Pastor Michelle Brennan leading a portion of the 2019 Celebration of Life in Ministry at the Dakotas Annual Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota.

“In ministry, we tend to get focused on immediate results. It is important to remember that I am planting seeds for someone else to harvest later,” said Rev. Michelle Brennan, who retired as a deacon on December 31, 2021. “During my ministry, I have been harvesting someone else’s planting.”

Her ministry journey has connected people to quality experiences that enhance their relationship with Jesus. Pastor Michelle is quick to point out that ministry is not about quantity.

“You can focus and get discouraged by numbers. Quality is important and not quantity,” said Pastor Michelle. “Every person’s ministry is a new start, a new hope that someone will be connected to Jesus. It does not matter what the person before you did. It matters what you do and the seeds that you will plant.”

Michelle Brennan grew up on a farm near Wishek, North Dakota. “My family was always active in the church. Growing up on a family farm, we attended a Lutheran country church close by the farm. As I got to confirmation age, I was the only student. So, we went to the big church in town,” said Michelle. “Church was a big part of our family and my life.”

After high school, Pastor Michelle headed to Minot State University and earned a degree in accounting. She married and started attending the church where her in-laws were involved, Vincent United Methodist Church in Minot, North Dakota.

At Vincent UMC, she began teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and youth group. It was during that time she felt the tug of God’s call.

She described what happened next. “I was in the Discipleship Bible study, I thought, ‘seriously, could God be talking to me?’”

Rev. Darrell Church, who was serving at Vincent UMC, encouraged Michelle, and she found herself contemplating ordained ministry. She knew that itinerancy would be a challenge with personal and family commitments.

Pastor Michelle Brennan assisting Bishop Ough during the ordination service at the 2015 Dakotas Annual Conference in Fargo, North Dakota.

“I worked as an accountant and tax preparer, not tax collector, at H&R Block. People around me, like Pastor Darrell, were encouraging me to think about ordained ministry,” said Brennan. “I felt most called to serve in Christian education. I knew with family and other things that I could not be itinerant. I looked at the deacon track, and it fit.”

Pastor Michelle started a hybrid program at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. The program involved some independent study and intensive, short-term coursework on campus. “The program was timely and fit my needs,” she said. However, she completed her degree in Deacon Studies at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and was ordained a deacon.

While working on her degree, she was hired at Vincent UMC as the Christian Education Director. Some of the highlights of her ministry at Vincent include the youth group activities, which were a joint venture with Minot Faith UMC, and Pastor Mary Ann Sheldon.

“We had a great youth group at Vincent UMC,” said Pastor Michelle. “It was so rewarding to see youth grow in their faith. The pastors supported me at Vincent– Pastor Darrell and Pastor Bill Bates.”

Another highlight during her ministry at Minot was working with Pastor Kathy Hammond and Bob and Ada Lower to develop a summer experience for elementary kids called Under God’s Canopy. About seven local churches joined in with the ministry which grew to serve a neighborhood with some economic challenges.

“Under God’s Canopy was a summer experience which was held once a week for about six weeks. We would gather kids who lived in the Jefferson neighborhood for a meal, lesson, games, and crafts. It grew into a popular ministry in Minot, supported by several churches, with a summer experience and providing school kits and winter coats,” said Pastor Michelle.

Pastor Michelle was also involved in the Lay Speaking Academy hosted at Vincent UMC each year. In the spring of the year, several lay speaking courses were facilitated over a weekend. The academy provided an opportunity for certification or re-certification as a lay speaker.

Pastor Michelle Brennan.

“Vincent encouraged several people to become lay speakers. That led to some people becoming pastors like me– Kathy Hammond, Geoff Hilton, and Lou Whitmer,” said Pastor Michelle.

She also connected with ministry experiences through the Walk to Emmaus and United Methodist Women while at Vincent. Michelle is quick to credit Rev. Mary Sheldon for guiding her in those ministry opportunities and many others.

After serving 15 years at Vincent UMC in Minot, Pastor Michelle headed to First UMC in Jamestown to serve as family ministry pastor. While there, she was instrumental in starting Solid Foundations Daycare, and Axis, a middle school program.

Brennan and several other leaders at Jamestown First United Methodist Church in North Dakota found new ways to minister to the community. A group at the church has remodeled and opened its space for a childcare center— Solid Foundations Growing Center (SFGC). Read more

She was instrumental in creating Axis, an afterschool program for middle school students. “It was a natural fit for us because the middle school is right across the street from First UMC. It is framed around the idea that Jesus is the Axis on which we turn,” said Pastor Michelle. “Kids had a snack, Bible lesson, and free time to socialize. It was a great way to connect with those that didn’t have a church. It was cool to see that your popularity or group you fit with at middle school didn’t matter when you came to Axis. We are all the same.”

Michelle is entering retirement after 28 years in active ministry. But that does not mean that her call to ministry is complete. She plans to write a Bible study curriculum, serve as the co-dean at Mission u for United Women in Faith (formerly UMW), and provide pulpit supply when requested.

“Just because I am retired doesn’t mean ministry stops,” she said. “I still plan to do the fun stuff!”