What Do We Believe?
God has called us to be united together in loving each other, in seeking renewal, in introducing people to Christ, in each person enthusiastically doing their part, and in worshiping joyfully.
Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada
"The Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada (ECCC), a denomination in Canada, and a regional conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, is a community of churches in covenant with God and one another. We single-mindedly confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and the Bible as the Word of God, the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine and conduct. As a family of churches, we enjoy diversity in all other matters of faith and practice, refusing to let them divide us or detract from our common mission."
The Six Affirmations of the Covenant Faith
We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
We affirm the necessity of the new birth.
We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.
We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.
Other links can be found below.
MECC History
Immigrants from the Scandinavian countries arriving in Winnipeg during the latter part of the 1800's and the early 1900's were often contacted by "The Swedish Church" of Winnipeg MB, organized in 1885, the only Scandinavian church in Canada at the time. Communities sprang up all over Canada including one just south of Minnedosa, MB. It was originally named Smoland because many of the families came from the same province in Sweden.
In 1908 a group met in the home of John Berg under the leadership of Rev. J. E Bjorklund and the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church was formed, later known as the Smoland Mission Covenant Church, and presently Minnedosa Evangelical Covenant Church.
The first church building, Smoland Mission Covenant Church, was started October 29, 1909. In 1957, the Smoland church building burned down. In that same year, the congregation began new construction of a church building in the town of Minnedosa. In 2008, upgrades were made to the church building adding a new foyer to the front of the church building with offices, coat room and elevator.
Frost, Edward S. History of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Minnedosa, Manitoba . 1958.
MECC Leadership
Marc Vandersluys
Senior Pastor
Marc has been on staff at MECC since January 2021. He is married (to Dixie for 23+ years) and has three children, nearly all out in the world on their own. Marc has been a follower of Jesus most of his life and has been fascinated with scripture and the church for most of that time, too, but was called specifically to pastoral ministry in 2008. He was born in the Netherlands, lived his formative years in southern Saskatchewan, lived and worked in northern Saskatchewan, studied for ministry in Manitoba, and was an associate pastor in Alberta for eight years before moving to Minnedosa. He loves (black) tea, reading (theology, fiction, history, travel), walking, nature, deep conversation (especially about the Bible and theology), British crime dramas, and playing games. Marc can be reached at marcindosa AT gmail.com.
“I am compelled by Jesus. The story that is grounded in him makes sense of the world; when nothing else makes much sense, he does. I love his church, though it’s not always easy to be a part of. It’s such a mess that sometimes it's comical. Which is why it's also such a beautiful thing.”
Sean Dyck
Youth Pastor
Sean has been on staff as Youth Pastor at MECC since 2016. Sean is married (Heidi) and has a child (Jacoby). He has a long history with MECC, growing up in the church, and being involved in the community. Sean’s ministry journey grew out of involvement at Bible camp (CHBC) and through a one-year discipleship program through CMU, where he later completed a B.A. in Theology. Sean loves the outdoors (hunting, fishing, camping, fires, sports, etc. ) and walking closely with others in Christ.