October Parent and Family Letter

Parents and Families,

There are so many things to share with you, but let me start by first reiterating our thanks (from my wife and me) for the many ways that you’ve partnered with us over the last 14 months. It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the halfway point of our second school year at Sunridge. This past year is one that was filled with so much to celebrate and be thankful for. I have a big list of things to get to, but please read all the way through!

1) First things first. Our new lead pastor, Britt Sipe, will be completely transitioned from the San Bernardino Fire Department and full-time here at Sunridge by the beginning of December. This is my first agenda item because I want to express how grateful and excited I am. The elders and search team did an incredible job relying on God throughout the entire search process, and now we have a lead pastor whom I can’t wait to serve alongside and under. As a former youth pastor, Britt “gets it.” He has so clearly communicated to me his love for our children’s, student, and young adult ministries, and we’re both excited about this new season for our entire church.

2) We need candy … or a bunch of cute kids in cute costumes will be sad. Now that I am overseeing our Children’s to Young Adults ministries, I wanted to attempt our first ever event on Halloween night, which would provide all ministries under my oversight an opportunity to lock arms. Tara Thomas, our Children’s Director, has done an incredible job taking the lead for our Trunk-or-Treat Carnival that you are all invited to Oct. 31 at 6:30 PM. Plans are well underway, but we really need bags of candy. Would you consider sending your student with 1-3 bags of candy this Sunday?

3) Winter Retreat! We will have an even better winter retreat this year than last. I love our new location, and I also appreciate that it’s an hour closer and a few bucks cheaper. We’re going to Thousand Pines on January 23-25, 2015, and I want to encourage you to sign up your students sooner than later. I need a strong count by mid-November so please don’t delay. Cost is $145 ($10 cheaper than last year) with a $50 non-refundable deposit. You can sign up online, here at our Sunridge website.

4) Senior Houseboat Trip! Our Winter Retreat is our first priority, BUT we are starting a new tradition with a graduating seniors houseboat trip from June 28 to July 1. Cost is $325 a person with a $50 non-refundable deposit. You can also sign up online, here at our Sunridge website.

5) NOV. 5 FUNDRAISER. If you’re like me, you look at the aforementioned trips and wonder where there is any money for all that (not to mention, we also have our summer camp at Hume Lake, which we will begin sign-ups for in January). I want you to know that I never want money to be an issue, but I absolutely know that it is. Because of that, we are going to do a two-week fundraiser beginning Nov. 5 that has the potential to help us (and you) out big-time. It’s simple, costs us nothing upfront, and gives us a 60% return off of total sales. I will have more info about Epic and Quest’s partnership with American Youth, an incredible fundraising company, in the near future. All I can say is, if you’re concerned about money, please circle Nov. 5 on your calendar for high school (Nov. 4 for middle school) and make sure your students are there that night!

6) Trunk-or-Treat + OVERNIGHTER. Item 2 asked for candy, but this last point has to do with other things for the carnival. If you’d like to help us by decorating a trunk to hand out candy from or assist at one of our carnival stations, please let me know ASAP! Also, we will be having an overnighter for our high school students immediately following the Trunk-or-Treat on Friday, Oct. 31, with pick-up at 9 AM on Saturday morning. We know that students all over the valley get into some pretty wild shenanigans on Halloween night so we’ve decided to have our students serve at the Trunk-or-Treat and then get locked into our church building for what’s going to be an incredible evening of our own. Encourage your students to serve and stay for the overnighter!

I’m sorry for a long-winded letter. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jmanimtim@sunridgechurch.org with any questions or comments. You can also call me directly at (619) 917-4897. Thank you for your commitment to our students and our ministry. We so appreciate the opportunity to do life with them and point them to Jesus.

With gratitude,

Jed and Mal