BRAD WHIPPLE
Founding and Lead Pastor
Brad and his wife Debbie currently lead Seaport, which they planted with the help of 7 people in March 1989. Brad’s deep passion for reaching people with the message of Jesus Christ has been the driving force behind his ministry for over 31 years. Whether it is supporting a missionary called to a foreign land, planting a church, reaching out to military men and women and their families or driving to Sturgis, South Dakota to minister to bikers, Pastor Brad’s heart is for people to find the healing promised in the Gospel.
PB (short for “Pastor Brad”) is also a sought after authority in church planting and ministry training. He was one of the first trainers for the Assemblies of God Church Planting Boot Camps, teaching planters how to start new churches. This equipping ministry has taken PB to many regions of the United States and around the world to places like Spain, Ghana, Venezuela, South Korea, China, Pakistan and India.
Brad is a graduate of Zion/Northpoint Bible College and Central Bible College. He has been ordained by the Assemblies of God for over 30 years. In his free time Brad loves to pray at Bluff Point and to ride motorcycles.
Brad and Debbie have been married for 42 years and love being near their daughter Lindsay, her husband Matt and grandson Felix.
DEBRA WHIPPLE
Pastor of Worship Arts
Debbie Whipple is Pastor Brad’s wife but is also a licensed minister in her own right. As the Worship Arts Pastor, she keeps the worship experience at Seaport on the cutting edge, ministering through today’s top Christian music. The passion of Pastor Debbie’s heart is for each person to experience God through worship. She says, “We are created first and foremost to worship God. Worship is not supposed to be a dry, passionless ritual but a deep spiritual and emotional experience with God.” Whether it is Sunday morning worship, singing lead for the biker band Mercy Road, an outdoor concert, a Christmas production, an Easter drama, or other special event, Pastor Debbie does her best to lead people into the presence of God through music. Debbie is a graduate of Zion/Northpoint Bible College and Central Bible College.
CHRIS PHILLIPS
Pastor Chris Phillips leads our Tech Team and Military Ministries and is tasked with keeping Seaport’s vision as a “Home away from Home” for our local military at his forefront.
Pastor Chris, together with his wife Nikole, ensures we do our best to reach, support, and equip the military while they are stationed here in the area.
They are committed to helping other active-duty members and families grow in their relationship with the Lord, with each other, and equipping them to boldly spread the gospel to their friends and family, helping to create missionaries that spread across the globe sharing the good news of the gospel.
Pastor Chris has stepped into several roles over the past few years here at Seaport. He previously served as our Youth Director and completed a formal three-year pastoral internship program. He is credentialed as a licensed minister by the Assemblies of God and attends Southeastern University full-time in pursuit of a Master of Divinity degree. He currently serves as Seaport’s Military Ministries and Technical Director.
After coming to Christ in 2016, Pastor Chris has a passion to share Christ with everyone, and his heart is for people, especially those in the military, to find the healing promised in the gospel and to help equip them to share Jesus with others. His life experience as a husband, father, Navy Chief, and a Submarine Independent Duty Corpsman have primed him for a life of selfless service.
Pastor Chris and Nikole have been married for 18 years and together they have three wonderful children: Kadyn, Gabriella, and Trystan.
MELISSA JONES
Director of Children, Family, and Missions
Melissa is Seaport’s Director of Children, Family, and Missions Ministries. She is responsible for organizing all curriculum, classes, and events for children and their families while also providing oversight and guidance for our teachers and their teams that serve during our Sunday and Wednesday services.
Melissa has served in children’s ministries in various capacities for over 20 years and has been part of Seaport’s staff for 10 years. Aside from her work in Children’s Ministries, she also coordinates our Missions ministries by keeping missions at the forefront of the church and overseeing our support of our missionaries. Melissa graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Eastern Connecticut State University. She and her husband Andy are the parents of four wonderful children.
ROLANDO RIVERA
Director of Student Ministries
As Seaport’s Youth and Young Adult Director, Rolando Rivera is responsible for the equipping of Seaport’s middle schoolers, high schoolers, and young adults for the work of the ministry given to us by God through Christ Jesus: Reconciliation with God. This is accomplished through gatherings where there is genuine fellowship, prayer, worship and the studying/teaching of God’s Word. He also organizes events for the groups to participate in within the community and beyond so their faith can grow and Jesus can be shared.
Since making a commitment to follow Jesus at the beginning of his senior year of college in 2019, Rolando’s life course has completely shifted and he now burns to tell anyone and everyone of the healing power found through the Gospel. His passion is for the Word of God to be taught to all people so that they can know God deeply and love Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Rolando is recently married to his talented and compassionate wife Brianna, who assists him in all things and serves on the worship team. Together they bring a spark by God’s Spirit to ignite those around them in their relationship with Jesus. Their number one goal is to see lives completely transformed by the love and truth of God. With a team of men and women filled with the Spirit, they aim to build up the younger generations to bear fruit and reap a harvest.
Rolando and Brianna have grown up in close proximity to Seaport Community Church, and they are grateful to serve in a community that is close to home.