The Bartsches minister in the Kobe/Osaka area. They lead a new online house church. Mark is a full-time chaplain, teacher and assistant football coach at a Christian junior and senior high school in Kobe. Stephanie teaches pre-school aged children and mentors their mothers. She also teaches dance at a university. Starting in April, she will be teaching in the International Studies department of the university.
Stephanie (who grew up in Japan) enjoys serving as a “pastor on the street” as she walks the neighborhood, accompanied by Benji (their toy poodle). Stephanie and Mark have two grown sons: Jonathan, who recently married in Toledo, Ohio, and Isaiah, who is an international pre-school teacher in Osaka, Japan.