Rev. Dr. David Jacobsen (photo courtesy of Boston University)

"The Bible talks about faith being handed on from person to person, and as I get older, I am struck by how often key elements of my faith were formed in the context of relationships with people," said Rev. Dr. David Jacobsen, one of the Dakotas Conference elders who is retiring at this year's annual conference.

Jacobsen grew up in Vermillion, S.D., and attended First United Methodist Church. Beyond the memories of going to church, wearing his shiny shoes, and attending Sunday school and VBS, he remembers most fondly the faces of the many people in his church family who helped lay the foundation of his faith and calling.

One person in particular, Rev. Cal Peterson, would open the door to a path Jacobsen may not have considered on his own.

"He was one of the people who really helped me discern my calling," explained Jacobsen. "He was a key figure to say, 'Hey, you need to think about this. Let's have a conversation. Let's let the district board of ministry know that you're thinking about this.'"

Rev. Peterson wasn't the only one who saw gifts for ministry in Jacobsen. Other church members started reaching out and encouraging him to explore his calling. They also invited him to become more involved in the life of the church.

"All of a sudden, I was sitting on church boards and committees and making decisions with these people I remember from my childhood. And I was just a teenager, right?!" recalled Jacobsen. "It felt odd to me that I could feel that they wanted to put trust in me. That meant a lot as I was doing my discernment."

That encouragement and empowerment helped Jacobsen see God's next step for his life.

"I finally got to a point where I realized that everything that I really loved to do had to do with the church and had to do with preaching the Gospel," said Jacobsen.

He went on to complete his undergraduate degree in psychology and German at Concordia College in Moorhead, M.N., before heading to Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, T.N. Upon graduation, he was ordained a deacon (what would now be commissioning) and appointed as the associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Pierre, S.D., where he would serve for four years and eventually be ordained an elder.

"I really loved being in Pierre," said Jacobsen. "It was a great place to be a pastor and to connect with people."

His time in Pierre also brought an unexpected blessing: he met and married his wife, Cindy, who was serving as a pastor at a Lutheran church in Pierre.

"We first started just by planning youth group events together, and then lo and behold, we got engaged and were married on January 1st, 1990," shared Jacobsen. "We held the wedding at First United Methodist in Pierre, and we had the reception at the Lutheran Church in Pierre afterward."

After serving in Pierre, Jacobsen's calling took him back to Vanderbilt for PhD work. He and Cindy welcomed two children, Christian and Grace, to their family during that time.

"My goal was to be a teacher of preaching at a theological school and also to be a researcher helping people to rethink what preaching can and should do and to write about that," explained Jacobsen.

This calling led to an almost 30-year teaching career, beginning at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in Waterloo, Ontario, before being appointed to Boston University School of Theology, one of the 13 official United Methodist seminaries. This ministry has allowed him to work with PhD students who would become tenured preaching professors in Seoul, South Korea, Toronto, Ontario, New York, and Texas, to name a few examples. He also added multiple articles and 10-11 books about preaching to his resume during his career.

"I really loved the ministry of working with students as they think about how they want to begin to reflect on what the Gospel means," said Jacobsen.

Retirement will still provide opportunities to do what he loves as he serves as Professor Emeritus at Boston University, continues to write, supervises PhD students, and engages in preaching as a practice. "I'm really only retiring from committees," said Jacobsen.

The 2024 graduating class of Boston University School of Theology.

Despite spending the majority of his career outside the boundaries of the annual conference, Jacobsen appreciates the support he has received from the church he grew up in and the Dakotas Conference during his years in extension ministry.

"I've felt a lot of support through the years, and I do think that connection is such a strong mark of The United Methodist Church," said Jacobsen. "Having been in the environment of connectionalism, as lived in the Dakotas Conference, has made an impact on me in the long run, and I really appreciate that."

Jacobsen also enters this new chapter of ministry with a heart of gratitude for the opportunities he's had to do what he loves for so many years.

"From the beginning, I always loved what I think is God's Good News of the Gospel and what that can mean for people and their lives and for the church," said Jacobsen. "I just got fortunate that I got to spend 30 years doing that. That was fantastic."

He hopes those who are entering ministry now will find the same value in connection and calling as he has.

"Remember the Gospel. Remember whose you are. And remember the faces who gave you this life and helped you live out your own faith and calling," said Jacobsen. "That's really a Methodist way of thinking because it is all about connection."