Rev. Laura Sherman

"I always tell people it's been equally overwhelming and joyful," said Rev. Laura Sherman as she described her first months of serving as a pastor in the Dakotas Conference. Pastor Laura was one of the clergy commissioned as an elder at this year's annual conference. She currently serves as the pastor of the United Methodist Church in Dell Rapids, South Dakota.

"It is a new thing and so there's so much to learn and so much that you don't know," she explained. "But there's such a deep joy in knowing I am doing the thing that God has called me to do."

It is this anchoring in her call and God's work in her life that fuels Pastor Laura's commitment to ministry.

"I just think a lot about both, like the incredible faithfulness of God and also all the people that he has brought into my life that have supported me along the way," said Laura.

Growing up in Nebraska, it was at church camp in middle school where the seeds of her call to ministry began to be planted.  

"So many counselors that I had at camp over the years just poured into me in these little ways, it made me fall in love with camp and made me fall in love with God," explained Pastor Laura.

It was also at camp that she began to sense a call to youth ministry. She attributes the support and openness of her parents as being integral to pursuing that calling.

"When I said, 'I think youth ministry is what I want to do,' they said, 'Sure! How do we do that?'" she recalled.

Pastor Laura (right) pictured with Southern Hills UMC youth.

The first answer to that question would come through attending the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota. Once again, God's faithfulness was evident through the people she encountered.

"I found mentors at USF like Brian and Julie [Gregg] who just poured into me so much at a time when you are a mess about who you are and how to do this thing and a lot of questions about identity and ministry," said Pastor Laura.

It was during college that she also encountered The United Methodist Church when she was hired to be a youth ministry intern at Southern Hills UMC in Sioux Falls. "Southern Hills was a church that welcomed me and let me try and do all the things," said Pastor Laura. "They led me into The United Methodist Church, and they are a community that I will always hold very dear to my heart."

This season would not be without challenges, however. Experiencing the COVID-19 global pandemic during her college years also shaped her journey. "That became a time of questioning and doubt in my faith," she shared. "Yet God just continually called me deeper."

"What I have found to be so true about this conference is that people are so welcoming and supportive, and that is sometimes a rarity, but it has been in abundance in my life, and that is, I think, a deep grace from God," reflected Pastor Laura.

As she has lived into this call and connection, Pastor Laura has found that God's grace and faithfulness continue to be present as she discovers the aspects of pastoral ministry that bring her joy as well as those that stretch and challenge her. Sharing a story of a hospital visit and praying with a patient, she reflected on the ways she has experienced the transformative power of God in the simple acts of ministry.

"I don't even know what I prayed but just in that stillness, that silence, that being present there and praying, bringing God into that moment – it just speaks to the power of prayer and the power of being a person entrusted with this leadership role, this role of caring and loving and guiding people up," shared Pastor Laura.

Pastor Laura pictured with colleagues from Walnut Grove UMC in North Carolina.

"I think that is what continues to pull on my heart and ministry – to draw people into those spaces of encountering God, because those spaces have been most transformative in my faith. Being the person who gets to walk alongside people is just an honor and is truly a gift," she added.

Now, as she begins her ministry in Dell Rapids, she looks forward to continuing to live the holy privilege of journeying with people.

"There is a deep joy in connecting with people," shared Pastor Laura. "I think one of the coolest parts of this job is that people entrust you with their stories and share of themselves with you. To start to get to know this church and this community is a joy and a gift and something sacred."

She is also experiencing the challenging realities of being a leader in this season of the church and the world– discerning how to lead people in what it means to follow Jesus in this moment in history. As she navigates her call to speak God's truth and help people wrestle with questions of faith and discipleship, two scriptural frameworks have helped fuel her hope.

"There's this sense in scripture that we get with the death and resurrection of Jesus and also with Ezekiel and the dry bones. Part of the work of God is raising up life where we think there is none," said Pastor Laura. "And that is such a crazy hope– it's such a powerful hope, to think that no matter what we see in the world or the church right now, God's spirit has the power to do some really unexpected and wonderful things, and that is something that I always turn to."

She also finds hope in the everyday moments of life and ministry.

Leaders of Southern Hills prayer over Laura Sherman as she prepares for the next step of ministry.

"I've met so many people who are just so faithful, and they continue to show up again and again, no matter how great or good things are," said Pastor Laura. "They show up consistently, and that is just a sign of God's work on people's hearts that has nothing to do with us but has everything to do with the way that God continues to call us in the midst of uncertainty, even when we don't know what the work even is. That is pretty incredible."

"Those are the things I anchor myself in regarding the hope and the church," she added.

When asked how her Dakotas family could pray for her in this next chapter of ministry, Laura replied, "There is a quote that I heard in one of my classes that has just been sticking with me, which is to move at the speed of trust," she explained. "I think a prayer for me is to move at that speed."