Our Story

Fusion Church began as an idea many years ago. From other pastors and leaders dreaming up a worship service on the DWU campus to conversations in 2009 to do something new, a desire was clearly present for a new kind of church in Mitchell, SD. It has been said there is no more powerful idea than one whose time had come; 2011 was the time for Fusion Church.


A leadership team was put together to pray and dream and plan; monthly worship began September of 2011. 80 people gathered for each of those monthly worship services proving there was a need in the community. Weekly worship began September of 2012 and Fusion began to grow. More than 150 people now worship weekly as Fusion Church in the awesome space of the DWU Sherman Center.


We seek to create a place where those who have never felt comfortable in church can feel welcomed, be encouraged to ask the tough questions, and to be okay with doubt and faith living together.



Our Values

We try to be the church for others by living out our values together:

  • Ancient & Modern

    The Christian faith is a faith rooted in history. It is also one that has meaning in our lives today. We strive to be a church that recognizes and celebrates the beauty of the roots of our faith while expressing our faith in the language of today. Because of this, we celebrate ancient truths in new ways that allow us to meaningfully engage with the work of God in our world.

  • Personal & Social

    To follow Jesus means to do personal things like prayer and meditation and Scripture reading but it also means we serve others and go to help those who are hurting.

  • Church & University

    As a movement residing at a university, we think it is one of the best places to try new ideas, experiment with different ways to experience God and to reach out to a population that is further distancing itself from the church.

  • Missional

    We believe the church exists not for itself but to serve the world. We want to create a place where those who have never felt comfortable in a church can feel comfortable. We desire to see people grow closer to Jesus and one of the best ways we know how to do that is to serve other people.

  • United Methodist

    As a part of the historic 2000 year old Christian faith, we seek to love God with all that we are and love all people. United Methodists seek to build practices of regular worship, prayer, and devotion into their lives as well as opportunities to regularly reach out to others. 

  • Movement

    We are a church that is passionate about reaching out to people who do not yet know Jesus or who have disconnected from a church for one reason or another. We aim to go where people are, to engage the community, and to host events that bring people together.

Our Beliefs

We believe that God is understood in three distinct forms: Father, Son and Holy Spirit are commonly used to refer to the threefold nature of God. Sometimes we use other terms, such as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

We believe in one God, who created the world and all that is in it. We believe that God is sovereign; that is, God is the ruler of the universe. We believe that God is loving. We can experience God’s love and grace. We believe that Jesus was human. He lived as a man and died when he was crucified. We believe that Jesus is divine. He is the Son of God. We believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that the risen Christ lives today. We believe that Jesus is our Savior. In Christ we receive abundant life and forgiveness of sins. We believe that Jesus is our Lord and that we are called to pattern our life after his.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God with us. We believe that the Holy Spirit comforts us when we are in need and convicts us when we stray from God. We believe that the Holy Spirit awakens us to God’s will and empowers us to live obediently.

We believe God created human beings in God’s image. We believe that humans can choose to accept or reject a relationship with God. We believe that all humans need to be in relationship with God to be fully human. We believe that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world today. We believe that the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We believe that the church is “the communion of saints,” a community made up of all past, present, and future disciples of Christ. We believe that the church is called to worship God and to support those who participate in its life as they grow in faith.


We believe that the Bible is God’s Word. We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith and practice. We believe that Christians need to know and study the Old Testament and the New Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures).


We believe that the kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and future hope. We believe that wherever God's will is done, the kingdom or reign of God is present. It was present in Jesus' ministry, and it is also present in our world whenever persons and communities experience reconciliation, restoration, and healing. We believe that although the fulfillment of God's kingdom--the complete restoration of creation--is still to come.


We believe that the church is called to be both witness to the vision of what God's kingdom will be like and a participant in helping to bring it to completion. We believe that the reign of God is both personal and social. Personally, we display the kingdom of God as our hearts and minds are transformed and we become more Christ-like. Socially, God's vision for the kingdom includes the restoration and transformation of all of creation.


With many other Protestants, we recognize the two sacraments in which Christ himself participated: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.


Through baptism we are joined with the church and with Christians everywhere. Baptism is a symbol of new life and a sign of God's love and forgiveness of our sins. Persons of any age can be baptized. We baptize by sprinkling, immersion or pouring. A person receives the sacrament of baptism only once in his or her life.


The Lord's Supper is a holy meal of bread and wine that symbolizes the body and blood of Christ. The Lord's Supper recalls the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and celebrates the unity of all the members of God's family. By sharing this meal, we give thanks for Christ's sacrifice and are nourished and empowered to go into the world in mission and ministry.


We practice "open Communion," welcoming all who love Christ, repent of their sin, and seek to live in peace with one another.