Rev. Teresa Whetsel. Photos by jlynn studios.

“I want to serve to the best of my ability wherever I serve. Social justice work speaks to me. To work to see everyone as beloved children of God. Every person bears the image of God. I seek for everyone to see that we are all loved and made in the image of God. We are here to serve God and each other,” said Rev. Teresa Whetsel, ordained elder of the Dakotas Conference.

At the Celebration of Life in Ministry Service on June 7, in Bismarck, North Dakota, Whetsel was ordained an elder in the Dakotas Conference.  An elder in The United Methodist Church is a person ordained to a lifetime ministry of service, word, sacrament, and order. They are authorized to preach and teach God's word, to administer the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, and to order the life of the church for mission and ministry.

Whetsel was raised Southern Baptist. Her uncle was a minister. Her parents worked nights, so the family didn’t get to church regularly.

“My parents were getting off work when worship started, so we didn't get to church. We always went when we were visiting family. Most of my church memories, growing up in Nebraska, were at my uncle’s church,” said Pastor Teresa.

Her call to ministry came later in life. When she married, Pastor Teresa knew that they wanted their kids raised in the church. The Southern Baptist Church did not feel like a fit.

“After our first child was born, we moved to Watertown, South Dakota. I told my husband, Virg, that I wanted to find a church. I didn’t really know where I fit. Virg’s parents and grandmother were attending the First United Methodist Church in Watertown. So, we checked out the church, and I fell in love with Methodism right away. I knew that is where I wanted to be,” shared Whetsel.

As time went on, she found herself involved throughout the church. Pastor Teresa taught Sunday school, served as the Sunday school superintendent, served on the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, and was very involved in youth ministry. Through her involvement in youth ministry, she was invited to be a counselor at Leadership Training Camp at Lake Poinsett.

“At LTC, during one of the worship services, I experienced a call to ministry. I felt God’s presence and voice. I was 40. It became clear to me that God was calling me into ministry,” explained Pastor Teresa. “People around me reacted saying, ‘It is about time.’”

She had been working full-time in various positions at an eye doctor’s office, her in-laws' heating, ventilation, and air conditioning business, as a substitute teacher, and at a cell phone store.

“It wasn’t hard to change paths. I didn’t have deep roots in any one position. I had done a little bit of everything,” said Pastor Teresa.

Rev. Teresa Whetsel with her husband, Virg.

As she discerned a call to ministry, her husband was attending college to complete his degree. Pastor Teresa realized that logistically and financially it would be difficult to go back to college.

“We had gotten married very young and did not complete our college degrees. Virg went back to school to finish his teaching degree. We had three kids in elementary school. If I were to go back and finish college, I would complete my degree just before my oldest child completed theirs. I got scared about the time and the money. The local licensed path made the most sense for that time in our lives,” Pastor Teresa said.

Something inside her knew that it was the logical path, but it might not be the completion of her journey.

“When I was in my fourth year of completing my five-year course of study, Rev. Steve Trefz said to me, ‘Have you ever thought of seminary?’  I wondered what he meant,” Pastor Teresa said. “I didn’t have a bachelor’s degree. What seminary would accept me?”

Kairos University and Dakota Wesleyan University opened pathways for Whetsel to become an ordained elder. The traditional educational path for an elder is a four-year undergraduate degree, followed by a Master of Divinity from an accredited seminary. Trefz encouraged her to apply to Kairos University, and the university accepted Whetsel without a bachelor’s degree.

Dakota Wesleyan University and the Nonprofit Church Leadership Program, now Practical Church Leadership, opened a door.

“I got a call from Rebecca Trefz to consider being part of the Nonprofit Church Leadership program. I hesitated because I didn’t want to add more to my plate. I got to thinking, what if I could get undergraduate credit from Dakota Wesleyan rather than graduate credit?”

She was two credits shy of the required 60 undergraduate credits for elders in the Book of Discipline. Pastor Teresa asked the leadership at Dakota Wesleyan University whether she was eligible for the NPCL program and could receive undergraduate, not graduate, credit. DWU said yes.

The Dakotas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry reviews the credentials and approves candidates for commissioning and ordination. Pastor Teresa applied twice to be commissioned as an elder. The first time, she was short the required 60 undergraduate credits. After completing the NCPL program, she reapplied and was approved for commissioning.

Bishop Lanette Plambeck gives Rev. Teresa Whetsel a congratulatory embrace.

“It was a long, arduous process. But I was encouraged by others to keep going. It happened,” said Pastor Teresa.

Pastor Teresa earned her undergraduate credits at NPCL and her Master of Divinity degree at Kairos while serving full-time in ministry as a licensed local pastor. She served Arlington and Lake Preston in South Dakota. Following that appointment, Pastor Teresa served at Miller, South Dakota. Today she is serving at Flame of Faith in West Fargo, North Dakota.

One of Pastor Teresa’s passions is social justice. Social justice is not political from Pastor Teresa's perspective. It is what we are called to do as people of God.

“Social justice has always been a part of who I am. I am involved with the Interfaith Alliance of North Dakota. Being able to get involved with other faith leaders has been inspiring for me,” Pastor Teresa described.

As a member of a clergy covenant group, all women, she feels supported and inspired for ministry.  The group meets regularly to study scripture, bounce ideas off each other, listen to one another, and support one another. Others who have encouraged her ministry journey include Rev. Dayne Zachrison and Rev. Paul Lint.

“Dayne encouraged me and got me involved in youth ministry, which led me to that moment at LTC. It was Paul Lint who stayed up with me that night when I felt God’s call at LTC. They listened and encouraged me,” Pastor Teresa said. “They are mentors.”

The challenges of the past years with COVID, political division, and church politics have been part of Pastor Teresa's ministry experience. She leaned on the Dakotas Conference for support.

“It is important to seek resources in ministry and ask for help. Reach out to the conference, your district superintendent, and others. There is support for you,” shared Pastor Teresa.

Seeing everyone in the image of God is central to her ministry. “Everyone, even those who disagree with you, is made in the image of God. That is our calling. As I am serving communion to someone who disagrees with me, I must see the image of God in them and welcome them.”

To learn more about ministry in the Dakotas Conference of The United Methodist Church, click here.