History of the Maple Creek Family Church (2020, formerly Assembly of God Church)
The roots of this church go back to August of 1968 in the Hamlet of Hatton. Services were held in the schoolhouse. Later a church building was moved in from Irvine, Alberta. The resident Pastor at that time was Norman Labrentz and his wife Phyllis and family. Other Pastors serving the church during that period of time when the church was at Hatton drove in from First Assembly Church at Medicine Hat, Alberta. On August 19, 1973 the last church service was held at Hatton, Saskatchewan.
There was a transition from the Hatton church to Maple Creek and the first service held at Maple Creek was on Sunday, August 26, 1973 in the Elks Hall. Pastor John Dobroski and his wife Marylin and family served the congregation. The Elks Hall was rented for these services while a new duplex building was under construction off Myers Crescent. The first service held in this new building was February 17, 1974 with the dedication service held June 2, 1974. Rev. Schindle from Central Pentecostal College, Saskatoon, was the speaker and the District Superintendent James Tyler also of Saskatoon was present to make the dedication. Pastor Dobroski’s term of service ended in June of 1975.
Pastor Brian Hall and his wife Carol and family served the congregation from December 1975 to October 1979. Rev. Randy Nolan and his wife Gwen became our pastor on February 3, 1980 and served the congregation till June 1985.
Plans for building a new church started in 1981, a sod turning ceremony to build the present day church on the corner of 5th Avenue and Jasper Street was held on Sunday, July 24, 1983 and Saskatchewan District Superintendent James Tyler was present for this occasion. Construction got underway in September of 1983 and was completed in 1984. Much of the construction labor was donated by members of the congregation under the supervision of Paul Slemming.
The fist service held in this new building was on May 6, 1984 with Rev. Randy Nolan as the Pastor. As church building coordinator through this period of time, Rev. Nolan deserves honorable mention and praise for his leadership and a job well done. Saskatchewan District Superintendent Paul Hawkes was present for the dedication on September 2, 1984 along with a full house for this grand occasion.
Rev. Jim Guskjolen and his wife Colleen served the congregation from October 1985 to April 1989.
A mortgage reduction program that was started in 1985 made a big difference in the time it took for the building to be paid for. On Sunday, October 7, 1990 a mortgage burning service was held with Saskatchewan District Superintendent Calvin King in charge. Former Pastors present were Rev. Randy Nolan, his wife Gwen and family, Rev. James Guskjolen, his wife colleen and son Joshua.
Rev. Rick Mann, his wife Kathy and family served the congregation from July 1989 to June 1996.
A local couple, Hans and Janet Martens, had the call of God upon their lives and as of August 1, 1996, Hans became our Pastor with his wife, Janet and two children, Paul and Janelle. The Lord’s blessing has been upon their ministry, therefore the congregation has grown both spiritually and in numbers. In 2008 their son Paul was brought on staff as the Assistant Pastor. An addition was built on the church 2009-2010 effectively doubling the size of the church. The new mortgage was paid off in 2015. In 2021 Pastor Hans and Janet celebrated 25 years of ministry in our church. As they retire from leadership over the body, we welcome Paul & wife Jill Martens as our new Lead Pastor.