Ray Johnston has a rich and varied background as a university and graduate-school professor, speaker, writer, and founder of Thrive Communications. He is also the founding pastor of Bayside Church in the Sacramento, California suburb of Granite Bay, which Ray describes as “a church for people who don’t like church.” Bayside has grown into one of the largest churches in the nation with more than 12,000 people coming together every weekend at the main campus and thousands more in multiple affiliated churches throughout the Sacramento region. Ray is the founder of Thriving Churches International. Each year his Thrive Leadership Conference sells out months in advance with over 4,000 leaders attending from across the country and around the world. An in-demand speaker, he has spoken to more than 4,000,000 people over the last 10 years. Ray is a veteran of both youth and adult ministry, having crisscrossed the nation for years as a top instructor for Youth Specialties. A graduate of Azusa Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary, he was Chairman of the Department of Youth Ministry at North Park College and an adjunct professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Azusa Pacific University. Ray and his wife, Carol, live in Granite Bay, California.