Russell

Russell DeGraaf is the pastor of Boreal Baptist Church. He was a tree planter and crew leader in tree planting for 11 years. During his time there, he began to lead Bible studies in the bush camps and God worked through those Bible studies. Some tree planters even came to saving faith. This helped Russell to discern a call to ministry and a unique equipping for remote areas in the woods of Northern Canada.

After receiving his Master of Divinity from Toronto Baptist Seminary, Russell became a church planting apprentice with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Church of Canada (FEB for short) to discern how God could use him in Northern Canada. During this time, Russell met his wife Hannah, who God had similarly prepared for rugged settings through her parents being missionaries in Mongolia. They were married and started Boreal Baptist Church later that same year in Manitouwadge.