Mike Flowers

“I’ve never really sat down and tracked how many people have come out here, but it’s in the thousands. I never counted how many wheelchair ramps were built, roofs replaced, or houses painted. Instead, I kept track of the relationships that were built between the two cultures,” said Pastor Mike Flowers. Mike and his wife, Libby, serve as the co-directors of Spirit Lake Ministry Center. Mike and Libby retired on May 31, after serving the people of the Spirit Lake Nation for 16 years. It is all about relationships and trust.

Mike Flowers grew up as a child of an Air Force family. His family ended up in West Monroe, Louisiana. Libby Flowers lived in the same community in northeast Louisiana all her life. They met in 1976 and were married in 1978.

Mike entered the Air Force, and the couple headed to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The next stop was Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. Then they headed to Yokota Air Base in Japan. After Japan, they were stationed at Minot Air Force Base in Minot, North Dakota.

In September of 1994, Mike retired from the Air Force. Both ended up working in retail. “I had a job on the base where I worked three days on and six days off. I needed something to do on my days off. So, I started working at Wal-Mart part-time, where Libby was working,” said Mike.

When Mike announced his retirement from the Air Force, Wal Mart hired him as a district manager in Fargo. It was in Fargo, at First United Methodist Church, where they found their church home.

Mike was raised United Methodist, and Libby grew up in the Catholic denomination. “I was raised United Methodist, but after we got married, we quit going to church. So, for 17 years, we didn’t go to church,” said Mike. “God called us back to the church in 1995. We were involved in almost everything at Fargo First, including substitute preaching.”

The first time they attended worship at First UMC, they heard terrific music and met many people. After that, they got hooked in a ministry called Shoebox Christmas.

“Some people from Children of the Harvest ministry came to First UMC and talked about Shoebox Christmas. For the next two years, we led the Shoebox Christmas ministry from Fargo First,” said Pastor Mike.

In 2007 they responded to God’s call to serve at Spirit Lake Ministry Center. “We were both praying the same thing and didn’t realize it. We prayed that God would show us what he wanted us to do—where he needed us,” Pastor Mike said. “We both loved our jobs in retail. Then we talked to Bishop Deb [Kiesey]. We asked her how to tell the difference between a call and our want. She said there are three signs, ‘First, if you go to bed at night and wake up in the morning and that’s what you’re thinking about. Second, if other people tell you hat that’s what you should be doing without you even telling them that that’s what you’re thinking. Third, you know you can’t do it by yourself, that you can only do it with God. Then you are being called.’ So those three things that Bishop Deb told us were the three things that happened. We were called to serve at Spirit Lake.”

The Flowerses stepped into a different culture to build relationships and establish trust with the people of Spirit Lake Nation. Getting to know the families and the people has been critical and rewarding. “The people of Spirit Lake are resilient. You learn to look at their faces. Sometimes that’s all they have is the expression on their face.

People are people. There may be different cultures, but we are all God’s children,” Mike said.

The ministry reaches hundreds of families annually by meeting their basic needs through the food pantry and Community Children’s Fund. “I remember Maxine,” said Mike. “Maxine came into the food pantry and tried just to take everything there. She believed we might not be there the the next time she needed something. Finally, we built trust with Maxine. She told everybody else we would be there if people needed something. Maxine became our friend and invited us into her house to pray.”

Shoebox Christmas continued and grew to serve 6,000 children. Gifts were distributed to eight reservations in the Dakotas Conference and the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota. The gifts provide the children with the story of Jesus’ birth, warm hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and fun toys.

Sidewalk SONday School morphed into the only faith-based summer day camp on the Spirit Lake reservation. Children come to the Summer JAM, a fast-paced Vacation Bible School experience. Monthly, families enjoy games, movies, and meals at Spirit Lake Ministry Center.

The Flowers brought the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission program to Spirit Lake. Teams come from all over the country to repair homes, build wheelchair ramps, or paint houses. The construction ministry helped build homes and relationships. “It’s important to be able to get into your house. It’s important not to have a leaky roof. But, you know, the most important thing was the relationships. We have witnessed spiritual growth and the connections in families and the teams that traveled here,” said Mike.

A worshipping community sprouted. The Journey is now a congregation that worships each week, has small group Bible studies, and does community outreach and youth and children’s ministry. Mike attended licensing school and completed the Native American Course of Study program in 2011. He is affectionally known as Pastor Mike.

After an extensive seven-month remodel, a 53-year-old Quonset hut became the new worship center and dining facility for the Spirit Lake Ministries. The new worship space, a dream of Mike and Libby Flowers, became a reality after a successful fundraising campaign. With the help of donors from all over the country, many having volunteered on the reservation, and two significant donations, the dream became a reality.

“What happened was that we were connecting with people all around Spirit Lake Nation through our work with Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams,” says Pastor Mike Flowers, pastor of The Journey. “People started asking, ‘Do you have worship?’”

In 2021, Mike was appointed to serve at The Journey at Spirit Lake and First United Methodist Church in Devils Lake, North Dakota. It became a partnership that brought vitality to both congregations.

