Rev. Taryn Ragels

"My calling has been a series of saying yes to the next thing – saying yes to God and the next thing – and just trusting and seeing where that plays out," said Rev. Taryn Ragels. Pastor Taryn was one of five pastors recently commissioned at the 2025 Dakotas Annual Conference.

"Ever since middle school and high school when I started to get into youth group, that was a space that I felt so comfortable and at home in, and I really enjoyed exploring questions about faith and digging into what scripture said about those things," reflected Pastor Taryn.

"I had people along the way who were really affirming – other youth leaders, college pastors, and pastors in general who said, 'We see this in you,'" she said.

In addition to affirmation, Taryn also received invitations to help and volunteer in various ministry roles. During and after college in Brookings, South Dakota, Pastor Taryn participated in a large Wesleyan church with a robust student ministry. She reflected on the opportunity she had to walk alongside a group of teenage girls through their middle and high school years and the impact that had on her calling.

"I spent a lot of time with them in a small group setting, and they asked hard questions about life and had a lot of hard things going on in their own lives. I enjoyed getting to walk with them and getting to share God's love with them," recalled Taryn. "I had this moment with one girl in particular who just could not believe that God could love her. I watched her start to believe that for herself, and it was a moment of watching her in worship when I thought, 'I really hope I get to do this for the rest of my life.'"

"It was ultimately there that really confirmed for me that this was what I wanted to do and that I was called to ministry," she added.

Her journey of ministry would next bring her back to her hometown, Mitchell, South Dakota, when she was invited to come on staff at Fusion, a United Methodist church located on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University, as the director of ministries.

Although the return to Mitchell is not what she had expected, the unique ministry model and setting resonated with Taryn's heart for youth and young adults.

Pastor Taryn pictured with DWU Student Ministry Council

"I love getting to explore questions with people," shared Taryn. "Middle school, high school, and college students in particular ask really great, tough questions. They're exploring life and figuring it out for themselves, and so I have a lot of fun in those spaces getting to talk about those things and explore questions."

"It's really fun watching people when it clicks for them and you're watching God's transformative work in their life in the work that we're doing together," she said.

Pastor Taryn was officially appointed as a licensed local pastor at Fusion in 2020. She also began formally serving as one of the DWU campus pastors in 2023.

"As I began to think about feeling called to ministry, I thought, 'I don't know what that means, but I'll say yes.' Then it was just a continual saying 'yes' to trying this out, saying 'yes' to continuing to explore, saying 'yes' to this move or this church or this job, and just continually saying 'yes' along that way."

Saying 'yes' has brought with it a wide variety of experiences. Some of the fulfillment in ministry for Pastor Taryn comes with the challenges it presents and the way it stretches her to grow and learn.

"The work of being a pastor is a 'jack of all trades.' You have to know how to do a little bit of everything. You have to be a social media expert, a public speaker, a pastoral counselor, and be able to read budgets and figure out grant writing and all these things," she shared. "We're also asking a lot of questions in culture right now about what it means to live this out well. It's tricky to figure out how to have those conversations as well."

"It's fun because it's never the same two days in a row. However, it's also always something new to learn, so that can be challenging," said Pastor Taryn.

This sense of calling, mission, and shared commitment to living as faith followers of Jesus Christ is one of the things that encourages Taryn and gives her hope for the future.

Pastor Taryn and Adam Ragels

"I think it's really beautiful that we're working together to fulfill this idea that we're all called in some way. Even if you're not a pastor vocationally, there are places in which we minister to others," shared Pastor Taryn.

Embedding this culture of call into the ethos of her ministry settings is something Taryn is committed to doing.

"I really enjoy getting to help college students and adults alike realize that we're all called in some way as they're discerning what their next step is in their career or with their family or whatever. There's something that God has been calling you to – a person, a place, a way of operating in the world," she explained. "Getting to help people see that they're called and they get to use their unique gifts and the ways that God has created them to build God's Kingdom, I think that is the hope."

Pastor Taryn also sees the multiplying and collective effect this culture of call can have on the community and the world around us.

"The hope is that we're living out the individual ways that God has created us and called us and that makes the world a more beautiful place and that more people are getting to experience the light and hope of Jesus because we're doing that in the places where we're called and the places where we're put," said Pastor Taryn.

When asked how her Dakotas United Methodist family can be praying for her in this next season of life and ministry, Pastor Taryn shared a mutual request from her and her husband, Adam.

"We are welcoming a baby girl into our family in November, and so we're really excited about that, but also welcoming lots of prayers!"