Our Pastors

Mike Seaver

Lead Pastor

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Mike Seaver and his family were sent to the Summerville, SC area in 2011 to help plant Risen Hope Church. As Lead Pastor, he is responsible for the majority of preaching/teaching, envisioning, and leadership development.
Formerly, Mike was a Pastor at Crossway Community Church in Charlotte, NC for 5 years and before that, Student and College Pastor at Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC for four and a half years.
He has an undergraduate degree from Carson-Newman College and his Masters of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was also trained at the Sovereign Grace Pastors College.
Mike is married to his best friend, Kristin since 2000. They have six beautiful daughters and three handsome sons. Four of these kids were added to the Seaver clan via Colombia, South America through adoption in 2021. Mike is a die-hard University of Tennessee fan, but also roots for Clemson University-since Kristin is a Tiger grad. He also enjoys going to the beach or pool with his family, reading biographies and doing “daddy-daughter dates” with his girls and playing basketball with his boys.

Josh West

Pastor

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Josh is a Charleston native and has been a part of Risen Hope Church from the very beginning. He received his undergraduate degree from Bob Jones University and is working on his Master of Divinity through Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Josh married his wonderful wife Linneah in 2012, theirs being the first wedding at Risen Hope Church. God has blessed them with two precious daughters.

Josh is a die-hard University of Florida fan (which is far easier than being a University of Tennessee fan). He also really enjoys music, reading books, playing soccer, watching college football, and anything that involves spending time with his family.

Christopher Warren

Pastor

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Christopher Warren and his family were part of the original team sent from Charlotte, NC, to help plant Risen Hope Church in 2011. He oversees financial stewardship, leads the worship ministry team, and shares preaching and pastoral care responsibilities.

Christopher has led worship teams and small groups for over 30 years. He is passionate about helping others see their entire life as an expression of worship that should be solely and precisely aimed at God and His glory.

He has an undergraduate degree in business from Otterbein University and a Master of Business degree from Franklin University. Christopher has been an ordained Sovereign Grace pastor since 2020.

Christopher has been married to his truly better half, Stephanie, since 1991 and they have two amazing daughters. He enjoys reading, music, playing board games, and finding any excuse to spend time with family and friends.

Nathan Wingate

Pastor

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Nathan Wingate and his wife Michelle were part of the original church plant team in 2011. Nathan serves as a bivocational Pastor at Risen Hope and works full-time as an engineer in the renewable natural gas industry. He provides pastoral oversight to the Hope Kids program and theological leadership to the pastoral team.
Nathan and Michelle met when they were thirteen years old. They have been married since 2010 and have four awesome kids.
Nathan enjoys reading, playing board games, doing anything outside, and teaching children (and adults) about the kingdom of God.

Samuel Johnson

Pastor

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Samuel Johnson is originally from Michigan, where he and his family served in Life Action Ministries. After High School he went to Boyce College in Louisville, KY, graduating with a B.A. in Pastoral Leadership and Expositional Preaching and also began his M.Div in Theological Studies. While in Louisville, he also became a Member of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, and interned on several fronts before God called him to Charleston. Upon arriving, he began to be further trained and equipped for pastoral ministry, which culminated in his ordination at Risen Hope.

Samuel will oversee equipping and mobilizing Risen Hope to care for each other through biblical counseling, along with vision and leadership over community groups.

He has a love for the outdoors and anything sports related. In his free time you can find him on the soccer field (really called a “pitch”), in a tree stand, or at the beach fishing or surfing. On fall Saturday nights, however, he will be watching LSU football beat the Florida Gators or Tennessee Volunteers (who wants a name like that?).

Our Deacons

Jim Hill

Sunday Meeting Administration Deacon

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Jim is the Sunday Meeting Administration Deacon for the church. His responsibilities include ensuring the church facility is ready for use; interfacing with Sunday service ministries (e.g. Set-Up, Ushers, Welcome, etc.); communicating the order of service for ministries to follow, and resolving administrative issues as they arise. Jim and his family joined the church in 2013. He also serves as a Community Group Leader. His career is in government contracting.

Jimmy Guenther

Facilities Deacon

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Jimmy is the Facilities Deacon for the church. His responsibilities include routine maintenance and repairs, facility project management, and overseeing volunteer work on the church property. Jimmy and his family joined the church in 2011. He also serves as a Community Group leader and on the worship team. He is self-employed as a home inspector.