About Us
Grace Filled | Christ Centered
Welcoming | Growing | Sending
We are a Christian congregation in Kobe, Japan, which is international in every sense of the word.
From our beginnings in the 1870s, we have been the church home for people from many different countries of the world, and from many different Christian traditions. We are also the church home for many Japanese. Central to the church's life is worship, which tries to capture the breadth and depth of our cultural and liturgical traditions. We will provide you with the stimulating experience of worshipping and serving our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of great diversity.
Our History
Kobe Union is the oldest continuing serving Protestant Church in Japan. It started with a small international group of two Americans, two Germans, three Brits, and one Dutch citizen in April 1871. They were given an area of land in the “concession” (as the foreign settlement was called), close to the present Daimaru department store. The building was completed in July 1872 at a cost of US $4,121.
At first, the church was considered the home church for missionaries living as far away as Hokkaido and Kyushu. In 1903, Kobe Union Church adopted the name it still carries today and became a self-sustaining, international, interdenominational congregation worshipping in the English language. Our sister German-speaking congregation, der Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Kobe-Osaka (EKK) has shared the building from the beginning, as it still does today.
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You can also check the KUC history in their website by clicking HERE.
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In 1927, the church found itself in the middle of its increasingly busy (and noisy) Motomachi location. This site was sold in 1928, and a new building was erected on land in Ikuta-cho. The third move, in September 1992, took the congregation high above the city to Nagaminedai in Nada-ku, where it stands today.
Meet The Team
KUC Leadership
KUC leaders are selected by its members. All are encouraged to serve with their God given talents and gifts. We understand and recognize that the church is where we come to grow so that we may be sent out into all the world, making disciples and effecting culture wherever we may go!
KUC Council
Pastoral Office
KUC Pastor
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Rev. Mark Bartsch
Officers
Moderator
Vice Moderator
Treasurer
Secretary
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Devin Stagg
Vacant
Ted Kitchen
Mary Zhao
Members at Large
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Shirley Watanabe
Roy Mislang
Kok-Mun Liew
Takayo Kawabe
Ministry Leaders
Christian Education and Nurture
Evangelism and Discipleship
Fellowship
Finance and Property
Global Missions
Worship
Youth
Women's
Yasushi Miyazaki
Roy Mislang
Masami Morikawa
Kok-Mun Liew
Michael Shackleton
Sheryl Westhaeuser
Ayami Kawabe
Vacant