Paul Thompson
Associate Pastor of Administration

After serving 40 years as a senior pastor in various congregations around the country and on the national leadership team for the North American Baptist Conference, Paul came to The Chapel in April 2007 to help part-time with the administrative needs of The Chapel. He also leads the ministry to the senior adults. He and his wife, Sue, have three children, John, Janet, and Susan (who happens to be married to Kent Wade, our Pastor of Worship). 

My favorite city...Lucerne, Switzerland as it is nestled down among the Alps on beautiful Lake Lucerne. It is a very clean and serene city surrounded by white mountain peaks, yet the temperature is mild and the people are very polite and friendly.

My biggest challenge...during my pastorate was to keep an eternal perspective In the hearts and minds of my congregations. People have a tendency to become very focused on the “here-and-now” and forget that this life is a preparation for eternity either with Christ in heaven or under the judgment of God forever.

My bookshelf contains...Bible commentaries, various translations, message outlines for 40 years of preaching and history books which I have enjoyed reading over the years, especially about the forging of our nation. When I retired from the pastorate, I realized that I had accumulated over 3,000 volumes. I decided to donate most of my library to the City Mission in Cleveland where they were developing a library for inner city pastors who could not afford to purchase books. They would still be used for the ministry.

If I had a different job...I wanted to be different than all my brothers and sisters because they all responded to the call for vocational Christian ministry. I wanted to be different, but God had the same purpose for me. I resisted that call until I went to a Bible camp as I did each year to get a break from farm life. The speaker’s name was Bob Oughton and, during the invitation one evening, he pointed his finger at me and said, "How about you son?” I surrendered my will to God’s call and I would have not changed my vocation for anything else in the world.

Life verse...I had my life’s verse done in calligraphy and it is still in my office as a constant reminder of what I based my life on when, as a teenager, I was searching for the foundation and purpose. “According to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Phil.1:20