Rev. Mark Turner. Dakotas Conference file photo.

“Just do it. Answer the call that God has planned for you. I have not regretted responding to God’s call in my life. Serving God is the best thing you can do, whether in ministry or somewhere else,” said Rev. Mark Tuner, who will retire on July 1, 2022. 

Mark Turner grew up on a farm near Pocahontas, Iowa. He is a lifelong member of The United Methodist Church and was very involved during his high school years. He attended Iowa State University and majored in production agriculture. While at college, he was involved in Navigators—an evangelical outreach group. That led to three years in Brazil as a missionary focused on agricultural development and the place where he met his wife, Angela. 

The couple returned home and farmed for ten years in Iowa. “It was a time of changes in our lives. Angela completed her degree in nursing. Then, my father passed away,” said Turner.

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Mark felt a call to go out into the mission field. They applied to the Board of Global Ministries. Mark and Angela served for three years in Mutambara, Zimbabwe, working and building a school, hospital, and farm. While on leave back to the United States, violence erupted, and they decided not to return. 

“We headed back to the farm. Angela’s mother was still in Brazil. But, our hearts were calling us to serve somewhere,” he said.

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The next stop was a school in Chile. They worked at a school called "La Granja" which means "the farm". It was a school that worked with the Mapuche, Native American people. They were connected to The United Methodist Church. Located in southern Chile near Temuco, Mark and Angela built relationships and an outreach program. Mark helped the community to develop livestock production and feed for the livestock. Their son was reaching his high school years and wanted to be back in the United States, so they returned to the Sioux City, Iowa area where Mark taught. 

“Our son was reaching his high school years and wanted to attend school in the United States,” said Turner. “So our family of four—son, daughter, and wife Angela, moved to Sioux City. Angela and I worked teaching in the Sioux City Schools.”

God’s call to ministry tugged on Mark’s heart. He found himself in licensing school and seeking to be assigned to a church. He applied to the Iowa and Dakotas Conference and accepted an appointment to the charge of Burke, Harrison in South Dakota, along with Jamison, Nebraska. 

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The rural areas of the Dakotas were new to the Turners. “I can remember my first time visiting Burke. It was the first time I had been to any place or town that wasn’t along the interstate,” he said.

He spent the next ten years at that appointment, including seven years traveling to Sioux Falls Seminary to earn his Master of Divinity.  

“It was by chance I ended up here. I love North and South Dakota,” said Turner. 

In 2015, Pastor Mark accepted an appointment to serve at Marion, Dickey, and Jud in North Dakota. 

“I found several roads in North Dakota that start as pavement and turn to gravel,” said Pastor Mark. “But all of my ministry years have been wonderful. It has made me the person I am.” 

In retirement, he will continue to serve half-time at Bowbells, Kenmare, and Sherwood, North Dakota. The appointment will allow them to connect with their son, a lawyer in Minot, North Dakota. Mark and Angela are looking forward to traveling to see Angela’s mother in Brazil, who is struggling with her health. Their daughter, her husband, and two grandchildren who live in Singapore will be visiting the Turners in North Dakota this summer.

Pastor Mark hopes to find time to read about scripture in his retirement. “In seminary, I loved reading about scripture.” 

He leaves one key piece of advice for all United Methodists clergy, or lay, “We are all called to serve in different ways,” said Pastor Mark. “We should serve the Lord in whatever way we are called. Even when I was farming, I tried to serve God. It has all deepened my faith and how I understand and know God. Answering God’s call has been a blessing for me. I hope the church continues ot be strong.”