People from all religious walks of life, or lack of, can pin point someone with deeprooted and genuine beliefs. These people walk through life with unwavering faith, not continually questioning their chosen religious beliefs. People are constantly looking up to them for advice and as an example of what a true believer actually is. We can always tell these people in a crowd by their humility and passion for their faith. A prime example of this kind of person is
Beverly Boehmer.
Beverly Boehmer, mostly called Bev, is a Missouri raised girl. She grew up in the Eastern part of the state and currently calls Greene County her home. Bev is an active member of a
United Methodist church, which is a denomination she has been part of for her entire life. She actually comes from a long line of Methodists, including a grandfather who was a pastor. She even married a Methodist man, who eventually went into ministry as well. Beverly is an incredibly humble woman with an unwavering faith. When asked about her religious journey, there were never stories of wavering or attending different congregations to find the right fit for her. The theme of her religious life is being a devout Methodist who could only grow in her faith.
Her faith is definitely something to be admired, which is why she has been a successful role model in youth ministry and Christian education, including to myself.
Bev was raised in the United Methodist church and even went on to attend a Methodist university. She did not stay there, but her faith never wavered, even in the confusion of college.
She graduated with a science degree to be a medical technologist, and married her husband whom graduated to be a nuclear engineer. They were not working for the church, yet both still remained heavily involved in the Methodist church even with their travels across the US for her
Missouri State University Spring 2015 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women

2 husband to work in various locations for his job. They began to start their family and work in their careers, until one day Bev’s husband realized that he was not happy because he was denying his call into ministry. This changed both of their lives as Bev became not only a medical technologist but also a pastor’s wife. With this change Bev eventually left the hospital setting to work for her local church as a youth minister and Christian educator full time. This led to Bev being appointed as the Youth and College Age Ministry Coordinator for the Missouri United
Methodist Conference, which is how she made her impact on multiple people. This is a position she held for about twelve years until she retired about a year ago.
Bev has always had a passion for the youth. She always preached to give the youth in congregations a voice because they are the future of the church. She was always the first to back up decisions made the youth, and the first defend us when someone thought we were just little kids. Because of her positive influence she has given youth the ability to represent their districts at our Annual Conference and vote on issues within our conference. Through the organization she led, the Conference Council on Youth Ministries, also known as, CCYM, she gave youth the ability to plan and run events for all Methodist youth in Missouri to enjoy. This includes mission trips, confirmation weekends, school year kick-offs, and WOW, which is a weekend of worship with about two thousand youth every January. While this would be enough of a testimony for most people, the biggest part of Bev’s religious journey has been overlooked.
Beverly Boehmer went on her first mission trip while she was in high school to a
Methodist church camp in the south-eastern part of the state to fix up some damage that it had obtained. This one experience lit a fire in Bev’s heart to serve other people in the name of God and create these experiences for others. Bev went on a few other mission trips, but her main way of serving was creating these mission trips for others, mainly youth to experience. I have heard
Missouri State University Spring 2015 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women

3 her say time and time again how valuable mission trips are. They change a person’s life, put their faith into perspective and gives them a chance to disconnect with the world and just focus on
God. She always had a strict rule to not have phones on mission trips as they distract youth from serving the Lord with their highest ability. Bev led youth mission trips every summer, all summer, for over ten years giving so many people life changing opportunities. She has a spirit young enough to handle youth, but is still always professional. Her faith and guidance to youth is always admired and many of us youth that have worked on CCYM with her feel like she is another grandma and a home away from home.
Her love for God and her church is shown primarily for her love for the people she serves. During the interview I asked her about her favorite experiences from all the mission trips she’s led and her face would continually light up as she talked about all the groups of people we made regular visits to. Her passion for youth is still felt today, even after retirement, since she still keeps in touch with all of now college students in the Springfield area and even invites us over for dinner. Even with all that she has done to touch people around her, Bev has a humble and constant Jesus-driven mindset, which is why I chose to interview her to have her religious journey as a part of the archive.
Missouri State University Spring 2015 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women