Asia Oceania
The Asia Oceania Team comprises 17 missionaries serving 18 different countries throughout Asia Oceania. The team, largely based in Thailand and Hong Kong, partners with God’s people to equip, encourage, and empower others to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to 1.8 billion unreached souls throughout Asia Oceania. Asia Lutheran Seminary continues to provide theological education across the continent. A stateside administrative committee appointed by the Board for World Missions helps facilitate this work in Asia Oceania.
Fast facts
- Mission partners in 15 countries
- Exploratory mission work in 2 additional countries
- 17 missionaries
Meet the team
Rev. Dr. Jonathan Bare
Rev. Dr. Jonathan Bare has served on the Asia Oceania Team since 2023. He serves as president of Asia Lutheran Seminary and leader/integrator of the Asia Oceania Team. Under his leadership, Asia Lutheran Seminary offers seminary training for students across Asia. Its core program provides certificate through degree-level training for various forms of ministry within churches across Asia. Through the seminary’s Regional Theological Education Program, Asia Lutheran Seminary assists sister synod Bible institutes and seminaries across Asia. As a professor, his focus is Systematic Theology, though he teaches a variety of courses as he assists with training throughout Asia.
Bare is a 2008 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Prior to his service on the Asia Oceania Team, he served as a missionary in East Asia (2008-2016), member of the Pastoral Studies Institute team (2016-2021), and director of the Pastoral Studies Institute and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary professor (2021-2022). In 2021, he was awarded a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Regent University. He currently serves as a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference planning committee.
Bare, his wife Kim, and their two children, Josiah and Elina, reside in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Rev. Tony Barthels
Rev. Tony Barthels accepted the call to permanently serve on the Asia Oceania Team in 2021. He teaches classes both in the classroom at Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong and online to students in East Asia. He also heads up recruitment for Asia Lutheran Seminary and serves as Asia Oceania Team liaison to church partners in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Before moving to Hong Kong, Barthels spent 10 years in East Asia where he served as a lay missionary and team leader. He concentrated on building gospel-centered relationships, which often resulted in being able to hold in-home Bible studies. He graduated from Asia Lutheran Seminary in 2020.
Barthels and his wife, Ariel, married in 2023 and welcomed their daughter, Macaria, in 2024.
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Rev. Tom Chaleunsouk
Rev. Tom Chaleunsouk was born in a small village in Laos, where he also met his wife Kaysone. He worked security at the American Air Base. Fearing for his life after the regime change, he left his family and home in 1980 and crossed the Mekong River to Thailand where he was detained in a refugee camp. Months later, Kaysone and two of their children escaped Laos and joined him. She had to leave their eldest son behind with her father; he was five years old. It would be three years before they would see their son again. They were introduced to Christ in the refugee camp by a Christian aid worker.
In 1981, Chaleunsouk and his family were brought to Pease, Minn., where they were sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church. The community and church helped to locate and bring their eldest son and Kaysoneās father to the U.S. They were baptized, and that is when Chaleunsouk became interested in becoming a pastor to share Christianity with his people.
In 1998, Chaleunsouk began studying part-time through the WELS Pastoral Studies Institute. By 2000, he became a full-time student and graduated in 2005. After graduating, he was called to serve as a missionary in the Nong Khai province of Thailand and offer pastoral instruction to interested students. Nong Khai Lutheran Church was built in 2013 and currently serves about 135 souls.
Chaleunsouk and Kaysone have three grown children; Thephone (Deaune), Daovone (Jack), and Saysamone; and one grandson (William).
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Rev. Dr. Angus Cheung
Rev. Dr. Angus K.F. Cheung serves as an academic dean and professor of historical theology and hermeneutics at Asia Lutheran Seminary (ALS). He also serves as the Asian representatives of Global Theological Education Committee in the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC). As a church member of the South Asia Lutheran Evangelical Mission (SALEM) in Hong Kong, he is currently a deacon chairman at SALEM Yau Oi Congregation.
Cheung received his Ph.D. in civil engineering in 2010 from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He then worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the university and joined Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Ltd. as a senior research engineer before 2014. From 2014-2016 he served as a teaching fellow in the department of civil engineering at Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong. Cheung became a part-time student at ALS in 2008 and received his Master of Divinity in 2016. He received the call from ALS and has served as a professor there since 2016. Cheung is now a Ph.D. candidate in history of exegesis at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.
Cheung and his wife, Kaman, married in 2011. Kaman received her Ph.D. degree in design from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2018 and served as a senior lecturer in the Hong Kong Design Institute. She is currently a student in the bachelorās degree program at ALS.
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Rev. Dr. Matthew Doebler
Rev. Dr. Matthew Doebler has served on the Asia Oceania Team since 2014. His work has included serving as a professor of missiology and practical theology for Asia Lutheran Seminary, as team leader for the East Asia team, and as director of mentoring for the Asia Oceania Team. Doebler and his wife Christine relocated to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in summer 2024 to reach out to the large Asian community that has immigrated to the area as well as to the native Australian population. Doebler continues to work with our sister church in Hong Kong, South Asia Lutheran Evangelical Mission (SALEM), with their outreach in New Zealand.
