EMPIRE BAPTIST TEMPLE - Key Persons
David Thompson was born in Mankato, Minnesota, in April of 1975. During tough times, his father found employment Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1981. Sioux Falls has been his home ever since. After completing high school, he attended and graduated from Mitchell Technical Institute with a degree in Electrical Construction and Maintenance. He thought he was supposed to be an electrician.
In 1997, after the Lord confronted him of his sin, and after two weeks of conviction, he repented of his sin and received the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. If you asked him, he would tell you that this was the greatest event in his life and this was the event that placed him on a new path in life. The Lord changed his plans and began to direct his life, and he soon began attending Empire Baptist Temple and was baptized into the membership.
From that point, his life took on a new purpose and he became very involved in the local church where he was saved. Thinking he should leave the electrical industry in pursuit of the Lord, the Lord led him to start his own electrical contracting business as a means to supplement his income while serving the Lord. Though at the time he was not aware, this business endeavor was going to teach him many things that would help him and others in the work of the Lord in the years to come. In addition to personal spiritual growth, the business has been able to give employment to numerous Christian young men, and it has been a great blessing to the Lord's work. God has mightily blessed the business and it has since been turned over to a member of Empire Baptist Temple.
Throughout this journey, Bro. Thompson attended the Great Plains Baptist Divinity School where he earned a Bachelor of Theology degree as well as a Master of Divinity degree. He is currently one of the teachers at the Great Plains Baptist Divinity School.
In November of 2002, he met and married his beautiful wife, Deanna. The Lord has blessed them with four children: Luke, Cailyn, Emma and Madelyn whom they love dearly.
For 27 years Bro. Thompson has served the Lord at EBT in the role of Deacon, Mission's treasurer, overseeing Children's ministries, Chaplaincy, and currently he finds great joy serving the Lord as the Empire Baptist Academy Administrator and assistant to the Pastor. If he gets some free time, and isn't at the church, you could find him in the fall with a shotgun searching for pheasants, or trying to catch a walleye in the spring. Outside of his walk with the Lord, his greatest joy comes from sitting down with someone and walking them through the Bible sharing with them the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ!
Pastor Erich McCandless was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Growing up on a rural property, Pastor was a country boy without any regular church attendance. In July of 1982 the Lord arranged him to spend the summer working for a camp in the Rocky Mountains. It was there he heard the Gospel and came under deep conviction to repent and by faith receive Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Of course, he did not know these fancy words at the time, but he had zero doubt about the need to surrender his will to Christ and trust Him implicitly.
Immediately after receiving Christ, Pastor McCandless felt the deep urge to witness about the new life that he had found. After five years searching for a home to grow his faith, the Lord led him to a Baptist church were he was baptized in 1987. With his pastor's leadership, he made plans for the ministry and has never turned back.
Out of that call to the ministry, the Lord led Pastor McCandless to a young lady with a similar heart for God. The McCandlesses (Pastor & Mrs. McC.) were married in June of 1990 and have been blessed with five children. Beginning in 1991, they have served under the Empire Baptist Temple as everything from a student to the pastor.
Along that wonderful journey the Lord allowed the McCandlesses to represent EBT as missionaries overseas. After nearly ten years overseas, the Lord lead the McCandlesses back to EBT to pastor the church he has been a member of since 1991 and where his father-in-law, Dr. Ron Tottingham pastored, for 33 years. In addition to maintaining a K-12 Christian academy, EBT operates the Great Plains Baptist Divinity School, where men and women are trained for the work of the Lord. Graduates all over the world are testimony to God's work at EBT. God has greatly blessed the McCandlesses to oversee this vital ministry.
Pastor McCandless holds a Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Religious Sociology as well as having been honored with several community and educational honors, including the honorary Doctorate of Divinity. He spent nearly a decade as an Army Chaplain (USAR & SDARNG), as well as being a volunteer Chaplain for the Sioux Falls MEPS, the Police Department (SFPD), and Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).