Daily Union Newspaper

Legacy Founder, Pastor Leaves After Seven Years 5/16/2008 #1394

After seven years as senior pastor at Legacy Community Church, Phil Thompson is returning to Tucson, Ariz. His last Sunday is May 25.
Founding Legacy Community Church is one of Thompson’s cherished memories of his time in Junction City, as was working with the Geary County Ministerial Association, an experience he said was tremendous.

Involved in the association since arriving in Junction City, Thompson spent the past five years as president. “We have a lot of unity in this group. Unity without uniformity,” he said of the association.
B.J. Solander of First Assembly of God will replace Thompson as president. His term begins in September. Solander has been an officer for several years.

Thompson explained that his return to Tucson is attributed to a combination of a lot of things.
“I’d like to say it was a divine calling,” he said. “The Bible talks about there’s a time and a place for everything ... there’s a season for everything. We just felt like toward the end of last year that our season here was wrapping up.”
He and his family, wife Mary K. and 9-year-old son Graydon, will return to Alive Church, their church in Tucson. Thompson said plans are in the works to start another church there.

“I have mixed feelings about leaving,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of good friends in the community and will miss a lot of people here. The ethic diversity here within this size of community is pretty unique,” he said.
Being unique is something Thompson is no stranger to. He admits he’s not a typical pastor. “I’m a different guy,” he said.
Blogging on the Internet is one practice he frequently uses to connect with church members. Not many local pastors blog, he said. He plans to continue to blog on his Web site, philthompsonlive.com, so he can keep in touch with people when he leaves.

His mode of transportation, a 1982 Jeep Scrambler, CJ 8, is also evidence he isn’t an average pastor. “There’s not too many guys driving around on 44-inch tires,” he said. “But it’s just who I am.”
A fond memory for Thompson is the off-road vehicle rock crawling club he formed with people throughout the region, TrailKrawlers4x4. “Some guys play golf, some guys play tennis. I go rock crawling,” he said, referring to his favorite hobby.
Thompson said since he didn’t fit the mold of a typical pastor, he resisted ministry years ago. “I always felt like I had to be somebody I wasn’t,” he said.

But staying true to himself, he embraced ministry and did it in his own way. The Thompsons answered the call of five local families who wanted to start a church in Junction City.
“I’ve just had nothing but good experiences here,” he said. “I’m a better person for being here for seven years. I hope that I did what I was supposed to do ... I think I did,” he said.
While membership at Legacy has fluctuated throughout the years, it peaked at 200. They are currently at about 75 members. A group recently decided to leave Legacy and start their own church, he explained.

Legacy is going through a pastoral search and has some interested individuals from different parts of the county. In the interim, speakers and pastors will be filling in.
“We have a really good, solid transitional team here now,” he said. “I think they’re going to see some great things happen in the future.”
By Alisha CooperThe Daily Union

Caption: Legacy Church Founder and Senior Pastor Phil Thompson poses May 8 with his 1982 Jeep Scrambler, CJ 8, the off-road vehicle he uses for his hobby rock crawling. Like his vehicle, Thompson said he is a different kind of guy. After seven years at Legacy, he is returning to Tucson, Ariz. with future plans of starting another church.