Leadership
Pastoral Team
We believe that God wants a shared and equal Council of Elders to lead every church. This provides mutual accountability, increased experience, varied pastoral gifts, and meaningful encouragement for those who lead us. This explains why we consistently identify and equip additional men (through PURSUE, a 2+ year Pastoral Leadership course), as potential elders for our team—with a special focus on establishing a multi-ethnic pastoral team so we can respect our congregational diversity, and experience the full-orbed beauty of Bible-saturated multi-cultural leadership.
Family and Discipleship Pastor
Rick has been a believer for over 20 years. In May 2019 he was installed as an ordained pastor in Risen Hope. In addition to general pastoral oversight, Rick, as our Family Life and Discipleship Pastor provides pastoral care within the church and teaches in various contexts.
Rick previously served as a Youth Pastor and as a bi-vocational Lead Pastor of a multi-ethnic church in Upper Darby, PA. He has a huge heart for discipleship, church planting, and winning the lost to Christ.
He has earned a Bachelors of the Bible and another Bachelors in Social Work, both from Cairn University. He has also earned a Masters of Divinity in Pastoral Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Currently, Rick is employed as a Career Coach Instructor at Eckerd Connects. He and his wife, Jae, have two children.
Pastor
Alex has been a believer for over 25 years. He preaches, trains leaders, and also oversees the diaconal team, Promise Kingdom (children’s ministry), member care, and global missions. He also leads a community group with his wife Teresa.
Alex graduated from Rice University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked on chip design projects for Intel for 9 years before moving to Philadelphia to attend Westminster Seminary, from which he received a Masters of Divinity. He was ordained in October 2016. He and his wife, Teresa, have four children.
Outreach and Worship Pastor
Dave Estornell
By the grace of God, Dave has been a believer since 2005 and involved in Sovereign Grace Churches ever since. As Outreach and Worship Pastor he leads our music worship and tech ministries and equips the church for evangelism, outreach, and mercy. Additionally, Dave oversees the administration of the church office and finances and manages our office staff.
Raised in Delco with multi-generational roots in Drexel Hill, Dave served in the US Navy followed by 3 decades of leadership in the software industry. Reflecting a growing call towards pastoral ministry, Dave completed our multi-year Pastoral Leadership course in 2019, the Worship Matters Intensive for congregational worship pastors and leaders in 2020 and the Sovereign Grace ordination requirements in 2022. He was ordained in June 2022. Dave and his wife Christine live in Springfield.
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is a group of mature believers who serve as trusted advisors to the elders in a non-governing role. They meet regularly with the pastors to help think through various pastoral and mission-related matters.
Bill Davis
Bill has been a faithful believer for over 40 years. He is a graduate of the Manna Bible Institute. Before retirement, he long worked as a Philadelphia Highway Construction Inspector, while simultaneously serving believers in the Philadelphia community for many years as a Bible instructor and discipler of men. He is also a regional presenter for Evangelism Explosion International. He has been faithful in community service, including soup kitchen ministry and Bible School teaching. Currently, he serves as our Deacon of Prison Ministry and Hospital Visitation. He also is active in community outreach events and as a Community Group Leader. He and his wife, Becky, have three children and five grandchildren.
Daryl Fitzgerald
Daryl has been a believer for more than 30 years. He and his wife, Stephanie, served as Coordinators of our Explore (membership) course. He also served as a Community Group leader at our planting church, Covenant Fellowship. Daryl graduated from Temple University with a degree in Political Science and works as a talent acquisition manager for a business consulting firm. He and Stephanie have been blessed with 3 children.
Rob Irias
Rob has been a believer for 30 years as God’s grace has been poured out on him and his family. He has been a teacher and coach for the past 15 years and is currently teaching at Delaware County Christian School. He and his family moved to the Delco area in 2015 and have been attending Risen Hope since its inception. Since then, Rob has served in Promise Kingdom with his wife, and they also host and lead a community group where they invest in the lives of Risen Hope families. Rob attended Clarks Summit University where he graduated with a degree in Bible but maybe more importantly, where he met his wife of 16 years. Becky and Rob live in the Drexel Hill area, and they are loving parents to 3 children. Rob loves to be among the people of the Lord and to point them to Jesus Christ. Whether it be over a meal, conversation over music, or camping, living out his faith and encouraging others to do the same is where his passions burn the deepest.
Dannet Mitchell
Dannet, by God’s good grace, gave her life to Christ Jesus over 25 years ago. She is the President and Co-founder of B.E.S.T. (Building Educational Success Together) Academies LLC, that she and her late husband, Edgar, established 20 years ago. Dannet and her family are active members of Risen Hope Church where she serves as a Leader of the Risen Hope Prayer Ministry and a member of the Risen Women’s Ministry Leadership Team. Dannet loves to come alongside younger women to exemplify the Titus 2 model of “the mature woman mentoring younger women.” She also teaches Bible study, promoting Bible literacy, and she is passionate about supporting the women in her community to grow consistently in treasuring Christ and living out the gospel graciously. Dannet holds a Bachelors in Psychology and a MSA in Organizational Psychology from her beloved alma mater, Lincoln University. She is a native of Jamaica, but has lived in Philadelphia for over 25 years with her four children.
Deacons
Our Deacons are members of the congregation that have been recognized as mature believers in Christ by the pastoral staff and have been appointed to the leadership of a ministry within the church.
