They came by horse, wagon and train – early missionaries set out west to bring a sense of the familiar to the prairie – planting churches and creating universities to foster their ideals.
Nearly 130 years later, that same pioneer spirit still thrives – just with a modern twist.
Brandon Vetter, campus pastor for Dakota Wesleyan University, announced Thursday that a church has been planted on the 129-year-old United Methodist campus. The weekly Fusion services, held on campus on Sundays in cooperation with the First United Methodist Church (FUMC) and The Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church, will become its own entity, separate from both university and the FUMC. This development is largely due to Vetter’s spiritual leadership on campus and his innovative approach to reaching out to the community, according to DWU President Amy Novak.
Dakota Wesleyan University’s campus ministry, knowingly or not, created a paradigm shift when the university – affiliated with the United Methodist Church and The Dakotas Conference – recommitted to the innovative spirit of the early Methodists by founding a new church community on the university campus.
“When I think of the early Methodist circuit riders who founded Dakota Wesleyan University with nothing but faith to guide and sustain them … Read the full article!