Doebler graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1997 and was assigned to St. Peter, Collins, Wis., where he served until 2001. He then served at St. Paul in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. (2001-2006) and Christ the Rock in Round Rock, Tex. (2006-2014). In 2014, Doebler moved to Hong Kong to begin serving at Asia Lutheran Seminary.
Doebler and his wife Christine have three adult children (Madeline, Samuel, and Caleb) and one grandson (Oliver). Christine serves as a missionary with WELS-affiliated ministry, Friends Network.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Leon Ehlert
Rev. Leon Ehlert serves part-time on the Asia Oceania Team and part-time at Beautiful Savior in Green Bay, Wis. As Diaspora Ministry Facilitator for the team, Ehlert has experience with Asian people groups and helps facilitate connections and outreach between people groups in North America and their home country. He is the Asia Oceania Team liaison to church partners in Pakistan and Bangladesh, oversees exploratory work in the United Arab Emirates, and serves as chairman of the North American Hmong Committee.
Ehlert graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1991 and served St. Stephen in Beaver Dam, Wis., until 1996. He then taught at Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton, Wis., for 19 years until beginning his service at Beautiful Savior in 2015.
Ehlert and his wife, Krystie, have been married for over 30 years and live on a farm in Black Creek, Wis. They have four grown children; Julian, Elijah, Colin, and Mary; and three grandsons (Judah, Asher, and Finnigan).
Rev. Peter Janke
Rev. Peter Janke has served on the Asia Oceania Team since graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2016. His original work included online course development and teaching online classes in conjunction with Asia Lutheran Seminary to equip and train church leaders and pastors throughout Asia.
Janke, along with Asia Oceania Team Missionary Matt Doebler, relocated to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in summer 2024 to reach out to the native Australian population with the gospel in conjunction with two of WELSā partner churches and expand outreach to a large Chinese population that has immigrated to the area. Additionally, Janke will continue to serve as the Asia Oceania Team liaison with church partners in Japan.
Janke is married to Alanna, and they have two sons, Marvin and Jonas.
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Rev. Dan Kingsbury
Professor Dan Kingsbury teaches Greek and New Testament studies at Asia Lutheran Seminary while residing in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with his family. His ministry consists mainly of training and mentoring local church leaders. Kingsbury graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2013 and then served as a lay evangelist with Friends Network for six years. While serving with Friends Network, he took classes through Asia Lutheran Seminary and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2020.
Kingsbury and his wife Leona were married in East Asia in 2015. They have two boys, Cornelius and Macarius.
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Rev. Dr. Bounkeo Lor
Professor Bounkeo Lor serves as Hmong Asia Ministry Coordinator for mission work in Vietnam. He is also involved with teaching other Hmong brothers and sisters throughout Southeast Asia.
Lor and his wife, Fueyseng, were both born in Laos and relocated to Thailand. He assisted foreign missionaries from around the world and received extensive theological training from both Thai pastors and those foreign missionaries from 1987-1993. He also served as the youth president for his father’s congregation in Thailand from 1989-1993. Lor graduated from medical school in 1991 and then worked as part of the U.S. government’s effort to assist Southeast Asian refugees from 1992-1993. Lor and his family migrated to the United States in 1994.
Lor continued his education in the U.S., earning two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees in theology, and a Doctor of Philosophy. He graduated from the Pastoral Studies Institute at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2007. Lor speaks several languages including Hmong, Lao, Thai, English, and Mien. He is gifted in translation and interpretation and has worked closely with WELS’ translation programs.
Lor previously served as pastor at Grace Hmong Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Kans., from 2003 to 2015 and served on the Hmong Asia Committee, which coordinated gospel outreach to Hmong people in the United States and in Southeast Asia. He also founded and served as the president of Hmong Kansas City, Inc. In 2015 he accepted the call as Hmong Asia Ministry Coordinator.
Lor is married to Fueyseng and together they have seven children: Sam, MaiNou, Noses, Nhia, Sarah, Tshabmoo, and Tiffany.
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Rev. Dr. Guy Marquardt
Rev. Dr. Guy Marquardt serves Asia Lutheran Seminary as a professor and director of its Regional Theological Education Program. This program coordinates and consults with worker training programs of national church partners throughout South and Southeast Asia. He also leads the Asia Oceania Team support function and is chaplain of Chiang Mai Lutheran Fellowship.
Following his graduation from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1994, Marquardt served as a missionary to Brazil (1994-2008), as a parish pastor at Christ in Lodi, Calif. (2009-2015), and as a Friendly Counselor to a country in South Asia and principal of its worker training program (2016-2022). He received his Doctor of Intercultural Studies degree from Western Seminary in 2024.
Marquardt and his wife, Linda, moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2021. They have four adult children (David, Holly, Sara, and Jonathan) and five grandchildren.
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Rev. Timothy Matthies
Rev. Timothy Matthies was called to the Asia Oceania Team in 2019 to serve as a professor for Asia Lutheran Seminary. He teaches courses in the areas of Old Testament, Hebrew, and the Lutheran Confessions. He previously served at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Washington, Mich., from 2015-2019.
