Eagle Ridge Church prepares to celebrate 30th anniversary

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Plans are underway for a grand celebration when Eagle Ridge Church of Menifee marks its 30th anniversary on Oct. 5 at the Fairfield Inn & Suites.

Located at the corner of Murrieta Road and Holland Road, Eagle Ridge Church sits on the site of the first church established in the Valley, said pastor Steve Lennertz. The land was donated by the Bouris family in 1952 for construction of a Baptist church. After several changes in denominations, the church property was purchased by Eagle Ridge Church in 2002 and received what Lennertz calls an “extreme makeover” to what it is today.

Lennertz began his ministry in 1994, leading Bible studies that developed into the Eagle Ridge Church that year. The congregation met in school auditoriums and later the Kay Ceniceros Center before relocating to its current location. The non-denominational church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and averages between 300 and 400 attendees in two worship services each Sunday, Lennertz said.

Lennertz said he was influenced by Calvary Chapel and the Jesus Movement, an evangelical Christian movement that began in the Western U.S. in the 1970s. His business at the time was a custom cabinet shop, which he moved to Menifee when he and his wife Kathryn came here in 1985.

“I got involved in church and dabbled in a few ministry endeavors,” Lennertz said. “I began to get a serious sense of a call to the ministry. Six months into the founding of the church here, I closed the shop in 1994. I had no intention of closing it, but the ministry was too demanding.”

Since then, in 2017, Lennertz earned his Doctorate in ministry. Kathryn, a teacher at Paloma Valley High School, is very active in church leadership as well, serving as director of the women’s ministry and supporting in many other ways.

The church offers mid-week Bible studies at the church and in homes. The church has a weekly men’s ministry meeting and also offers an Awanas program for children.

“It’s a fast-growing community, and a lot of people are looking for a church home,” Lennertz said about the congregation’s growth in recent years.

As founding pastor, Lennertz and his wife Kathryn have played a key role in the lives of many who choose to worship there.

“It is really hard to work with people of all sorts of walks of life, but these two manage to make it look easy,” said Susan Schulz, a member of the church for 25 years. “They help any that come to them for spiritual or practical help and direction while turning them to grow in Jesus and with friends at church and in the neighborhood.

“I've been around since almost their beginning, and to say they are excellent in service would be putting it mildly. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of people come and learn and live very wonderful lives while helping others. They are like a fairy tale love story, except they are the real deal.”

For more information on Eagle Ridge Church, visit www.eagleridge.church.