Meet the Residents: Caiden Capaldo of Sun Prairie Baptist Church
Caiden, Ellie, and James Capaldo
Last month, we began a short series of articles, introducing men in our Church Residency Program.
We’re excited for you to meet Caiden Capaldo and his family this month!
Caiden Capaldo
Caiden felt the call to ministry during his freshman year of college. Before his junior year, God blessed him with a wonderful wife! As he began further formal theological training, he and his wife Ellie began prayerfully planning for future ministry together. I enjoyed learning more about Caiden and his family, and I’m sure you will, too.
What prompted you to pursue becoming a Church Resident?
I felt the call to pastoral ministry as an 18-year-old in college. As I pursued further theological education, I came to the understanding that although I was learning much about theology, church history, and the Bible, I needed some real practical experience as well. Books will only get one so far. So when the residency opportunity opened up at a church that I trusted, my wife and I couldn’t think of a better way to get our feet wet in the pools of pastoral ministry than to grow under the guidance of a pastor we greatly respected.
How did you hear about Converge Heartland?
I went to middle school and high school in a Heartland church. Our church was very involved in district activities, and I gained many relationships with other pastors and kids from Heartland churches as I grew up.
What were some of the steps in your process of becoming a Church Resident?
As I was finishing up my senior year of college, I knew that I wanted to transition into practical local church ministry. After talking with Jim Capaldo about being a church resident, he helped me get set up as an employee of Converge, in anticipation of joining a church as a resident after graduation. I started contacting pastors that I trusted in the Heartland about potential residency opportunities. After visiting a couple of these churches, my wife and I sent in an application to one specific church and were voted in unanimously by the congregation. After 5 months of fundraising, Ellie, baby James, and I moved to Salem, SD, to start my residency at Sun Prairie Baptist Church!
How do you think you have grown during your time of Residency thus far?
Besides growing in basic pastoral competencies (how to direct a bible study, how to preach from the text faithfully and put together a sermon that “hits home”, etc.), there are many practical competencies that I have learned. These include how to conduct a productive hospital visit, how to care for the elderly/shut-ins in our church, how to engage intergenerationally with folks in a way that makes them feel cared for and nurtured, how to conduct a funeral, how to conduct a wedding, how to help redirect energy from crazy middle school boys in youth group, and how to maximize opportunities for my wife and I to serve together. I have learned how to keep the main thing the main thing, a surprisingly difficult task for recent seminary/Bible college grads, and how to inseminate cattle artificially on a farm. There is so much that I have learned about living in community here that I never experienced in a city, and it has been great.
What are some of the challenges as well as joys of being a Church Resident?
One thing that I have found to be a challenge is how to lead people with different theological instincts and convictions than what I have. I am growing in the ability to foster unity while having a different understanding on theological issues with people whom I love.
Leaving the community we were a part of before coming to our host church was bittersweet, and I was surprised at how lonely it can feel out here at times. My wife and I have good friends that we connect with, and our lead pastor is a trustworthy mentor, but there is no peer in our church who we can just share everything with, cry with or laugh with.
Some joys that we have experienced are getting to have such a robust community to be a part of. Folks here really take care of one another. We have been blessed with older parents that we can learn from and unite within parenting. We have really enjoyed getting to build relationships with the middle school and high school students here, getting to be a part of their lives, and getting to know their families. We have both really enjoyed getting to lead in certain ministry aspects together, such as the youth group. Another joy has been getting to be a part of the LEAD team meetings that all of the South Dakota pastors gather at monthly.
How do you think being a Church Resident will impact your future?
Church Residency means that I will walk away a stronger minister, who is not only theologically equipped but pastorally equipped as well. I pursued this residency because I want to be a really good pastor, and that can only come by putting your hand to the plow in a local church. This residency has and continues to enable me to be prepared for future ministry endeavors.
How does being a Church Resident impact your family?
At first, the move was difficult on my family. My wife had just given birth to our first son, and the physical support of our friends was gone. Our family and new church family really helped us with that, but as is true with any move right away, it was a bit lonely. As time went on, my wife and I couldn’t think of a better place to be as we began to launch into ministry as a family together. Our lead pastor and his wife have been wise mentors for us, guiding us through some of the tricky parts of living in rural South Dakota. We have been here less than a year, but this church has made us feel at home. My wife has women who she spends time with, learns to sew and can with, and shares life stories with. Our son is growing in awareness of his surroundings, but from what I can tell, he has really enjoyed it here too. Plus, having a plethora of church ladies ready to swoop in and care for James has made us feel welcome and has enabled us to serve unencumbered with the needs of an infant on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.
Sun Prairie Baptist Church
I asked Pastor Mark Dickson for his thoughts about the Church Resident Program and how Sun Prairie Baptist Church prepared for hosting a resident.
What led your church to host a Church Resident?
Our church is anticipating a pastoral transition after a 30-year ministry. We feel that it would be good to get our people used to other styles of preaching and leading. A minister in training offers that kind of introduction to our congregation.
As a rural ministry, we see the need for the next generation of rural pastors to have experienced ministry in a rural setting, as many young pastors are coming out of urban or suburban cultures much different than our own.
We also needed some assistance in developing the youth ministry at our church and made that part of the job description.
How did you prepare for hosting a Church Resident?
In preparation for the resident, we looked at the Senior Pastor's schedule to determine if he would be able to commit to mentoring a resident. We looked at our budget to determine if we could offer partial support to a resident. We researched housing options in our community for a resident and family. We had board discussions related to what areas we might see a resident being involved in and what ministries we might want to have a resident focus on.
What qualities are important to look for in a Church Resident? What qualities should a Church Resident look for in a hosting church?
When considering a resident, it is important to seek a person who is teachable, willing to learn and adapt to the rural culture. Although this person may be young, he must exhibit a character of faith and godliness.
As a resident is considering a church placement, he needs to look for a setting that will allow him a broad range of ministry experience, including preaching, program development, worship leading, teaching, visitation, board and committee involvement, etc.
How can a church help disciple a Church Resident for future ministry?
A rural church is able to help a ministry resident see the kind and amount of work required for pastoral ministry so that they are not "surprised" by the variety and amount of work it takes to pastor a rural congregation.
Converge Heartland’s Church Residency provides the best combination of academic learning and real-life experience for a man called to ministry. A healthy local church can reproduce itself by training up such men and sending them out to make disciples! Click here to learn more about our Church Residency program or here to view our current openings.