“The partnership has made us stronger and both congregations stronger. First UMC is supportive of the Ministry Center. It has been a great partnership,” said Pastor Mike.

In retirement, Mike and Libby will travel in their motorhome to visit with children and grandchildren and vacation. They plan to take their grandchildren on vacation to Virginia Beach. Mike and Libby will go to Destin, Florida, to assist with a ministry by Christmas. They will continue their journey by doing ministry on the road.

“I always say God had a sense of humor by making me a pastor. I’m probably the least likely person to do it because, you know me, I’m a troublemaker,” said Rev. Marlin Sapp, who will enter a retired relationship with the Dakotas Conference this year after serving 16 years as a licensed local pastor.

Many would ask Marlin Sapp throughout his life, “Why aren’t you a pastor? You should be in ministry full-time.”

Marlin Sapp grew up in Hazen, North Dakota. His mother was not a regular attendee at church, and his stepdad was Catholic. Nevertheless, Marlin was welcomed by Hazen United Methodist Church, formerly an Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) Church.

He recalled that Rev. Peter Ackerman encouraged Sapp and two other young people to consider entering the ministry. “He thought there were three of us that should become pastors—myself, Rick Loewen, and Steve Stanley,” Marlin recalled.

After graduating from high school, he headed to Illinois to work. Then he returned to the Hazen area, where he worked as a carpenter, painter, and in retail. Pastor Marlin met and married Carol at his grandma’s farm just outside Great Bend, North Dakota. The wedding took place on the weekend, away from their Hazen and Golden Valley hometowns.

“I called my grandma and said it’s time to call your pastor so we can get married,” said Pastor Marlin. “The UPS driver delivered a package and said to Carol, ‘You came back from being away for the weekend, and here you had a different last name.’ I am thankful my grandparents were in good standing with the church and the pastor would marry us.”

Marlin and Carol became active in the United Methodist Church, serving on committees and teaching Sunday School. He taught Sunday School for 25 years and spent much of his time at the church.

“I thought I was doing enough by teaching Sunday school for over 25 years, but then I was asked to fill in and lead worship,” recalls Sapp. “Then I took courses to become a certified lay minister. I took courses and was encouraged by Revs. Dave and Don Andrews.”

For several years, he filled in for worship at Hazen, Beulah, Golden Valley, and other places in North Dakota. Pastor Marlin filled the pulpit for congregations that were United Methodist, Lutheran, and other denominations.

He became dean at a camp with Rev. Bruce Adams. “Bruce invited me to lead a camp with him at Lehr Camp. After awhile, we moved to Storm Mountain Camp. We led camps for twenty years,” said Pastor Marlin. “It was a camp for kids in grades four through six. We called it ‘Treasure Seekers.’ We taught the kids that they needed to seek the treasure of God.

We also found a way to share treasures like the old gold mine at the camp.”

Carol and Marlin were also active Conference Council of Youth Ministries (CCYM) leaders. Some of the youth that Carol and Marlin worked with are now pastors in the Dakotas Conference and beyond—Paul Lint, Robbie Salmonson, Cody Schuler, John Telenga, Brandon Vetter, and William White, to name a few.

“Carol was great at getting youth involved. She helped with CCYM, and you will find her name on the Youth Worker Hall of Fame plaque,” shared Pastor Marlin.

Solar Oven Partners has been a part of Sapp’s ministry journey. He served on the board and traveled with teams on two mission trips to Haiti with solar ovens. “I spoke at 20 or more churches on solar ovens,” he said. “People loved to learn about the project.”

These experiences set the foundation for becoming a pastor. “I think all of this gave me a better foundation to become a pastor,” said Pastor Marlin. “My eyes were opened, and I became more empathetic.”

The turning moment was when his daughter Dawn asked him, “Dad, why don’t you go into ministry full-time? You know you like it, and then you’d like your work instead of going from here to there.”

He finally surrendered to God’s call. “It happened one night going to a PPR [Pastor Parish Relations] meeting. On the way over, I just realized I could probably do as good as a pastor as all those I had filled in for,” said Pastor Marlin. “Ray Baker was the district superintendent at the time. He encouraged me to become a licensed local pastor.”

In 2007, Sapp headed to licensing school in Fort Scott, Kansas. He was appointed to serve at Stickney UMC in Stickney, South Dakota. Later, Mount Vernon United Methodist Church was added to his charge.

“We followed people like Kermit Culver, Don Lagge, and Dave Motta at Stickney,” he said. “After three years, Mount Vernon was a new alignment.”

Each summer, Pastor Marlin headed to Garrett-Evangelical Seminary to complete his course of study as a licensed local pastor. “There was not an online option at that time. So, each summer, I would travel to Garrett to complete the coursework,” he said.

In 2014, Carol and Marlin moved to Linton, North Dakota, to serve the United Methodist congregations in Linton and Sterling. There have been several improvements made to the church and parsonage, even adding some aesthetics by making flower boxes out of the brick from the old church, which was struck by lightning.

In retirement, Carol and Marlin will continue living in Linton, North Dakota, and serving the congregations at Linton and Sterling.