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The Rev. James Persons - Senior Pastor

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The Rev. James Persons was raised in Minneapolis, MN.  He moved to Mitchell, SD to attend Dakota Wesleyan University and graduated in 1970.  While attending the University James transferred his church membership to First United Methodist Church in Mitchell.  After attending the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, James returned to South Dakota to begin his ministry.  James has served a number of parishes, small and large, in his career.  The last appointment before Mitchell was an eight year appointment as District Superintendent in the Dakotas Conference.
 
James met his wife, Eileen, while at Dakota Wesleyan and they were married in First United Methodist Church of Mitchell in 1972.  In 1971 James was ordained Deacon in Mitchell First UMC during Annual Conference that year.  “It is a great honor for me now to return to First United Methodist Church in Mitchell.  It is like returning to my South Dakota spiritual home.”
 
James was trained in spiritual direction at the Shalem Institute, Bethesda, MD, and has been the spiritual director for several Academies of Spiritual Formation in the Dakotas.  James has also pursued training as a personal coach through the Center for Emotional Intelligence and Human Relations.
 
James and Eileen are both avid bird watchers, and James enjoys woodworking and dreaming about restoring his old Ford Mustang.

The Rev. James Persons is an ordained elder in the Dakotas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church