Like a tree planted by a life-giving stream, North Star Mennonite Church is rooted and growing in God’s saving grace, ongoing healing, and everlasting hope through Jesus Christ.  We commit ourselves to living a Christ-centered faith that shapes who we are.

North Star Mennonite Church is part of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan and Mennonite Church Canada.

History

In the years when this church was first organized, in the dark winter nights on unmarked trails, traveling by horse and wagon or sleigh, it was quite common for the traveler to get their directions from the North Star. They thought “If only the church could be a guide for one on their spiritual life as the North Star was for the traveler.” Out of this was born the name North Star Mennonite Church.

In 1906 newly arrived Mennonite settlers, who had arrived from Kansas and Nebraska looking for new land to build a home and community, wrote up the first church constitution of North Star Mennonite Church. The church consisted of 20 charter members, plus their wives and children. The first North Star Church building was built a year later a few miles from town on Kansas road, where the North Star cemetery remains. In May of 1956 the 50th anniversary of the congregation was celebrated with the dedication of the new building in the village of Drake and the closing of the country building.

The church continued to evolve and change over the decades, switching to English, hiring a pastor, giving membership to women, adding boys and girls clubs, and youth programming. To this day it continue to strive to be faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit as it seeks to be faithful to following the ways of Jesus.

For more historical information see The Anabaptist Mennonite Online Encyclopedia: https://gameo.org/index.php?title=North_Star_Mennonite_Church_(Drake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)

Our People…

Pastor: Lisa Martens Bartel

Administration: Mary Jean Nicholson

Treasurer: Joyce Laskowski

Church Chair: Peter Nicholson

Plus many committee members, worship leaders, and many more volunteers…

Our Leaders:

• Rev. John Gerbrandt 1906-1926
• Rev. Henry H. Bartel 1907-1939
• Rev. Jacob Gerbrandt 1939-1944
• Rev. Paul Schroeder 1944-1964
• Rev. Bernie Retzlaff 1964-1967
• Rev. Henry D. Penner 1967-1970
• Rev. Henry H. Funk 1970-1985
• Rev. Herman Wiebe 1986-1998
• Tracy Brown (Youth Pastor) 1995-1999
• Rev. Ken Quiring 1998-2005
• Rev. Harold Peters Fransen 2005-2006
• Audrey Mierau Betchel 2006-2007
• Rev. Emily Toews 2007-2015
• Rev. Dan Graber 2016-Oct. 2022
• Lisa Martens Bartel Nov. 2022-Current