Mark & Athlee Bowman

Mark and Athlee Bowman are church-planting missionaries with the Evangelical Free Church of America - International Mission in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. They have been supported by Calvary since they first left for Japan in June 1989, and last visited Calvary on February 4, 2007.

Mark was born in Dubuque, Iowa, where his father attended Wartburg Seminary. When he was two, his parents moved to Japan to be Lutheran missionaries. Mark grew up in Japan and graduated from an international high school there before returning to the US to attend Willmar College. After returning to Japan for a year of short-term church mission work, he graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls with a degree in special education and social work.

Athlee was born in Fredric,Wisconsin. Her father was a Lutheran pastor, and she grew up in several parishes, graduating from high school in Willmar, Minnesota, in 1972. She attended California Lutheran Bible School for one year, and then returned to graduate from Augustana College with a degree in special education. Mark and Athlee met in Willmar and were married while at Augustana College on May 25, 1974. In 1982 they returned to Willmar and began attending the Willmar Evangelical Free Church. They were accepted by the Evangelical Free Church Mission as career missionaries to Japan in 1984. From 1985 to 1987, they attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and after raising support, left for Japan in 1989.

After attending language school in Japan, the Bowmans first helped plant the Sendai Evangelical Free Church on the main island of Honshu from 1991 to 1993. They then assisted in planting a daughter church of the Sendai EFC in Furukawa from 1994 to 1999. In September 1999, they relocated to the northern-most Japanese island of Hokkaido to begin planting churches with a Japanese pastor, where they helped start the Sapporo EFC and Chitose EFC.

Their current ministry goal is to reproduce communities of Christians who glorify God by loving, evangelizing, disciple-making, and sending believers to do the same. They are doing this by working with college students, teaching English outreach classes, leading Bible studies in English, working with couples and families, doing sports evangelism, and working in nursing homes. They hope to open a ministry center to meet and love more people effectively, and plan to recruit a loving couple to serve at the center and coordinate short-term workers.

Mark and Athlee have three children, Sarah, David, and Aaron. Sarah and her husband, Peter, are career missionaries with WEC in St. Petersburg, Russia, and are expecting their second child in March. David works for Mesaba Airlines at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. Aaron is completing one year of humanitarian aid work in the Middle East with Frontiers and plans to marry in May. Aaron and his fiancee plan to serve as short-term missionaries for one year with Mark and Athlee in Hokkaido.

The Bowmans: (L to R)
Aaron, Peter, Sarah, David,
Athlee, and Mark

As a family, the Bowmans enjoy an annual camping trip lasting about two weeks. Now that the children are grown, they join in when they can. In the past they would travel up to Hokkaido, their favorite spot. However, now that they live on the island, they generally stay on the island. They highly recommend it as the wide open spaces, variety of scenery, and cool summers are great.

Athlee & Mark have also started enjoying natural hot springs. They say the natural hot water combined with beautiful natural surroundings make it one of the more relaxing activities one can do. Athlee enjoys reading and knitting. Mark enjoys sailing and flying (as a student pilot) and radio controlled planes in a local club.

Mark and Athlee were in the U.S. on furlough throughFebruary 28. Athlee plans to be in St. Petersburg, Russia, to be with Sarah for the birth of her second child before returning with Mark to Japan.

Their field address and contact information:

Mark and Athlee Bowman
12-5-22 Midorigaoka
Satozuka, Kiyota Ku
Sapporo, Japan 004-0805
Phone: 81-11-886-8825
thebowmans@ gmail.com
www.efcmi.org/bowman

EFCA International Mission
901 E. 78thStreet
Minneapolis, MN 55420
Phone: 1-800-745-2202
www.efca.org/international