Elders

Our elders help to shepherd the spiritual well-being of the congregation by giving oversight and direction to the church.

Elder

Becca Ellis

My husband Matt and I started attending Sunridge in 2005 when we had been married all of one week! We’ve been here ever since. I have a background in special education and was an ABA therapist for kids with autism before becoming a stay-at-home mom. I am mom to Weston (10) and Cate (7) and foster mom to a beautiful little girl (18 months). During our years at Sunridge, I have served in multiple ministries, including children’s ministry, high school ministry, and MOPS. I am currently serving in Sunridge’s brand new MOMSnext group. I am so thankful for all the ways God used the people at Sunridge to impact my life, my family's lives and help me grow in my faith! It is my sincere desire that God will use me in this role for His glory and for the good of Sunridge and the surrounding community.

Elder

Bob Goalwin

My family and I have attended Sunridge since the late 90s and have enjoyed watching our children be part of the Junior High ministry and beyond. I was honored to join the Board of Elders in October 2023 and am excited by the opportunity to serve this amazing church and congregation.

We are so grateful for our incredible relationships at Sunridge, whether hosting our Growth Group, being part of the Tech Team, or sharing life with friends and staff alike.

My wife Pamela and I have been married for 40 years, having met as teenagers at UCSD, and have lived in the Temecula Valley for 36 years. Our three children are grown and live throughout the States, along with our four grandchildren, but we travel to see them whenever time allows and treasure that time together.

I run a Quality Engineering team for a national bank, and my wife Pamela is an independent study teacher with a love for science. We both enjoy home restoration projects and helping our children do the same.

We believe that Sunridge is an extraordinary place in this beautiful valley with wonderful pastoral leadership and opportunities to serve our community.

Elder

Curtis McCargo

I am honored and humbled to serve Sunridge as an Elder. My wife and I have been attending and serving at Sunridge for a little over 9 years now. We have built a community here at Sunridge through the different groups we have participated in and with those we have served alongside.

Outside of church, I work as a Product Manager, and my wife is a Special Education teacher. We have two little boys: Jackson and Eli. We love spending time together as a family, hanging out at home and camping! I enjoy spending my time doing anything active including golf and basketball.

Elder

Bill Spoelhof

From the middle of the Amazon Rainforest to the state of Sao Paulo in south Brazil, my loving wife Sue and I served the Lord as missionaries both through education and church planting, as well as raising our three children there. It was quite an adventure, but we saw God’s hand on us in each of the places we ministered. After thirty-five years in the Tropics of Brazil, returning to Michigan winters was just not an option. Some of our children, now living in southern California, invited us to a more suitable climate.

Since arriving here in 2019, Sunridge has become our home. From being involved in the Rooted Group to Generations to hosting and leading a Home Group along with other activities, this church became not just a community but a family to us.

It is an honor to serve as an Elder, and I look forward to what God has in store as He continues to build Sunridge for His Glory here.

Elder

David Williams

I grew up in Memphis as part of a large, church-going family (5 kids with 2 sets of twins – I have a twin brother, and my oldest sisters are twins. Even my grandfather was a twin!). At the age of 4, I placed my faith in Christ and when I was 12, I decided to serve as a missionary in the Soviet Union once I graduated from college. After moving to Moscow in 1991, I spent 23 years with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), served in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and the Persian Caucasus, focusing on evangelism, discipleship, business development, and church planting. In 2014, I transitioned back to the US (Memphis) and opened a recruiting firm specializing in executive placement within the food and beverage industry.
I met my wife Jenni in 1999 while she was serving with Cru in Kazakhstan after she graduated from UCLA. We have been married for over 20 years and have 4 girls. In 2017, we moved back to California and began looking for a church home. It wasn’t long before we realized how much we loved the teaching, preaching, and staff at Sunridge. We felt welcomed from the beginning and have really enjoyed connecting through Rooted groups, working in the nursery, partnering with Community Mission of Hope, running with World Vision in the LA Marathon, and hanging out socially with the church (at the beach, Trunk or Treat, Christmas parties, etc.). We consider Sunridge more than just a church that we go to on Sunday. Sunridge is family.

Letter from the Elders

Sunridge Community Church is led by a group of elders, who are called to shepherd the spiritual well-being of the congregation by giving oversight and direction to the church.

As outlined in the Bible, Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and its supreme authority. (Colossians 1:18)

In addition to the lead pastor, the elders are volunteers who serve willingly (1 Peter 5:2), meet the scriptural qualifications for those who oversee the church (as outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1), and are gifted to serve the needs of Sunridge. (Romans 12:8)

The elders determine the vision and values of Sunridge, while the pastoral staff is responsible for the day-to-day operations.

In addition to the task of oversight (1 Timothy 3:4-5, 5:17), the elders are privileged to serve Sunridge in the following ways:

We pray for — and on occasion with — those who are sick and in need. (James 5:14-15)
We guard the truth of the scriptures and apply them to church situations. (1 Timothy 3:2,Titus 1:9)
We shepherd and care for the spiritual welfare of those who call Sunridge their church home. (Acts 20:28)
We oversee discipline and restoration of those who voluntarily agree to submit to the authority and judgment of the elders, and to the discipline, restoration and conflict resolution policies of Sunridge. (Titus 1:13)

We are grateful for the support of our church family (Hebrews 13:17) and welcome their comments, observations or concerns. For more detailed information regarding the operations of Sunridge Community Church, please review our by-laws.

Latest Sermon: The Comfort of Jesus