Who are the Penners?

Derek moved to Saskatoon, SK from Steinbach, MB where he attended Bible School and completed his Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies. He is currently halfway through a Masters of Ministry degree from St. Stephens University. He started leading worship with his family in their local church, and has since been part of traveling music teams touring across Canada and Germany, city-wide worship events, and international church conferences.

Julia has lived in Saskatoon, SK most of her adult life, moving here in 2012 to record her first of 3 albums “A Place to Call My Own.” Mother of two young girls, she works from home in ministry and has been leading worship across western Canada and beyond for over two decades.

They first met in 2010, serving in camp ministry together; their lives moved in different directions, and they each got married to different people, but never stopped cheering one another on from a distance.

This was the beginning of the most painful years of their lives, that tested their faith to its limits. Derek experienced the sorrow and helplessness of walking with his spouse through the dark valley of mental health struggles, only for her to decide that staying together wasn’t worth it anymore; he has felt the sting and shame of a partner’s infidelity, and the angry confusion at broken promises and hurtful secrets coming to light. For years, Julia suffered marital abuse in silence; she shouldered the challenges of raising a child with physical disabilities, and carried the weight of grief from losing her father too soon. In the wake of all this pain, she faced the hardest decision she has ever made: stepping into the unknown as a single mother, knowing that she would lose friends and family in the process.

Both Derek and Julia have gone through loss and betrayal, known the heartache of broken family relationships, and have spent sleepless nights wrestling with hard questions that have no easy answers in sight …but through it all, they never let go of Jesus Christ. He is truly the Good Shepherd who comforts and restores our souls, the Carpenter who can fix everything that’s been broken, the Redeemer who reshapes our shattered stories into something beautiful!

Married in January of 2023, Julia and Derek are passionate about sharing the message of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and restoration. Their hearts’ desire is to lead others into His presence through prayer and worship while sharing vulnerably about their journey thus far, opening the door for those meaningful conversations that are often so difficult to have. These topics are messy, complex, and can seem hopeless… but there is hope. There is healing. There is freedom.

Your voice is worth hearing.
Your struggles matter.
You aren’t alone in this.
Jesus loves you with a beautiful, unconditional, fierce love.
No matter what you’re walking through.