Mark Janke

I was raised in rural Wisconsin on a dairy farm, where I grew to love the outdoors and not love winter. I learned the gospel through a Bible study in Romans and called out to Christ for salvation when I was 17. I have a B.S. in elementary education from the UW-Eau Claire (where Brenda and I met), an M.Div. from Bethel Seminary (where Kate was born and where I met Dr. John Sailhamer who taught me how to read the Bible), and a Th.M. in Old Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (where Kyle was born and more Sailhamer for me).

After graduation from T.E.D.S., Brenda and I considered missions in Germany and began raising support with Greater Europe Mission. At this time, we also became members of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. By God’s grace, I was able to be in Bethlehem’s apprenticeship program from 1986-88. Through various circumstances, the door to missions closed. Through John Piper’s example and teaching, a vision for pastoral ministry opened and in 1988, I accepted a call to pastor Faith Baptist Church in Luck, Wisconsin. After a 13 year ministry there, I was called to Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville as an associate pastor. From Clifton, I helped lead out Clifton’s first recent daughter church and Grace Church Louisville was born in the spring of 2007.

Brenda and I have been married since 1979. We have two children, Kate and Kyle, and one daughter-in-law, Vanessa. We are so grateful to God for our children, for Grace Church, and for Highlands Latin School where Brenda thoroughly enjoys teaching 3^rd grade.

We long for Grace Church to be a place where disciple-making disciples experience the riches of God’s grace and that grace spreading to more and more people causes the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 December 2009 12:18 pm )