Rev. Ray Baker has served in many different ministry roles over his more than 30 years of service to the Dakotas Annual Conference. As he reflects on his ministry journey, what stands out most to him are the colleagues and congregations who helped nurture him along the way.  

“They were always encouraging and never said anything bad,” recalled Ray. “They would give me helpful advice in a pleasant way, encouraging me instead of tearing me down.” 

Ray grew up in a very active church in Williston, North Dakota. The church had a large number of young families, so they held a lot of youth activities that Ray remembers fondly. His parents and grandmothers instilled faith in him at a young age, and he is grateful to them for giving him that solid foundation.  

Although he didn’t realize it then, Rev. Baker’s call to ministry began at church camp during his sophomore year of high school. He was at Wesley Acres Camp when he first committed to being a Christian. After that, his call into active ministry came through relationships with different pastors he had met throughout his youth and young adult life. Ray met many of those pastors when he returned to Wesley Acres Camp to work as a counselor for seven years. During this experience, he met pastors from all over the Dakotas Conference who played significant roles in his call to ministry.  

“Jim Pomeroy was the first one to suggest that I go into ministry,” shared Pastor Ray. “I’m embarrassed by it, but when he encouraged me to consider ministry, I laughed and walked away.” 

Ray went on to study Criminal Justice and was thinking about working with kids in the legal system due to all his work with children at church camp. He then went to seminary, not wanting to be a pastor in a church, but to be a youth minister or to work in camping. 

“Coming back to North Dakota after seminary, there weren’t any youth ministry or camping opportunities, so I started with the rural churches outside of Fargo—Casselton and Leonard,” said Ray. 

During his dual appointment to Casselton and Leonard UMCs, Rev. Baker grew a lot and learned about what it meant to be a pastor. He appreciates the congregations for nurturing him and helping him grow in his ministry.  

Later on in his ministry journey, Ray had the opportunity to apply for the position of Director of Camping for the Dakotas Conference, and he was given the position.  

“That was just a tremendous time in my ministry,” said Pastor Ray. “It was very challenging and also very rewarding.” 

During his eight years as director, Ray helped with projects such as modifying Wesley Acres Camp with the US Corps of Engineers, building the Living Waters Retreat Center at Lake Poinsett Camp, and remodeling Storm Mountain Camp.  

After working as the Director of Camping, he transitioned to the position of Northwest District Superintendent, serving in that role for six years before returning to pastoring a local church.  

Pastor Ray stated that the main reason he gravitated towards ministry in the United Methodist Church was that he was brought up in a UMC during his childhood. Although he learned about many different denominations in seminary, he continued to be drawn to the Wesleyan way.  

“Throughout seminary, I really began to realize how much the Wesleyan thought process was just natural to me because I’d grown up with it,” shared Ray. 

The connectionalism present in the Dakotas Conference was integral to Ray’s ministry journey and his decision to remain United Methodist.  

“At one annual conference, we had a huge emphasis on mission,” recalled Pastor Ray. We had a big conference-wide event where everybody came together to celebrate mission, and that was just really exciting to see how all the churches were working together to raise funds for mission work.” 

“Just seeing that powerful presence of how everybody doing a little bit can do something on a much larger scale than you could have imagined,” he added. 

Pastor Ray Baker and his wife Sarah

Although Pastor Ray has been involved in many different ministries during his time with the Dakotas Conference, he is especially fond of his time working with youth. 

“One of the things I am the most proud of is all the time I spent working with youth, encouraging them, helping them grow, and seeing what they’ve gone and done with their lives,” said Ray. 

Ray remembers campers who have not only gone into ministry but also those who went on to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, school principals, and all kinds of things. He relates this all back to connectionalism in the Dakotas, saying, “You get those strong relationships from camp and all of these things that last forever,” said Baker. 

When asked what advice Rev. Baker would give clergy, he said, “The number one thing is to take good care of yourself both physically and spiritually. Everybody is going to find their own spiritual path, but mine is through nature and music.” 

Ray and his wife Sarah will continue living in Fargo, North Dakota, in retirement. They look forward to spending more time at their lake home in Nevis, Minnesota, and with their growing family. They also hope to travel more, with dream destinations of Scotland, New York, and the British Virgin Islands in mind.  

Rev. Ray Baker is grateful for his time in ministry with the Dakotas Conference and is excited to support his colleagues during retirement.  

“I really just want to thank everyone for the ways that they have nurtured me and encouraged me and poured themselves into me throughout my ministry,” said Ray.