Pastor Joe Stoppelbein & Family

Pastor Joe was born and raised in Charleston, SC, where he put his faith in Jesus Christ at 6 years old.  After graduating from the University of South Carolina in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, he was commissioned in the US Army and stationed at Ft. Huachuca, AZ.  It was here that God called him into full-time ministry.  Pastor Joe surrendered his commission in 2000 and attended Desert Baptist Bible College, earning his Bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Theology and his Master’s in Theology. 
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Pastor Joe was called to Sonrise Baptist Church in July of 2002, where he was also ordained into the Gospel Ministry.  By God’s grace, Sonrise has continued to grow in spiritual maturity, mission’s outreach, and ministry development.

Pastor Joe was married to Heather in August of 2001 and they have been blessed with eight children:  Luke, Jack, Katie, Isaac, Caleb, Caroline, Josiah, and Ryan.

Pastor Eli Perez & Family

Pastor Eli was born and raised right here in Tucson, Arizona.  He trusted Christ as his personal Savior at 12 years old and was called into the Gospel Ministry in the fall of 1999.  After struggling with God’s call, he surrendered to fulltime ministry in the winter of 2000.  He then began serving at Iglesia Bautista de Sahuarita as their Youth Pastor until he and his family were called to Sonrise Baptist Church in November 2004.

Pastor Eli received his Bachelor of Biblical Studies from Andersonville Theological Seminary and was ordained to the ministry on May 2, 2010.  In addition, Pastor Eli completed his Certificate in Biblical Counseling from the Institute for Nouthetic Counseling in 2018.  He has served as the Youth Pastor at Sonrise since 2004, and has been the Spanish Pastor since the founding of the Spanish Ministry in 2008.
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Pastor Eli met his wife Denise in 1995 and they were married August 8, 1999.  They have four children:  Elianette, Evelyyn, Nathanael, and Eileen.