Rev. Dan Freed

“My grandfather was a pastor, and when I was in second grade I went and visited him for the summer. What I discovered in him was quite possibly the kindest man I'd ever known. I just thought, man I'd like to be like him someday,” said Rev. Dan Freed, one of the Dakotas Conference elders who is retiring at this year's annual conference. 

Freed grew up in Laramie, Wyoming, with his parents and five older siblings. The family faithfully attended church at a small Baptist church. Freed’s mother was a pastor's kid, and his father attended seminary but never pursued pastoral ministry. During his teenage years, Freed experienced a moment where his faith went from what he was supposed to do, to what he wanted to do.  

“I had a car accident when I was 16. The friends I was with were not good, and I was going in a very bad direction,” recalled Freed. “I still knew God, I still loved God, but I did not indicate that with my life at that point. All changed after that accident." 

After high school, Freed attended the University of Wyoming where he studied human communication. During his time at college, he discovered a campus ministry at the University of Wyoming called the Wesley Foundation.  

“The people were from all kinds of places, and all kinds of backgrounds. Some people were very spiritual, and some had never been in the church,” said Freed. “Experiencing that variety of people and just being around that group was a lot of fun.” 

Following college, Freed decided to attend seminary at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. While in seminary. Freed also took part in the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education (SCUPE.) This program aimed to equip leaders and churches to “enhance the spiritual, social, and physical quality of life for those who live in the city.” 

Pastor Dan Freed leading music at camp.

“I just thought, you never know where you're going to end up. If I know a little bit about urban ministry, that might help me,” said Freed. “It turned out to help a lot because I led many work trips to inner cities, different places in the country and even to Mexico.” 

Towards the end of seminary, Freed was looking for an internship to fulfill one of his graduation requirements. He discovered an opportunity to serve as an intern at the United Methodist churches in Presho, Kennebec, and Reliance, South Dakota. This is where Freed became connected with, and decided he wanted to serve in, the Dakotas Conference.  

One of the unique parts of Freed’s ministry with the Dakotas Conference was made possible by our broad connection.  

“In the mail that I had received from the conference one week, there was an opportunity to be a chaplain at a Rwandan refugee camp,” recalled Freed. “It was about nine months after the genocide, in what was then Zaire, Africa. The opportunity was for a short-term mission of about three weeks to go and work in those refugee camps in whatever way you felt led to do so.”  

“I went and did that, and it was life changing. It was just pure connectionalism,” said Freed. 

During his time with the Dakotas Conference, Freed also served beyond the local church with the Bakken Oil Rush Ministry, deaning Dakotas Camps, and participating in many service trips to places including Mexico, inner cities, and the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. 

Freed’s piece of advice for clergy is about putting your faith in God’s plan and remembering that God is always working in you.  

“It's amazing what the people of God can do when they say yes to God. We have to do the stuff that God is asking us to do, and sometimes we're well-equipped for it, but sometimes we're getting well-equipped for the next thing that He's going to ask us to do,” advised Freed. 

Pastor Dan participated in Path 1 New Church training while serving in Dickinson, ND.

Freed will retire in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after serving Dakotas United Methodist Churches in Burke, Herrick, Piedmont, Sioux Falls Hilltop, and Dickinson. He currently serves in extension ministry as a chaplain at the Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls where he will continue to use his gifts after retirement. 

Along with continuing his role as a chaplain for Avera, Freed hopes to finish a set of learning modules about Christianity for the Addiction Care Center in Sioux Falls.