The Sunridge Story as told by Britt Sipe

Sunridge began in 1988 with six couples from Orange County who moved to the Temecula area with the dream of planting a church in this fast growing Valley. The fact that they had no financial or denominational backing made their adventure of faith even more exciting to them.  

Our first meetings were held in the local high school football coach’s living room. (He and our founding pastor were teammates in college.) Although I wasn’t there, I’ve heard the story many times, first hand, of how the pastor knocked on his door – and when he entered the house said, “Wow, this would make a fantastic space for a Bible study!” It should be noted that the coach and his family did not attend church at the time. Shortly thereafer they discovered faith and were baptized!

It wasn’t long before we outgrew that home, Sunridge Community Church was officially formed, and we held our first public services in the multipurpose room at a local school. Two hundred people showed up for that first service. During the ensuing 12 years, Sunridge continued to rent facilities and be what we called a “church in a box,” unpacking and packing that box on weekends, and concluding each service with a benediction, as well as a request to “please help us by placing your chair in a rack.” In spite of facility challenges and a pastoral staff transition, Sunridge continued to thrive, filling multipurpose rooms with two services on Sundays.

In In 2003 Sunridge acquired the property where we now hold services. At the time, the property was a large warehouse that served as a distribution center for specialty steel products. After nearly one million dollars worth of renovations, this former industrial space was converted into a place of worship and ministry, and Sunridge now had a place to call “home.”  

For six months prior to those renovations, we gathered here for prayer and worship on Sunday evenings, sitting on stacks of drywall, lumber, or in lawn chairs we brought ourselves. We wrote the names of friends and loved ones on the floor all over the facility. (Sometimes we still find the names when removing carpet or flooring.) We constantly reminded ourselves that we were making these sacrifices not for our personal comfort, but for those who needed Jesus.

In mid 2005, Sunridge went through its most challenging time, experiencing what can best be described as a “family fight.” Our conflict was mainly over ministry philosophy (translated - “how we should do church”) and some staffing transitions. When it was all said and done, about half our members were gone. It was painful for everybody, and to be honest, embarrassing as well.  

We’ve intentionally chosen to keep that part of our history public because – well, it WAS public! It seemed like everybody knew! We also keep it public because it was a valuable learning experience for all involved, those broken relationships have since been mended, and a new church was launched in the Valley. To God be the glory, for all of it.

In 2009, we once again began a new chapter when our lead pastor of 14 years resigned. During that interim, our staff, elders and members worked together in a uniquely Spirit-lead fashion, enabling Sunridge to thrive in fresh, new ways, and we began a nationwide search for a new lead pastor. 

In June 2010, Josh Clark was invited to become the new lead pastor of Sunridge. By August, Josh and Heidi, with kids in tow, had arrived in Temecula, all the way from Atlanta, Georgia, (now you know why Josh talks funny), and the most current chapter of Sunridge history got rolling!  

Glory to God for how He continues to work through Sunridge! We are thrilled to know that you are considering becoming part of the continuing story of what God can do through people if they’ll just seek Him. Whether you're thinking about spiritual things for the first time, coming back to God, or wanting to be a part of something much bigger than yourself, we welcome you to be a part of God’s story at Sunridge, as we lead people to discover HELP, HOPE and HOME in a thriving relationship with the most amazing God.