The Vital Connection

In this episode, Rebecca Trefz has a conversation with Jeff Adel (Wheatland Parish) and Clay Lundberg (United in Faith Parish) on their experience of launching a new service for their rural communities. Gettysburg UMC and Burke UMC each launched new services and are reaching people they wouldn't have otherwise. Besides insight on launching, they share some great wisdom about worship service design.

In this episode, we have Randy Hedge who is pastor of Plankinton UMC and White Lake UMC. In 2017, Randy retired from a career in the university system in Wisconsin to become a pastor in the Dakotas. During the past two years, Randy has lead with courage and creativity to guide these two churches in a way that is healthier for everyone and has born much fruit.

This round-table discussion ranged from personal finances to the handling of giving records to fundraising to apportionments as Brandon Vetter (Bismarck Legacy), Jenny Hallenbeck Orr (Bismarck McCabe), and Randy Cross (Northeast District Superintendent) sat down with Rebecca Trefz (Director of Ministries). They share great insights to help new pastors as well as help lay folks understand the delicate position of the pastor in relation to money in the church.

It has been said that we are living in the midst of an anxiety epidemic. Dr. Doug Anderson of Sioux Falls Psychological Services has a conversation with Rebecca Trefz, Director of Ministries, about the subject of anxiety. How do you lead in an anxious time? How does a leader not get consumed by anxiety? www.dakotasumc.org

Every Monday afternoon, Jeff Pospisil, Conference Treasurer, Kyle Reinhiller, pastor at Harrisburg UMC, and Jerry Stravia, associate pastor at Mitchell Downtown First UMC, get the band together. As awesome as it would be to see these three in a rock band, we are referring to the Methodist Band Meeting. Today, they share with us their experiences in rediscovering this accountability group rooted in the beginning of the Methodist movement. What is the Methodist Band Meeting? In the early...

In this episode, Jenene Earl, pastor of Sturgis UMC, visits with Jeff Pospisil, who serves as the executive director of finance and administration for the Dakotas Conference, about a risky proposition she put before her church. Jenene felt led to tell her church that apportionments should be paid before everything, even her paycheck. A remarkable act of faith that helped the church get unstuck in the area of apportionments. The congregation moved forward boldly through the MCCI process and...

In this episode of The Vital Connection, we are joined by Pastor Katie Ricke, who serves at Zion UMC in Beresford, SD. She shares with us her journey through ministry – from her calling to becoming a church leader and the things she has learned along the way.

In this episode, Sheri Meister, executive director of the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation, discusses ideas about centering on stewardship and generosity. One of the things she noticed, after taking the position with the foundation, is how fearful many pastors are about talking with donors about money. Part of her ministry has been helping people see how relationships, money, and faith all compliment each other.

In this episode of The Vital Connection, Pastors Doug Diehl, retired clergy, and Sharla McCaskell, Rapid City Knollwood Heights UMC, discuss their roles in building each other's' callings across their lives and ministry together at Rapid City First United Methodist Church. They discuss the power of discovering the callings and spiritual gifts of others in your congregation, and how pastors and laity are called to work side by side in ministry.

In this episode, Rev. Andy Bartel, lead pastor at St. John UMC, Anchorage, Alaska, visits with Jeff Pospisil, executive director of Finance and Administration for the Dakotas Conference about pastoral transitions. Bartel, an ordained elder of the Dakotas Conference, experienced four different appointments in six years. He shares a wealth of wisdom for pastors and churches as they experience transitions.

Pastor Cory Thrall joins us on this episode of The Vital Connection to discuss the ministry he is doing in the Bismarck area. With five churches under his leadership, Cory had to find a way to balance each individual church to meet their needs. He shares some of his insights with us today.

In this episode, Jeff Pospisil, Dakotas Conference executive director of finance and administration and Tom Freier, member of Bismarck Legacy UMC, discuss mentoring in the local church. Freier and Pospisil were both part of First United Methodist Church of Bismarck which would later become Bismarck Legacy United Methodist Church. Freier invested his time in the lives of several young men of the church who have played important roles in Bismarck Legacy UMC becoming the church it is today....

In this episode of the Vital Connection, Taylor Johnson and Curtis Mittendorf, Sioux Falls First United Methodist discuss how they are discerning their call to ministry with Sheri Meister, executive director of the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation. The two candidates for ministry, share their called stories and discuss several different processes they went through while discerning their call to ministry.

In this episode of the Vital Connection, Taylor Johnson and Curtis Mittendorf, Sioux Falls First United Methodist discuss how they are discerning their call to ministry with Sheri Meister, executive director of the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation. The two candidates for ministry, share their called stories and discuss several different processes they went through while discerning their call to ministry.

In this episode of The Vital Connection, Rev.Kermit Culver, Northwest District Superintendent talks about the processes of church change and transformation. Culver was appointed Bismarck First United Methodist Church, the church had once been a very strong church. The membership dwindled by about 40 young families and struggled. Congregants told Culver they wanted to grow, but, he learned, “There is no growth without change, and there is no change without pain.” How do you go about the...

Churches across the Dakotas and beyond are always asking the questions, "How can we reach people for Christ? And, "how can we connect with people who haven't decided to walk through our doors yet?" In this 4th episode of the Vital Connection, Jason Smith, Creative Director for Embrace Church in Sioux Falls, SD, provides some insights. Smith sat down with Rebecca Trefz, Executive Director of Ministries for the Dakotas Conference, to talk about how social media can be a powerful tool in...

NOTE: We have recently changed podcast hosts. We are working to redirect subscribers, but, to avoid missing an episode, you may need to unsubscribe and re-subscribe. Sorry for the inconvenience. In episode three of The Vital Connection, the Reverend Dr. Kent Millard, president United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio and South Dakota native joins Sheri Meister, Executive Director of the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation to discuss his knowledge and the importance of generosity. He...

"Our job as a pastor is to build relationships and give people a chance to try things out. Empower them, create a space for God to work on their passions," Pastor Charlie Moore, Sioux Falls Sunnycrest UMC. In this episode Jeff Pospisil, Executive Director of Finance and Administration interviews Moore on the keys to raising up leaders within the church.

More than a century ago, E.M. Bounds, author and Methodist clergy, wrote in the Power through Prayer, "Every mighty move of the Spirit of God has had its source in the prayer chamber." Are you ready to prayer for the mighty move of the Spirit in your life, in your church and for The United Methodist Church? In this podcast, Rev. Rebecca Trefz, Dakotas Conference Executive Director of Ministries, talks with Bishop Bruce R. Ough, resident bishop, Dakotas-Minnesota Area of The United Methodist...