A 9-acre Ramona parcel the Spirit of Joy Lutheran church has long envisioned as the site for a new church and community center has been put on the market for $3.5 million, church officials announced.
Pastor Dan Erlenbusch, who founded the church 29 years ago with his wife, Karyn, said Monday that after a financial review by the church’s Building Committee, the majority of the congregation voted to sell the land — prime property on the western gateway to Ramona at state Route 67 and Highland Valley Road. The familiar Welcome to Ramona sign sits in front of the corner lot.
“We really want to get the word out so it’s not a matter of people presuming what happened or what might have happened,” Erlenbusch said. “Also, we want people to know we’re very much alive and well. We are going to be reimagining who we can be in this community.”
Realtor Fred Iravani of Windermere Commercial said he will be listing the property on Wednesday.
On Easter Sunday 2017, the church hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on the property that was attended by about 500 people. A focused capital campaign had raised pledges of more than $800,000 and a loan from Thrivent was approved for $2 million.
In the meantime, the church has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars installing infrastructure, including pads and a water hookup, and has county approval for a wastewater treatment system, Erlenbusch said.
And COVID-19 has had a big impact on Spirit of Joy’s continued fundraising for the new multi-building church and in its ability to maintain a $300,000 ministry budget, he said.
“The congregation is committed to be good stewards of the funds entrusted to the church and meet the current loan requirements,” Erlenbusch said in a statement.
Robin Maxson, chair of the Ramona Community Planning Group, expressed surprise at Erlenbusch’s announcement.
“I’m disappointed to hear that they’re going to sell,” Maxson said Tuesday. “They have put a lot of money into the project and did a nice job on the infrastructure and foundation for parking.
“It was a very nice design — right on the corner there and very visible.”
The Spirit of Joy church, founded in 1992, began with meetings in the Erlenbusch’s home and then held services in a small shoe store in Old Town Ramona. The property on SR-67 was purchased in 1988 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Spirit of Joy later bought it for less than $100,000, Erlenbusch said.
The church, now with a congregation of 350 to 400, meets for worship and classrooms at 1735 Main St. The pandemic prompted Erlenbusch to hold outdoor, socially distanced services on the SR-67 property, as well as Saturday night drive-in movies — a practice he plans to continue until the land is sold.
The congregation had big plans for their new church, Erlenbusch said. And now, church leaders are left to answer a number of questions about the future, including what the church will become and whether it will purchase a new building.
“When you have a permanent site and 9 acres, there is so much more you can do in of community and county outreach — ministries for children and youth and places to go and be a part of,” Erlenbusch said. “In all honesty, there is real grieving that is involved when you’ve had a vision for something for so long. We trust God has a plan.”
