Africa Region and as the field strategy coordinator (field director) for the 18 nations that comprise the West Africa Field.
The Louws have also served as youth pastors at Chico First Church of the Nazarene (1992–1994) on California’s Sacramento District. They later became senior pastors at Gridley Crossroads Community Church of the Nazarene (1994-1999), also on the Sacramento District.
Mark, who felt called to missions at 16, was ordained on the district in 1997. Also in 1997, during the missions service at the General Assembly in San Antonio, Texas, Mark and Linda accepted a call placed on their lives to serve in missions. Feeling God’s release from their pastoral assignment in December 1998, they attended Missionary Assessment in June 1999 and began their Missionary Internship in September 1999.
Mark received education from Nazarene Bible College and Manchester University. Mark’s MA Theology thesis was “Character formation through learning in community. Linda is a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University and a credentialed teacher in California.
The Louws received the news with joy and shared how the Lord has given them a great anticipation of joining the team in Asia-Pacific. “Thirteen years of stimulating service on the Africa West Field has taught me that God works together all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose,” Louw said. “These 13 years have allowed me to see [God’s] hand at work in the raising up, formation, and development of a team of West African leaders that have accomplished incredible things for him despite often insurmountable adversity. It is with this confidence that I gladly accept the assignment and challenge of regional director of the Asia Pacific Region.”
We welcome with great joy, the Louws to the Asia-Pacific Region.
