During the 2025 Annual Conference Episcopal Address, Bishop Lanette Plambeck shared a vision and plan for new Connector Roles within the Dakotas Conference. Persons in these contract positions would come alongside churches, leaders, and conference staff to act as “structural sinews that strengthen the body of Christ across the Dakotas,” said Bishop Lanette.

The Dakotas Conference is excited to welcome Bri Heida as the new Connector for Renewal.  In this capacity Bri will work with churches of all sizes and contexts to cultivate pathways for discipleship and spiritual growth that meet people where they are and lead them deeper in their faith. By curating resources and collaborating with congregations, the Connector for Renewal will support the church’s work of evangelism, formation, and revitalization across the Dakotas.

For Bri stepping into this role feels like the culmination of a long and deeply personal journey of faith—a journey marked by pain, healing, calling, and rediscovery.

Wandering in the wilderness and finding home

After growing up in the church, Bri found herself in a season of wandering during her young adult years. “I had this really personal faith, but I didn’t have anywhere to put it,” she described. Even as she sought spiritual family, she often struggled to find faith communities that were welcoming, particularly during a season of being a divorced, single mom.

But God’s love and call were relentless even in the valleys of life. Bri found herself facing a personal health crisis that caused her to be homebound. It was during that time that she found herself returning to two early loves—painting and prayer journaling.

“I saw that my prayers were flowing out onto the canvas,” Bri recalled. “And then, layer after layer, I just saw this healing start to take place—and the paintings were transformed, and I was transformed along with them.”

That experience became a catalyst for ministry. Bri began leading workshops where others could experience God through art. God affirmed her gifts and the Spirit fueled her calling as she witnessed God work in tangible, transformative ways through that ministry.

(painting by Bri Heida)

Bri’s path of faith and ministry was not always a linear one. It was filled with the encouragement of unexpected doors opening, as well as the pain of doors closing. Experiences in graphic design, digital ministry, small group leader coaching, and starting her own Painted Prayers, Inc. non-profit were just a few touch points that shaped her journey. 

“My journey through ministry has been a hundred obedient steps, in what has often felt like a twisted salsa dance routine – but which has so clearly led me exactly here,” Bri wrote in her letter of interest for the connector role.

Those steps ultimately led to a providential meeting as she was beginning seminary and searching for a mentor. A co-worker of her husband connected her to Rev. DeAnn Eidem, a Dakotas Conference elder serving as a hospice chaplain in the Black Hills. Bri took the brave step of reaching out to this stranger and inviting her to coffee.

“DeAnn told me later she didn’t really have the bandwidth for it,” Bri shared, “but she felt something saying, ‘At least go have coffee.’ And so we met for coffee.”

That coffee conversation became a turning point. Bri found not only a mentor in DeAnn, but—following her recommendation—a church home at Canyon Lake United Methodist Church in Rapid City, South Dakota.

“From there, it was really just a series of being invited in deeper,” she said. “I got asked to be a lay delegate to annual conference, and when I got there, Bishop Lanette was immediately speaking about things like trauma-informed ministry and harm reduction. I thought, ‘Wait a minute—this is in the church? This is coming from our leadership?’ That was the ultimate affirmation for me. I knew I was in the right place.”

During the Celebration of Life in Ministry service, Bri responded to an altar call invitation for those sensing a call to ministry.

“There were tears everywhere because I finally felt like God was saying, ‘Here’s where you land. You’ve gone and done battle, and now here’s where you come home to,” she recalled. “It’s been so cool to see the way God prepared this place for me. It really feels like home.”

A heart for renewal
When the Connector for Renewal position was announced, Bri knew instantly that it resonated with her story. “When the descriptions came out, I started reading and had to stop,” she recalled. “I called my husband and said, ‘Let me read something to you.’ I couldn’t even get through it without a bunch of exclamations because I was like, 'yes!' And he just laughed and said, ‘So basically, they’re looking for you.’”

Bri and her husband, Dustin. (photo provided by Bri Heida)

Bri is passionate about creativity, curiosity, and connection as pathways to renewal. “Even just the fact that our conference is thinking along these lines—leading with curiosity, creativity, and holy imagination—that in itself produces fruit,” she said. “Showing up in that spirit changes the way pastors and congregations begin to think.”

She also believes this is a uniquely hopeful moment for The United Methodist Church. “I just feel like the UMC is so uniquely positioned right now to be the light to the world,” she said. “No other denomination is rising to this level of saying, ‘We’re going to keep our eyes focused on what really matters. We’re going to exude love to everyone, and we’re going to use our connections to build each other up.’ That is so needed right now.”

As Connector for Renewal, Bri Heida brings both creative energy and a deeply compassionate spirit—helping the Dakotas Conference and its churches imagine new ways to form disciples, nurture and share faith, and embody Christ’s love and light in the Dakotas Conference and beyond.