To be a place that inspires spiritual growth, worship and ministry to people!
Our desire is to use Sonrise in the Woods to minister to people on the mountain.
Our mountain communities need a place where children can enjoy playgrounds, youth can gather for wholesome activities, adults can fellowship in unhurried peace and the elderly are treated with the dignity and honor they deserve. That is the vision God has given Church of the Woods for the new campus.
Our San Bernardino Mountains have more than 671,686 acres of National Forest land. There is another 147,313 acres of non-USFS land within the National Forest. As we consider that the 818,999 acres will always be preserved and undeveloped, it seems like our 37-acre parcel is a great location to serve the needs of people on our mountain.
It is amazing how much false information and hysteria is being generated over a project that seeks to serve our mountain communities by providing resources that are sorely lacking. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that the two greatest commandments are: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) That is our goal!
God’s Word declares, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) In other words, God’s greatest desire is for the eternal souls of people to be saved. That is our goal too.
It is our prayer that Church of the Woods will be a catalyst for people to come to know God personally through Jesus Christ. Our project, Sonrise in the Woods, is designed to enhance our ministry into people’s lives and provide a wholesome, beautiful environment for ALL the communities to enjoy. It will be a great place to benefit from picturesque landscaping, natural beauty and fellowship with people from all over. It will be exciting! Hope to see you there, too.
Pastor Rod,
I would like to preface this by stating that when I first heard your church had purchased these woods, I was pleased. I thought “Ah, here is a group who will respect God’s creation and build something good.” I hope you accept this feedback in God’s love.
You quote: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Yet you and I interpret these words differently. You appear to view your “neighbor” solely as other people, whereas I view them as every animal God created. Three bears have passed before us in these woods just this passed week.
You also appear to believe that this project serves your neighbors. Given the amount of concern and opposition to the project, it appears this is not true, at least not for many of them. If your true aim is to “love thy neighbor as thyself,” why would you turn a deaf ear to their concerns?
You also state that false information has been generated. I do not know what you have heard, but what I have heard, I have researched and found true in your EIR. You state that there is “hysteria.” Is disagreement with your view “hysteria?” Or could it be a call for you to respect the differing opinion of your neighbors, those neighbors that God commands you to love?
Perhaps the hysteria you refer to stems from me, from the bottom of my heart. Because I was raised adjacent to your 37 acres and to me that land is already God’s temple and you threaten its humble beauty and tranquility with grandiosity and human pride.
Were your plans to build a mountain church, I would support them. As they stand, it appears to be an Orange County church with Orange County values.
Dear Concerned Neighbor,
We remain sensitive to the impact that Sonrise in the Woods will have on native wildlife. And we have done extensive studies relative to this topic, which appear in the Environmental Impact Report. That said, the eternal value of peoples’ souls is our driving passion for God’s glory. And this project is for people on the mountain. Thank you for your interest in the project and for your comments.
Sincerely,
Pastor Rod
Dear Pastor Rod,
Given your stated desire to share the word of God, I must assume that you feel even one soul out of the billions in the world is important.
I suggest to you that your 37-acre parcel is also important. It is not inconsequential no matter how many other acres are present. It matters.
Sincerely,
Katie Yurcich
Dear Katie,
You are right. Every soul is important to God. And that is exactly why we endeavor to reach out to each person to share the love of Christ. God willing, we plan to use the 37-acre parcel we own in Rim Forest on Highway 18 to reach out to as many as possible. Thank you for your comments and for your interest in Sonrise in the Woods.
Sincerely,
Pastor Rod
You are not a man of God; you are a man of Greed. Those who choose to follow you are weak and without self respect – how very sad for them. If you had any integrity or faith whatsoever, you would open up your personal financial records to your parishoners (include any hidden accounts as well).
As for clearing the mountains of more land, you are directly opposing God’s will. You may want to read Jeremiah 9:10 although I’m sure you’ll manage to spin the passage to suit your own needs.
So go ahead and destroy God’s sacred land for your personal benefit and then ask others to know God through Jesus Christ in your tainted so-called “church.”
Shame on you and on others who support you.
Dear Anne,
Thank you for your interest in Sonrise in the Woods. We do not intend to destroy God’s land. On the contrary; we plan to use it to bring honor and glory to His Name, which is our goal in everything we do.
Sincerely,
Pastor Rod
As a Christian I am glad to see outreach plans such as Sonrise.
What do I say to those who say if we are to love our neighbor ( such as keep him safe) and also harm not the trees, neither the birds etc ( Revelation)how does Sonrise construction plan fullfill these commandments. To keep our neighbor safe would mean no dangerous access in fog onto Hwy 18To harm not the trees etc would mean no paving the stream etc and disrupting habitat of animals
How is this going to affect our outreach and ministry to the unsaved who oppose the project. There are many many folks here who need the gospel; will they come to Sonrise knowing that the project possibly does not meet Biblical criteria for Loving our Neighbor and caring for all creation?
We are to go to the ends of the earth to tell folks about the work on the Cross, will this be a stumbling block right here?
Tell me what to say to these folks.
Eric Granger, PhD
Dear Dr. Granger,
Church of the Woods has a long tradition of caring about people who live, work and play in the San Bernardino Mountain communities. This building project is a natural, physical demonstration of our desire to minister to the church family as well as the community at large…physically as well as spiritually.We remain attentive to the concerns of our community.
* Our building plans do not include installation of stadium lighting. Although this will limit nighttime use of the athletic fields, we want to remain sensitive to the folks who live and vacation in Rim Forest.
* Since not everyone on the mountain is an athlete or sports fan, our plans for Sonrise in the Woods include an area to enjoy unhurried fellowship together over a cup of coffee.
* We will continue hosting youth activities and Bible studies and plan to continue our tradition of allowing community groups such as the Mountain Fife & Drum Corp and Boy Scouts to use our facility.
* Our building plans include ample parking because we want to make sure that people won’t be forced to park on the street as is sometimes the case in our current location.
* In addition to creating inviting, environmentally-friendly landscaping, we plan to leave 38 percent of the property natural and untouched, for all to enjoy. We sincerely hope this will include you. We would be happy to discuss this with you in person. I encourage you to call the church office (909) 337-5483 to schedule a face-to-face meeting.
Sincerely,
Pastor Rod
Church of the Woods claims that the mountain communities need “a place where children can enjoy playgrounds and youth can gather for wholesome activities”. There are schools for such things. If these things are truly important to the Church, they should work with the schools to improve their existing playgrounds and fields. These facilities would be used the majority of the year, not from time to time as they would be at Sonrise.
This project is self-serving. It is their goal to be the biggest Church on the mountain. This has nothing to do with God. There is no reason for this, and the Church can do all of the things they are claiming to want to do spiritually from their current location.
Pastor Rod…If someone else owned this property and proposed a Super Wal-Mart be built there, would you support that? I will now refer to this as Wal-Mart in the Woods!
Dear RedHead4U,
We are sincerely sorry you feel this way about our church building project. But, on the contrary, this project is in no way self-serving. Church of the Woods has a long tradition of reaching out to our community. And this new facility will allow us to extend that reach. Our goal is not to become the largest church on the mountain. Our chief aim is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in everything that we do and say and to share His love with the world. We want young and old to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior no matter where they go to church.
We are not going to the community to ask that our expenses be met or to sell our wares for profit. Instead, very unlike a corporate giant, we are footing the bill to build with resources provided by God so we can minister to people on and off the mountain. Far from a profit-seeking venture, Sonrise in the Woods will come to us at great cost. But it is something we are committed to doing because we love our community. We pray for our community. And we want to minister to our community.