Two Decades

by JoEllen Claypool

Caldwell, ID – How does a Razor City roughneck from Gillette, Wyoming become a country preacher in Idaho?

Only the Lord could write that story—and He started early.

At eight years old, God began tugging on a young boy’s heart, long before oil rigs and long before Dallas Claypool ever imagined standing in front of a congregation with an open Bible. For years, life looked nothing like ministry. He followed hard paths and lived a life that didn’t seem to point toward pastoring anyone.

Then came a two-dollar suit from the Salvation Army (with a ten-dollar bill found in the pocket).

That suit was worn to interview for a sales position selling manufactured homes, a job that moved Dallas and his family to New Plymouth, Idaho in 1999. What looked like a career shift was really a divine rerouting.

He became involved in a men’s group at a local Baptist church where Jesus got a hold of his life and wouldn’t let go.

Thinking it would help his sales career, Dallas signed up for what he believed was a public-speaking class. What he didn’t know was that it was actually a course on how to put a sermon together and deliver it. God, once again, was working well outside anything Dallas would have chosen for himself.

Hungry to learn, he talked the pastor into offering a three-year course through the Bible Training Centre for Pastors. It was during a class talking about the duties of a pastor—of all nights—that his calling became unmistakably clear.

That same evening, he was invited to attend a business meeting later in the week at a small country church searching for a pastor. The meeting was discouraging. Tension and tears surrounded the six people in attendance as they talked about closing the doors. At this point, Dallas offered to be a guest speaker until a pastor was found.

They must have misunderstood because two weeks later, they handed him a key and told him he was hired. The first victory was that the congregation doubled in size the first Sunday as the new pastor’s family outnumbered the congregation.

Although this was never in his wheelhouse, for twenty years, Dallas has faithfully shown up. It’s a principle he learned in sales: “Stick and stay, it’s bound to pay.” A simple rule now with deeper meaning. To stick and stay, when it would have been easier to walk away, became a ministry in itself.

People have come and gone. Baptisms, weddings, and funerals have provided moments of deep joy and deep sorrow. There have been sermons preached, prayers spoken, and countless conversations held around tables.

Dallas implemented his Rich Relationship diagram, a guide grounded in James 1:22: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (NKJV). The circle begins with having a Rich Relationship with God moving into a Rich Relationship with Others. That should flow into having a Rich Servant’s Heart ultimately leading us to Reach the Lost. It’s not a program or a slogan but a way of living out faith in everyday life.

Although Dallas is a bivocational pastor, he makes one thing clear from the start: “I’m a pastor first. If I’m in the middle of a workday and Miss Shirley needs help getting her cat out of a tree, I will be leaving the job to go get Miss Shirley’s cat out of the tree.”

Living in a small community, he’s built relationships with people who have never darkened the door of a church. They know who to call when prayer is their only hope. And when a beloved pet needs to be buried, people have called Pastor Dallas to come and do the job. He never hesitates.

On lighter mornings, it’s not unusual for one of the farmers at the local café to pay for the pastor’s meal and coffee. Recently, one grabbed the ticket off the table only to find another one had already beat him to it! Those moments tell the story best—relationships have been built.

Because he’s been the pastor of Sand Hollow Baptist Church for 20 years, he’s the only pastor many of the children here have ever known, earning him the name by a few of ‘Pappy Pastor’. One boy, whose family started coming here when he was a year old, is now married with a baby of his own.

Dallas has balanced ministry and family well, serving as a pastor while remaining present as a father and grandfather, wisely heeding the counsel of seasoned pastors before stepping into the role himself.

Twenty years later, we celebrate his courage to answer a call, not only the physical call that led him to that meeting, but the higher calling God had placed on his life from the beginning. He’s never claimed to be perfect, but there’s no doubt he has persevered.

His favorite verse, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, has shaped how he preaches and lives:  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” (NIV).

So, how does a Razor City roughneck from Gillette, Wyoming become a country preacher in Idaho?

One faithful step at a time.

An open-house celebration will be held on Sunday, February 8^th  at Sand Hollow Baptist Church (29627 Old Highway 30, Caldwell, ID 83607) from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you’re free, you’re welcome to join our worship service that day starting at 11:15 a.m. If you’re not able to attend, we’d love for you to send cards or encouraging words his way to the above address or to P.O. Box 164, New Plymouth, ID 83655. Thank you!

JoEllen and Dallas have loved the people of Idaho for more than two decades. Read her writing and to order her books in the article linked here.