Sun Valley Community Church - Queen Creek

Sun Valley Community Church has been a great experience for my family since we started going a few month ago. Their kid programs for the various age groups are engaging, and my kids want to go back each week. They also have events for the whole family to attend every once in a while. Pastor Chad Moore and the other teaching pastors shed a lot of light on modern day struggles and choices using lessons taught in The Bible. Keep up the good work Pastor James Washburn at caring for and growing this community.

We visited a lot of churches in the area and this place made me feel the most comfortable. I didn't feel like a number. They really gave me the feeling that they don't judge at all. I see all walks of life and absolutely love it. My kids love their services. The leaders make it so personal for them. We even serve when we can in K-3.

If you're curious about the Christian faith, you owe it to yourself to come for a service. I was always against "organized religion" for the certain views and RULES that they make you follow or shun you for not following. Sun Valley teaches the truth about Christianity, which is so blindly portrayed by other religions as something else entirely. It doesn't matter your views on politics or worldly things, at the end of the day we are all the same. No matter how BAD you've been or how much you've "sinned", you are welcome here. I've got tattoos and piercings, as does my wife. By most organized religions standards, we are non-conforming. However, I've never felt more at home in a church than I do in Sun Valley. Not saying that everyone is tattooed up and down with piercings everywhere, but that there are people just like us that attend these services. Sun Valley has opened my eyes to show me that WE are the same group that Jesus would've gone after. He didn't go after those that were perfect or following the right path by the eyes of the church. He went after the sinners, the tax collectors, the ones the church had shunned. People just like you and I. You should NEVER feel out of place when you step into a church, you should always feel welcome. Kids services are EXCELLENT and both of our daughters really enjoy and look forward to them. Small groups and recovery groups are offered. If you need healing in any way, Sun Valley has something to offer. Now, keep in mind... You may be surprised that there isn't a live pastor standing in front of you and shouting at you on Sunday. This is a multi-campus church that broadcasts the same message to all church campuses on Sunday. The live service is at the main Gilbert Campus on Saturday evenings at I believe 4:00pm. That said, it isn't about a live pastor yelling at you, it's about the worship. The band is incredible and for the first time in my life, I've felt the Holy Spirit enter the room as everyone starts singing along to up-beat music. It's not your typical hymnal music, it's modern, upbeat and encouraging music. I had always heard people in religion talk about the Holy Spirit, but never really knew what they were talking about... like some kind of foolish make believe. Sun Valley finally showed me and for the first time in my life, I really felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. What an incredible way to heal.

Searching for a church to go to & put my child in the summer camp they offered here. It was alright. A middle aged man near the parking lot with a tan backpack on that was apart of the staff that runs the program (I’m guessing.) On the last day, He blocked us from walking to our car & demanded that I return my child’s name tag to the team leader. We did so walking back in the heat and the team leader stated didn’t even need it. She already had the security sticker to release my child to me. Returning to the parking lot again. The same backpack man did it to another set of women&children using his body to block them from going to their cars. They refused to walk back which made him fussy. If this man is apart of your program, Please have better communication between your staff. And let them know the power struggle isn’t needed.

At this campus, like all the other satellite campuses, the pastor is "virtual". He isn't actually physically there. Instead, the speaker is projected full body and life-sized (a little larger than live sized) on a screen. The effect is actually quite believable and it's not something that you even think about much. And while his sermon is pre-recorded the day before, it feels like he is actually there speaking to us. It works and many people who experience it might believe that he really is up there. The first few weeks my mom has leaned over a couple of times and said "oh he's really here this week". But he wasn't. If you haven't been to one of these satellite churches you HAVE to give it a try just to experience this virtual pastor effect. (Edit - 5 years later they don't quite do this effect anymore. I miss it. Now it's more of just a video feed. It no longer "feels" like he's there, which is too bad.) Chad is great. I've been in church my whole life. And he's one of the best speakers I've ever heard. He is humble and speaks at my level. For him only I would give Sun Valley a 5 star rating. But I can't give the Queen Creek campus 5 stars. Personally, I go to church for the speaking and to hear the messages. I don't go for the music, which in recent years been labeled as worship. When I was younger worship wasn't the music it was something else. But that's what it's commonly called today. I know this is something an old curmudgeon would say.. but the music is honestly much too loud. So loud that we are considering going back to the Gilbert campus. And for that reason I decided that it was appropriate to write this 3 star review. The bass and drums are amplified too much and in a venue that size they should be turned down probably by half. You'll see in my photo which was taken with a db level measuring app that the music peaked at over 120db and that at the moment the photo was taken it was at 109db. This was with one of the quieter bands. For the record, we have already talked to the campus pastor on multiple occasions and asked they to turn it down. He acted like he would consider it, but I believe that the campus pastor's hands are tied a little. I doubt he has the absolute authority to make this decision on his own. It's a corporate decision to have the music too loud and so they have to do that. That's my belief anyway. I'm actually not a curmudgeon. I have a fairly reasonable view on this subject. How loud the music should be at any given church is completely debatable and controversial. "Loud" is a completely relative term as is "too loud". I believe that Sun Valley as a whole knows that they can't please everyone and that they can't really even try to please everyone. But I think it is their conscious choice to have the music be "too loud". Otherwise one week they'd be turning it down because someone complained and the next week turning it up because someone complained. They can't do that and I don't expect them to. However, I think the music here is beyond just loud. I believe it is a result of the acoustics of the room. So, I suggest they get a db meter in there to measure how loud it really is, and make sure they're at a reasonable "loud". It's really the low frequencies that are too loud. The drump and bass. Something like 105db max as measured in the mixing booth would be very reasonable. Currently routinely the music is at 110-115db which I think is difficult to justify. I hope you will visit the campus and decide for yourself. And if the music is too loud find the campus pastor and let him know. He will smile and say "ok" and the next week it will be the same. (Edit - 5 years later we still go do this campus. Although for a few of those covid years we did church at home remotely. But back in person now the music is still way too loud. They make ear plugs availble and it's just a routine now to grab a pair and leave them in during the entire service. I can hear the music fine and even the sermon fine with them in.)