Matthies married Rachel in 2013, and they have two children: Irene and Zadok. The family resides in Hong Kong.
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Rev. Joel Nitz
Professor Joel Nitz began serving the Hmong believers in Vietnam in 2020. When COVID-19 travel restrictions eased, Nitz began teaching trips to Vietnam. He continues to learn the Hmong and Vietnamese languages, write and teach courses for use in rural congregations, and teach classes online to Hmong church leaders. He also serves as the Asia Oceania Team liaison to church partners in Nepal and India.
Nitz previously served at Northland Lutheran High School in Merrill, Wis., and Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton, Wis., for one year each. He was also a mission explorer and pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Olympia, Wash., from 1988-2020.
Nitz married Kathryn in 1990, and they have five adult children; Iver (Mackenzie), Ruth (Conifer), Iraina, Faith, and Talitha; and three grandchildren.
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Mr. Jeremy Seeger
Mr. Jeremy Seeger accepted the call in 2023 to serve on the Asia Oceania Team. He serves as the Dean of the English language certificate program at Asia Lutheran Seminary. His role includes teaching online as well as coordinating and developing the in-person and online technology used by the team to spread the gospel throughout Asia. He also serves as the Asia Oceania Team liaison to church partners in Indonesia.
Seeger grew up in Manitowoc, Wis., and graduated with a teaching degree from Martin Luther College in 2009. He later earned his masterās degree in education through Martin Luther College in 2019. He previously served as a teacher at HOPE Christian School: Prima in Milwaukee, Wis. (2009-2012); Rising Eagles Academy in Beijing (2012-2013); Martin Luther in Oshkosh, Wis. (2013-2017); and Divine Savior Academy in Doral, Fla. (2017-2023). He has also been serving as an online math instructor for Amazing Grace Virtual Academy since 2018.
He and his wife Grace were married in 2010. They have been blessed with two daughters, Liliana and Aurelia, and reside in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Justin Steinke
Rev. Justin Steinke was assigned to the Asia Oceania Team from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2023. He serves as the Asia Oceania Team liaison to the Philippines, teaches in Asia Lutheran Seminaryās English-language certificate program, and is part of a team dedicated to building gospel relationships in new countries and people groups throughout Asia.
After marrying his wife, Laura, in 2018, the two spent a year together in East Asia teaching English in universities and Godās Word in homes. Steinkeās vicar year was spent in Queens, New York, where he served as a vicar to the English and Spanish speaking congregations at Sure Foundation Lutheran Church.
Justin and Laura are blessed to live in Manila, Philippines, with their two sons, Elijah and Leon.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Rev. Mark Zondag
Rev. Mark Zondag was assigned to serve the Asia Oceania Team after his graduation from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2021. Much of Zondagās mission work is standing alongside and helping the preexisting, local congregations with their mission to reach the lost in Thailand. He completed his vicar year in College Station, Tex., at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church. As the vicar, Zondag preached, taught, and worked the campus ministry associated with Texas A&M University.
Zondag and his wife Sarah have been married since 2016. They met while teaching English at a WELSā sister church in Russia. The Lord has blessed them with three children: Esther, Anastasia, and Elianna.
Download and read more biographies at wels.net/missionarybios.
Please note – Some biographies withheld due to the sensitive nature of their work
Asia Oceania mission partners
Exploratory mission work
Two missionaries from the Asia One Team, previously based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, have relocated to begin outreach based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Missionaries Matthew Doebler and Peter Janke and their families moved to Australia in summer 2024. The purpose of this relocation is two-fold ā reaching out to the native Australian population with the gospel in conjunction with two of WELSā partner churches and expanding outreach to a large Chinese population that has immigrated to the area. Members from WELSā sister church in Hong Kong who also immigrated have already started gathering family and friends around the gospel message. Both missionaries are remaining on the Asia One Team as they continue their work with contacts throughout Asia.
This comes after WELS World Missions, Asia One Team, Commission on Inter-church Relations (CICR), and Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) representatives visited Australia in December 2023 to explore outreach opportunities. They met with two independent Lutheran churches in Brisbane and Maryborough, one of which is a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), as well as members of our sister synod in Hong Kong who have immigrated to the area to discuss outreach partnerships.Ā View photos from their trip.
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Other mission partners
WELS Missions also partners with sister synods and independent churches in fellowship with WELS throughout Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. This partnership and support can come in the form of financial assistance, theological training or continuing education through the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI), visits and assistance from other World Missions representatives or missionaries, as well as the sharing of outreach ideas. A church in South KoreaĀ and another Lutheran synod in India are directly connected with our partners in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS). Visit the ELS world outreach pageĀ to learn more about that work.
Many of these mission partners are a part of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide fellowship of confessional Lutherans. To learn more about the CELC and these mission partners, visit celc.info.
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PICTURES OF ASIA OCEANIA
Browse through and share pictures of Asia Oceania taken by WELS missionaries and national workers.