Great Changes Ahead

As I said in my last post (about a month ago) that I was going through some transitions in life.  At that time, I was not able to speak to them specifically.  However, now as a letter is going out (and should have been received by now), I am able to speak more freely on this.  The first change is that THIS SUNDAY, Sept. 26th, will be our LAST SUNDAY at Cedar Run.

It is with both great sadness and excitement that Anne & I announce that we are leaving Cedar Run Community Church.  Sadness because we have spent the past 7½ years at a Church where God has blessed and led us in so many great and exciting ways.  We have enjoyed our time at Cedar Run so much and leave more blessed for the experience.  

After prayfully seeking God’s will for my life over the last couple of months, He has presented me with an amazing opportunity here locally at New Life Christian Church in Centreville.  Starting on November 1^st, I will be the Family Ministry Pastor overseeing the Children's, Youth and Sportsplex Departments.  It is an exciting new opportunity for Anne and I, and we feel blessed to be called to this mission.

Anne and I want to thank all of you who have supported and encouraged us over the years as our family has grown. We will look back with many great memories.  Thank you all for helping make this season in our lives a very fond one.  Although we would like to thank everyone who has impacted our lives, there are literally too many to post.  So, generally speaking, we want to thank:

• the Cedar Run Staff - great group of people to work with over the years.
• the Parents - without your support and help, so many of what we did at Cedar Run would not have succeeded.  I thank you for allowing me to work with your children.
• the Students - it has been an honor and blessing for me to work with all of you.  You all are God's unique creation and I thank you for catching the vision for what we were doing and allowing God to enter into your lives and impact you.
• the Lord!  Without Him impacting my life as a teen, I would have been in such a great position.  The Lord has blessed my family and I and we are eternally grateful.  We look forward to where He is directing us with New Life Christian Church.

We believe God brought us to Cedar Run in His timing and He is now moving us forward to another great opportunity. We pray that God continues to direct Cedar Run and grow it as the place He desires it to be.  

The Second Change is happening to my writing.  Currently, I have 2 blogs (this one, more personal and devotionally driven and another ministry focused one centered on encouraging youth ministers - www.notamegachurch.com).

Because of my new position at New Life and the focus that it will require, I will be eliminating this blog and no longer write here.  This should be my last post on http://tompounder.blogspot.com.  I will keep the site up for a while so you can browse past posts and hopefully be encouraged in Christ.

  

I will also be changing my Not a Mega Church blog to focus more on Family Ministry and encouraging children's, youth, young adult and family ministers.  My blog has gain in popularity each month and I have received plenty of great reviews about it (In fact, currently YMToday.com uses my writing and I will become a contributing author to Youth Ministry 360 starting next week.).  Therefore, I am continuing the Not a Mega Church blog but changing some of the focus to broaden on my new Family Ministry responsibilities.  The blog title will likely change as well, but that will happen in time.

As we leave and transition on to this new and exciting opportunity, know that we are not leaving the friends and relationships we have developed over the years.  We look forward to continuing them for many more years to come.

As you can see, there are a lot of changes but they are some great changes and challenges that Anne, the girls and I are really looking forward to.  We ask for your continued prayer, support and friendship as we make these transitions.  God has brought us this far and we know His plans for us will continue to guide us even further for His glory.

Sincerely,

Tom & Anne Pounder

Transitions

This month for me has been the beginning of some transitions in my life.

1. I'm gearing up for the fall and the ministry ahead of me.  As a college and young adult minister right now this is a whole new fall for me.  I have never had to experience an August where I am trying to greet new college students or focus on how I can get to GMU more often so I can hang with some of the students on campus.  
2. I'm also transitioning into the fall with my family.  August is usually back-to-school month where my girls are getting pretty pumped about going back to school (I hope that never ends).  So, my wife (mainly) and I plan out what activities the girls will be doing in the fall and what are their school needs.  It's pretty cool and I'll have to say that we have most of that stuff settled now which is nice.

Transitions can sometimes be very exciting as a new opportunity arises, but they can sometimes be tough as something unexpected happens and throws your life into upheaval.

Regardless of what transition you are going through right now, the one thing that doesn't transition is God.  As it says in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  He never changes and because of this Truth (and the many more He promises us throughout the Bible), we can rest assure that whatever we are going through today, He will bring us through it (maybe not perfectly without any bumps and bruises, but He WILL bring us through it).

So what transitions are you going through in life right now?  Are they good or bad, exciting or mundane?

Offer it before the Lord and see how brings you through it.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com