Rev. Tara Bush reads a lesson to children at the Sonshine Club at Ethan UMC.

For Rev. Tara Bush, who serves at Ethan UMC, discerning a call to ministry happened not in a flash, but over decades of wrestling with God. When she finally stopped to answer that call, however, things came together very quickly.

“For me, clear back in high school I felt God’s calling,” she said. “But my family moved, and life took me in a lot of different directions. Over time, I just I felt like I was too broken. There was no way that God could use me.”

It was in those broken spaces of family struggles and a cancer diagnosis, however, that God’s call again resurfaced. Her pastors at Plankinton UMC, Randy Hedge and Rodney Knock, made room for her to be in ministry within her church. As her participation in lay ministry deepened, she realized that she wanted her name to be added to those considering ordained ministry.

"Through cancer and counseling, God told me to slow down and focus on what he actually called me to do,” she said. “That was more than just filling my days with extreme busy-ness.”

One step along that journey was participating in one of last year’s Discernment Retreat sessions, held in both Mitchell and in Spearfish. Revs. Scott McKirdy, Connie Eichinger, Steve Trefz, and Taryn Ragels provided leadership for the events, designed to equip and inspire those exploring a call to pastoral or lay ministry.

For Tara, the Discernment Retreat helped her explore questions related to ministry and to see where she might best fit.

“I always refer back to the idea that God doesn’t call the equipped, but equips the called,” she said. “I think there are examples all through the Bible of God using people who didn’t think they were worthy. So if there’s anything in you that senses a call, you should go explore it.”

The next Discernment Retreat will be March 25 and April 29, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Central Time. Participants are welcome to join in-person at the Conference office in Mitchell, South Dakota, or via Zoom. This is a Lay Servant Ministry Basic Course designed to explore spiritual gifts, servant leadership, how to develop future leaders, the importance of consistent spiritual practices, and other leadership topics. Get more information and register. 

Whether the path leads to more effective lay involvement or opens a door to pastoral ministry, Tara believes that the people in an individual’s faith community are essential for understanding God’s call.

“Listen to those in your church family,” she said. “Because sometimes they can see gifts that you don’t see.”