SAC History

Over 40 Years of Worship, Witness and Wonder

In 1957 a few families from Shaunavon went to visit the young Alliance church in Swift Current and requested that meetings be conducted in Shaunavon. As a result of this meeting Sunday services soon began in the Legion Hall and midweek prayer meetings were held at various homes. Souls were saved & Christians were built up and services were soon moved to the Masonic Hall but that soon grew too small. On January 16th, 1964 a group of enthusiastic men and woman gathered and started excavating the present church site. On January 10th 1965, services were held in the new church building.

The Decade of Early Growth: 1957-1967
This was the decade of early expansion and growth. Rev. Earnest Regier was the first pastor from
1957-1965. In 1966 Stan Foreman pastored. Sunday morning attendance was in the 40-50 range.
Home Bible studies began as well as Boy's Brigade, and Pioneer Girls.

The Decade of the Crusade: 1967-1978
The 1970's were marked by big events; Rev. Orthner came and presented “Home Missions”. Mr. Truitt Ford of Haven of Rest was here and Dwayne Marshall did a series on Romans. The church was busy with Pioneer Girls
(now Pioneer Clubs), Boy's Brigade, Jr. Choir, AYF and the Sunshine Committee.
The Pastor's during this time were Rev. Don Sanders 1967-1971,
Rev. Harry Baldwin 1972 and Rev. Mel Dick from 1973-1978.

The Decade of Community and Committee: 1978-1990
The 1980's brought stability and change to Shaunavon Alliance.
Rev. John Knelsen left a lasting legacy on the church by ministering from 1979-1990.
John brought an increased awareness of the church's life in the community and the
importance of such influential training seminars as SEAN. There was also an increased
growth in the number of standing committees during this time. In 1984 there were 11 standing committees.

The Decade of the Family: 1990-2000
After 10 years of leadership Rev. John Knelsen left to minister in British Columbia and
new leadership brought a change in church life. The 90's were marked by a decrease
in official organizations and programs. We no longer had Awana, SEAN or the Church
Expansion Committee. In their place was an increase in family focused events.
Where at one time the church was seen as the center of family activity it became
a supporting partner in family life. Rev. Art Quist pastored from 1990-1993
bringing with him his organizational skills and a desire to continue ministry in
the community.
In 1994 Rev. Dan Esau began his ministry with a focus on family and youth ministry.

The Decade of A Renewed Vision: 2000-Present
The beginning of the 21 century for Shaunavon Alliance has a brought about a
renewal of a personal relationship with Christ and the community. As people have grown in
their inner walk with Christ they have taken that message outward to the community.
It has also been during this time that a 2nd staff person was hired to meet the growing
demands of our youth ministry, Associate Pastor Mark Breens ministred from April 1st 2003- December 31st, 2005.
In August of 2006, Pastor Jeremy and Jenna Zacharias joined us as we continued our service to the youth of Shaunavon.