HINDMAN, Ky. (BP)–After two years of counseling bereaved families and discipling a wave of teens who accepted Christ in the aftermath of tragedy, now Mike Caudill is grieving.
The pastor of First Baptist Church, Hindman, Ky., his wife, Alice, and their church are in shock over the sudden death of the Caudills’ only son, Casey.
The 16-year-old collapsed at the Knott Central High School baseball field after a team workout March 7 and died soon after from apparent cardiac arrest.
He was the second youth group member to die in two years — and the seventh teen buried in this town of 900 since December 1995. Four have died in car crashes and three of unexpected physical ailments.
“It’s almost phenomenal that the community has been hit with this,” said Dale Niswonger, interim pastor of Parksville Baptist Church, Danville, Ky., who officiated at the funeral. “These kids have had a lot to process.”
Ironically, it was at the baseball field where many students received news of another death. In April 1996, cheerleader Merri Kathryn Prater died in Lexington of injuries sustained in a single-car accident.
The death of Prater, a First Baptist youth group member, touched off a wave of approximately 200 professions of faith since.
Converts have boosted the church’s Sunday attendance from 225 to approximately 300, while active youth participants have quadrupled to nearly 50.
Jarvis Williams and Mark Combs, two students who accepted Christ two years ago, are now students at Lexington Baptist College. They began preaching at special Sunday night youth services last spring that played an integral part in the revival and continue on a monthly basis.
The pair also preached at Casey’s funeral, along with Niswonger.
Although snow canceled school for the day, some 1,000 attended the March 10 funeral. It was the town’s largest since 1984, when native son and veteran congressional representative Carl Perkins was laid to rest.
Caudill’s service lasted more than two hours as many students, including several baseball players, gave testimonies about their friend. The victim’s teammates each carried a long-stemmed white rose with a blue ribbon.
Various people remembered Casey as a witty, mischievous prankster who was full of life. “Casey was just a funny, funny guy,” said First Baptist youth pastor Jeff McIntyre. “He was antagonistic and could cause you grief, but even in my case, he knew how far to go. He’d get the laugh and then back off.”
But there was a more serious side that emerged during the service, the youth pastor said. He was also active in youth group dramas and part of the contemporary Christian band, “Burnt Offering.” The seven-member group was formed last spring to play for the youth services.
At the funeral, fellow band member Stephen Bell read an unfinished song Casey had written. Others read parts of his journal chronicling the importance of his salvation and concern for classmates’ spiritual welfare.
“That shocked kids almost as much as him dying,” said McIntyre. “All some kids knew was the funny side. I was lucky to get to see his serious side and that he was a very deep thinker.”
“It was remarkable that a young man, 16 years old, could touch so many people,” added local newspaper editor Ron Daley. “This is causing young people to search and realize how precious life is.”
It also brought about 20 to accept Jesus as Savior. Fifteen said a salvation prayer after a memorial service at Knott County High two days after Casey’s death.
Both McIntyre and Niswonger also prayed with teens who came to salvation after the funeral.
McIntyre, who guided the fun-loving teenager, said, “Casey was healthy; he had just got done with spring workouts. For me, that is what’s making this different. With Casey, the kids realize God has a claim on your life. It doesn’t have to be a catastrophic accident. That’s hit home. Kids are taking a whole new look at death.”
The youth pastor said this situation has strengthened his faith by putting scriptural teachings through a real-life test.
“It brings it to reality and cements your faith,” he said. “My faith has been reaffirmed. Now that it’s been put up against real-life things and seeing it come out unfailing, I know those things are true. It’s turned a light on.”
While the church has done an admirable job in pulling together and taking care of needed tasks, McIntyre said, members are facing a new challenge in caring for their pastor.
To see everything reversed is pretty strange, he said, calling Mike Caudill his “mentor” and someone who has constantly supported others.
As for what God is doing in the midst of this crisis, the youth pastor hesitated to speculate.
“I look with anticipation to see the good that’s going to come out of this,” he said. “I know something is going to happen. I don’t know if it will be next month or in six months. God has every right to draw men to himself in the way he chooses.”
