Pastor’s Page

Ray Strauss is the Senior Pastor and co-founder of The Church at Sun
Valley.  The church’s early beginnings started after Ray and his family
moved to the NW Phoenix area in June 2007.  Upon arrival Ray spent the
summer surveying communities, meeting people, and sharing the vision for
The Church at Sun Valley.

During that same time, Daniel Scott,  Ray’s roommate from college and
co-planter for The Church at Sun Valley, was sharing the vision for the
church in the Dallas, TX area which lead to the majority of support coming
from First Baptist Church of Euless and Rockpointe Church.

The following October, the Scott’s moved from Dallas, TX to AZ.  In
November of 2007, five families committed to begin meeting weekly for Bible
Study in their home.  Shortly after, the group moved to Daniel’s home and
finally, in January 2008, the small group that formed the early core of the
church moved into Festival Foothills Elementary School.

Ray is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist  University with a B.A. in Ministry.
His Seminary education includes New  Orleans and Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary as well as  Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Having
been in the ministry for 15  years, he has served in associate and senior
pastor roles prior to  starting The Church at Sun Valley.

Today, Ray not only serves as the Sr. Pastor of CSV, but is also Councilman
for District 4 for Buckeye, the Town and people he has grown to dearly love.

A former collegiate sprinter, Ray still enjoys running and athletics as well
as reading, good movies, and hiking  with his wife and three sons and two
German Shepherds, Alex and  Sophie.  His great ambition is to lead CSV to
become a church family  that embraces and lives out the Great Commission (Mt
28:18-20) and  Great Commandment (Mt. 22:37-39).