(25 January 1846-January 1933). David Dyck was an elder and a pioneer leader of the Mennonite Brethren (MB) Church. Born at Chortitza, South Russia, 25 January 1846, his educational opportunities were limited; yet he procured a remarkably wide range of knowledge through independent study. In September 1867 he married Helena Rempel, and to them 15 children were born. In the spring of 1873 he was converted and joined the MB Church. He immediately had a strong desire to enter Christian service and became active distributing tracts of religious information.

In 1876 he immigrated to North America, arriving in Marion County, KS. In 1877 he went to the new Mennonite Brethren settlement of Woodson County, KS, where he lived for seven years. Here he was soon elected minister and a little later elder of the church. He attended Rochester Theological Seminary for a short time. In 1884 he took charge of the church at Lehigh, KS, where he ministered six years, and was ordained elder in 1890. In 1892 he went to Kirk, CO, where he served as elder of the MB Church for three years.

When the Mennonite Brethren Church began to develop in Manitoba, the conference appointed Dyck to take charge of the work at Winkler. During his ministry of eleven years a strong congregation developed. As new settlements were made in Saskatchewan, Dyck moved there and continued a very active ministry in the churches of Borden, Bruderfeld, and Waldheim. He was also much interested in mission work in the Russian settlements of that vicinity, helping at the stations Petrofka and Eagle Creek.

David Dyck was a very active worker and leader of the MB Conference. The early yearbooks mention him 17 times as engaged in itinerant evangelism. For many years he served on the Board of Foreign Missions. He was the first moderator of the Canadian District Conference and filled this office for 13 years. After a fruitful ministry of 53 years, he died at Waldheim, SK, on 6 January 1933, and was buried at the Bruderfeld cemetery.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 114. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

To cite this page: