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Between 1890 and the early part of 1900, thousands of Germans immigrated to Canada, homesteading on the prairies. In 1904, a group of new immigrants from Russia, Austria and Germany settled on homesteads 15 miles north of Killaly, Saskatchewan. Several denominations attempted to serve these settlers spiritually. Finally, in June of 1906, Rev. Carl Pohlmann from Lemberg, Saskatchewan, led 33 families in worship on the farm of Henry Schmidt. Pastor Pohlmann helped these immigrants organize "St. Paul’s congregation of Bethanien". Bethanien was the name of the settlement which later became Melville. According to information found in a booklet commemorating the 40^th anniversary of the church, the founding members of the church were Jack Niebergall, Henry Schmidt, August Weger, Jacob Mann and John Steffen. The charter was signed by the following: August Weger, Adam Hauser, Philip Bieber, John Wolf, Anton Bieber, Philip Steffen, Daniel Hoehn, Valentin Kühlbach, Karl Walter, John Busch, Karl Weber, Jacob Weber, Heinrich Schmidt, Friedrich Niebergall, Michael Mann, Jacob Niebergall, Heinrich Harth, Anton Luks, Georg Kühlbach, Philip Kühlbach, Jacob Popp, Julius Karius, Heinrich Müeller, Philip Besler, Jacob Hoehn, Philip Steffen Jr., Johann Steffen, Anton Nunweiler, Jacob Zorn, John Mann, Konrad Rittaller, Heinrich Hoehn and Konrad Hoehn for a membership of 33 families. A call was sent to Rev. Arnold Fricke, a student of theology at St. Paul, Minnesota, who became the first pastor to serve St. Paul’s Church of Bethanien. Pastor Fricke had arrived in Canada in the spring of 1906 to assist in a fast-growing congregation in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was so impressed with Canada and pioneer life here that when he received the call to be pastor of this newly-organized congregation, he gladly accepted. During the first three years here, Pastor Fricke lived with parishioners Henry Schmidt, Jacob Popp, John Stephen and Heinrich Miller, sharing a bedroom with family members. He conducted his first service for the congregation in the German language on November 11, 1906, in the home of Henry Schmidt three miles northeast of what we now know as the city of Melville. Pastor Pohlmann installed Pastor Fricke as the first called pastor of St. Paul’s on December 30, 1906. A constitution affiliating the congregation with the Ohio Synod was accepted March 3, 1907, so we now recognize this as the official date of the organized congregation. During this same year, a Grand Trunk Railway official paid Pastor Fricke a visit and handed him a deed for land on which to build a church. Imagine the feeling of these 33 families - the congregation was overjoyed! As soon as the spring farm work was completed, the planning and building began. The members volunteered their labour to build the church. The lumber from Neudorf and other materials were hauled by horse-drawn wagon and cart, and even on the backs of the members themselves. The cornerstone was laid on October 27, and the building was dedicated December 29, the last Sunday of 1907, by Pastors P. Kohlmeier from Winnipeg and C. Pohlmann from Lemberg. It was the first church building erected in this small community, population 65, established a year later as the town of Melville.

The weekend of August 4 and 5, 2007, St. Paul’s celebrated 100 years of serving God in the community of Melville. The celebrations began with a float in the town’s parade the morning of the 4^th, followed by registration and fellowship at the church in the afternoon. That evening, St. Paul’s choir and friends presented the cantata, "Love Grows Here", the theme of the 100^th anniversary. The festivities continued on Sunday, beginning with worship in the morning, followed by a banquet and program. The afternoon came to a close with the cutting of the cake.