Rev. Taryn Ragels leading worship at Mitchell Fusion church in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Some laypersons are called to ministry suddenly and unexpectantly. Some of us are called during long discernment and wrestling with God. Some of us might not realize that we are even in ministry, though we minister daily. Whatever way it happens, taking a bold or natural step to deepen our ministry helps to heal this broken world of ours.

Rev. Taryn Ragels, serving Mitchell Fusion church, has been working into her calling for over a decade, though she’s seldom aware of the next step in her ministry journey. Although she’s most comfortable planning things out in detail, well in advance, she’s found peace with God’s still, calm voice, leading her on in ministry.

Growing up in a youth group in Mitchell, South Dakota, Taryn enjoyed the fellowship and making music. She said, “Youth group was a huge part of my faith story, where I came to know the love God had for me.” The idea of ministry, however, wasn’t in her mind until her youth pastor told her she was being called to ministry. The thought didn’t leave entirely, but it wasn’t part of her plan at the time. While she loved actively participating youth group and church, she didn’t feel a pull into ministry until a few years later, on a mission trip clear across the country.

Rev. Taryn Ragels and husband, Adam, making a goofy photo at the DakYouth19 photo booth. File photo by Dakotas Conference Communications.

After transferring to SDSU for her sophomore year of college, Taryn became involved in a vibrant local church, and began feeling that familiar tug again, wondering if it was for real this time. Soon, she wound up on a spring break mission trip with 25 other youth in inner-city New York. Her group was serving in a small local church, but they were feeding an amazing 200 people per night. She saw the needs of hungry people, and the love that her group and the people of that small church were sharing. The experience was awe-inspiring, and somehow, fit right into a path that seemed impossible to ignore.

“It felt like my faith had been growing and growing, and on the mission trip it all came together,” Ragels recalled. “As I was listening to the leader, I felt God telling me, ‘Yes, this is what you need to do.’”

Still unsure of what this powerful experience meant, and in what concrete way she should respond, she sought advice from a former mentor. She called her former youth pastor, back in Mitchell, South Dakota, for some assurance. He simply said, “Just say ‘Yes’ to it.”

“I came home from that trip and immediately looked for ways to get involved,” Taryn recalls. “I was studying to be a teacher, but God made it pretty clear that pastoral ministry is the way I needed to be going.” Taryn became more involved with the youth group at her local church in Brookings, and continued to hear God’s call in ways that were still surprising. All this seemed to be competing with her well-laid plans to become a teacher, a future she had carefully chosen.

She remembers another God-moment while helping with the youth group at church. “There was a girl in the group who struggled, feeling un-loved by God. She would never sing, but on this night, she began singing. It was an amazing thing for me to witness, as we were singing Broken Vessels.  “I was thinking, ‘I hope I get to do this for the rest of my life,‘” said Taryn.

“After interning at that church for a summer, seeing the variety of different types of ministry,” Taryn said, “I was praying for God to tell me what to do, and I had a revelation.” That led to her boldly taking the next step, and in April of her junior year, she changed majors from education to Human Development and Family Studies, and cemented her path to ministry. Of course, a major change in your life's roadmap deserves a call to the parents. Taryn also vividly remembered, “I called my parents, and said, ‘I’m going into ministry,’ and they said, ‘You mean preaching?’ They were shocked that their child would be a pastor. They knew I had no interest in preaching, but now that has developed, and I actually do enjoy it.”

After graduation, Taryn was hired by her church as a ministry assistant, began studying at Wesley Seminary, in Indiana, and had settled into knowing a little bit about her future path. Then, she got a text message from Rev. Steve Trefz, inviting her to ‘chat.’ He said, “I’m going to be the pastor at Mitchell Fusion, and I think we should talk.” They were already familiar with Steve and agreed to meet. As most of us do, Taryn (together with her husband, Adam) was going to be courteous with Steve but make it clear to him that they had ‘no plans to move to Mitchell’ or change denominations.

Rev. Taryn Ragels

Taryn and Adam emerged from Café Theresa two hours later and said to each other, “I guess we might be moving to Mitchell.” She was hired as a pastor shortly thereafter, and both were welcomed into ministry by Pastor Steve and the congregation at Mitchell Fusion church (which meets in the Sherman Center on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University).

Since that pre-pandemic day almost five years ago, Rev. Ragels has moved to Mitchell, graduated seminary, changed denominations (which wasn’t easy, she said), become licensed, and been appointed. All that was certainly not part of her plan, she says, but obviously God’s plan. “I remember God telling me clearly, I’m being called to Fusion, we’ll just figure out the denominational stuff later,” she said.

Going forward, Pastor Taryn has a deep appreciation for not blindly following her own plans, but to keep herself open to God’s call. She is a self-avowed planner, most comfortable knowing what’s happening 20 steps ahead, so every time she “gets a bit antsy” about the path she’s on, she tries to find it and embrace it. She’s recently discovered a love of mentoring and is looking forward to opportunities to work with faculty mentoring. Youth ministry and college ministry are also on the horizon for her as she settles into the next phase of her life in ministry, “exploring ways God has created me to be a pastor.”

Bishop Laurie Haller, left, appoints Rev. Taryn Ragels to Mitchell Fusion church at the Dakotas Annual Conference 2021, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Photo by jlynnstudios.

In closing, Pastor Taryn added a word of encouragement for anyone wondering how and what the next step in their faith journey will be. She will be co-leading the next Ministry Discernment Retreat in Mitchell, and shared, “The two biggest themes in my call have been 1.) being open to saying ‘Yes’ to God, and 2.) finding ‘What am I called to right now?’ For people who are discerning, you don’t have to have your call solidified, that’s what this discernment retreat is about.”

Are you wondering how God is calling you? Then, attend the Discernment Retreat on March 26, and April 30, 2022, at the Dakotas Conference Office in Mitchell, South Dakota, or on Zoom. The Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course is a foundational course designed to equip new church leaders and renew current leaders in The United Methodist Church. It explores: personal spiritual gifts, servant leadership, each leader's role in developing future leaders, the importance of consistent spiritual practices, the core ministries of leading, caring, and communicating, and much more. See the details here.