Spring Hills Baptist’s Tom Pound ‘motivated’ by love for people
GRANVILLE – Even though he grew up a pastor’s son, he never dreamed he’d follow in his father’s footsteps. ● “I was a very active, extroverted child,” recalled Tom Pound. “I was involved in sports, friendships, and any manner of adventures I could find. In high school and college, I wanted to be a psychologist. My dream was to help people who were suffering. I always imagined myself being a professional counselor, and
possibly teaching.” ● “The absolute last thing I ever imagined doing,” he added, “was becoming a pastor. I even promised my wife while we were
Today, Pound is senior pastor at Spring Hills Baptist Church in Granville.
“My role,” he said, “primarily involves leading, preaching and teaching, officiating weddings and funerals, and doing all I can to inspire people to love, live, and lead like Jesus.”
Pound, “a very young and vibrant 50 years old,” considers Granville his hometown. But he grew up in lots of places.
“When I entered the 9th grade at
Granville High School, I had moved 12 times,” he explained. “I lived in four states in two different countries. My father, Jeff Pound, a Columbus native, was a pastor in Kentucky and Alabama. Our family then moved to the Philippines, where my parents served as missionaries for four years. We also lived in Georgia for a brief time in missionary training.”
Pound graduated from GHS in 1991, Campbellsville University in Kentucky with a degree in psychology in 1995, then earned a master’s at Ashland Seminary in 2000.
“While I was pursuing my master’s in counseling from Ashland,” he said, “I began to volunteer with high school students at Spring Hills. Eventually, a part-time position opened up, ministering to high school students. After I took this position, I was amazed at how deeply satisfying and enriching it was to see God at work in the lives of high school students. I quickly saw that bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ was the most fulfilling thing I could ever imagine. It also allowed me to truly and deeply help people who were suffering.”
Pound came on staff as a pastor at Spring Hills in the fall of 1999 and became a full-time pastor of youth, young adults and counseling in 2000. In 2010 he became executive pastor. And in 2012, senior pastor.
“When I started my ministry at Spring Hills in 1993,” remembered Brad Pilkington, senior associate pastor of worship at Spring Hills, “Tom was a college student as I recall, pretty uninterested in the Lord or church. It’s cool how God got his attention, turned him around, and called him into ministry.”
“Tom,” Pilkington continued, “is a combination of the best of both his dad (Jeff Pound, founding SHBC pastor) and his mom (Cathy Pound, founder of Granville Christian Academy), as well as possessing his own giftings and skills. Spring Hills has experienced significant growth under his leadership, and we’re looking forward to God doing even bigger things in the coming months and years.”
“My work is a calling from God,” Pound responded. “It most certainly comes from the deepest places of my heart. I’m motivated by my love for people. I also have a deep motivation to lead our church staff. We work together as a team, interwoven together to love each other and serve our community.”
“It’s impossible for me to imagine any other path my life might have taken,” he concluded. “Although there are undoubtedly difficult days, my work is deeply satisfying.”