Cordeiro was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. His childhood years were spent mostly in Hawaii and Japan, but by the time he reached high school he was living with his father in the mountain community of Trail north of Medford, Oregon.

A self-described hippie who played guitar in a band, smoked dope and drank too much, Cordeiro drifted to Portland and began attending classes at Mount Hood Community College.

In 1970, he attended a Campus Crusade music concert, where according to Cordeiro, "They talked about Jesus Christ - and not as a swear word. Something clicked in my heart. I said, 'I want to check this out.' And so I did, and my life began to change.'"

Cordeiro graduated from Eugene Bible College in Oregon, an affiliated member and official college of the Open Bible Standard Churches. He received an honorary doctorate degree from his church, in the Foursquare denomination, although he regularly introduces himself as Dr. Cordeiro.

While at Eugene Bible College, Cordeiro met Anna, and the two were married in 1974. He spent seven years with Youth for Christ and three years as High School Pastor at Eugene Faith Center, a Foursquare church in Eugene, Oregon.

In 1984, Cordeiro and Anna moved to Hilo with their two children, Amy and Aaron. Their third child, Abigail was adopted a few years later. The thirty-one year old Cordeiro pastored a congregation of 35 people at New Hope Hilo. By 1991, the congregation size was nearly 2,000 in attendance. Cordeiro led the building of their church facility on a lot that hosts a gymnasium and softball fields.

In 1995, New Hope Christian Fellowship expanded its reach as Cordeiro and his wife relocated to Honolulu to begin again. They began at Stevenson Middle School, and within five months, New Hope had grown to over 1500. By 2008, their weekly attendance had reached over 14,500 with nine satellite campuses and over 53,000 having made first time decisions to become Christians. They had also planted ten other New Hope churches on Oahu that are stand alone campuses. Cordeiro helped plant over 102 churches in the Pacific Rim and beyond, including Hawaii, Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, Montana, the Philippines, Japan, Myanmar and Australia. He oversees the campuses in Hawaii with video downloads. There are nine campuses that receive video feeds from the weekend services broadcast from Farrington High School. He is also the director of New Hope International, the leadership training and church planting arm of New Hope.

In October 2008, Cordeiro underwent cardiac surgery at Stanford University Medical Center after he had been experiencing chest pains and preliminary tests showed significant blockage in his heart. During the procedure, the surgeon was able to use stents to free up the blockages, avoiding bypass surgery. This was done by using a combination of video and live speaking during the services.

In 2009, Wayne became the chancellor of a consortium of schools, including Pacific Rim Christian College and Eugene Bible College in Eugene, Oregon. Since then, Wayne has assumed the role of Presidency at Eugene Bible College.

Cordeiro and his wife Anna have 3 children (Amy, Aaron and Abigail) and 4 grandchildren, Katie, Zachary, Elliana, and Evan James. His son Aaron, pastors the Hawaii Kai campus south of Honolulu. He and Anna reside in Honolulu, Hawaii but spend time on their family farm in Eugene, Oregon.