Valerie Hummel LaBounty has her feet washed by Bishop Laurie Haller as a part of the ordination service on June 11, 2021, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Photos by jlynnstudios.

“Trust God’s voice in your life and trust that God knows you and your call better than anyone else.” Reverend Valerie Hummel LaBounty offered this advice from what she has learned along her ministry journey. She was ordained an elder in The United Methodist Church on June 11, 2021.

Pastor Valerie grew up in the First United Methodist Church in Yankton, South Dakota. She regularly attended the church’s after-school program in elementary school and then youth group in high school. Once in high school, Pastor Valerie was on the Conference Council on Youth Ministry also known as CCYM.  Pastor Valerie later attended Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota. While attending DWU, she was involved with Mitchell Fusion and volunteered with the youth group at Downtown First UMC in Mitchell. During her summers she worked at Wesley Acres camp in North Dakota. Pastor Valerie graduated with degrees in religion and philoso­phy as well as psychology in 2014.

After graduation from Dakota Wesleyan, Pastor Valerie attended Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and received her Master of Divinity in 2017. With a passion for mission work, Pastor Valerie came back to South Dakota and served her first appointment at Southeast Pierre Mission United Methodist Church in Pierre, South Dakota. In 2019, she was appointed to Montrose UMC where she continues to serve.

Called into Ministry

Pastor Valerie knew that she was called to ministry during her 8^th grade year. She attended a youth rally at Dakota Wesleyan, and from then on, she knew she was going to attend DWU for college as well as go into ministry. “The church is my comfort zone. I grew up in the church and it kind of felt natural to me”, says Pastor Valerie.

When asked how her faith has changed along her ministry journey, Pastor Valerie replied, “I wrestle with my faith because it’s also my job. I get paid to help people in their faith. Faith is a foundational thing for me. I have to make sure I separate work faith from personal faith. Finding things to do for my faith that are just for me. However, I can’t discount the faith-building I do for work, because it’s formational even though it’s work.”

Ordination vows were made to Bishop Laurie Haller. Pictured from left-to-right are, Bishop Haller, Revs. Valerie Hummel LaBounty, Seth LaBounty, and Autumn Krueger.

Sharing Gratitude

Pastor Valerie stated her gratitude of being a part of a small conference like the Dakotas. “There is so much support for each other in this conference,” she said. That support is manifested in relationship with many different people, especially her mentors in ministry. Those people include Revs. Jen Tyler, Peggy Hanson, Brandon Vetter, and her spouse, Rev. Seth LaBounty.

Rev. Valerie Hummel LaBounty.

Regarding Pastor Seth being one of her mentors, she stated, “It can be hard at times being a clergy couple, but there are some pros in the ways we can bounce ideas off of each other, but most importantly, support each other in ways only another pastor would know how.”

This June at Annual Conference 2021, both Pastor Valerie Hummel LaBounty and Pastor Seth Labounty were ordained elders in the Dakotas Conference. “It was special for both of us to be able to be ordained together and have Seth with me on my ministry journey,” she shared.

Pastor Valerie’s hope and prayers for the future revolve around Christian unity. “A hope that I have for the future is that we can come together as a united front, understanding that we’re different people who have different ideas and beliefs, but God is one. God is who unifies us in love. To celebrate everyone’s beliefs in a loving way.”