Pastor Seip

Rev. David E. Seip is the Senior Pastor of Chestnut Hill Baptist Church. He has served the congregration since 1999.

David grew up in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia in a Christian home. After graduating from high school he joined the Army and served a tour in Viet Nam in the late 1960s. Upon leaving the Army he enrolled in architecture and later added a second major in law enforcement and corrections at Penn State University where he graduated in 1976 with both bachelor degrees. Upon graduation he accepted a position with an architectural firm in St. Louis where he met his wife Leslie.

David and Leslie moved to South Florida in the early 1980s and soon after he started a consulting business to the adult retirement industry. During this time David and Leslie became increasingly drawn to missions. They were led to found a not-for-profit ministry to the Solomon Islands providing ministry resources to indigenous pastors. By the mid-1990s they felt the call for David to return to school to receive formal training in theology. This moved the family back to the Philadelphia area where David completed a masters degree in biblical studies at Philadelphia Biblical University (now Cairn University). While in school he preached regularly in area churches as an interim pastor. Upon graduation he accepted a position with Philadelphia Biblical University as a professor in the School of Biblical Studies where he taught for 10 years.

In 1999 David accepted a position as pastor of Chestnut Hill Baptist Church, while also continuing his theological studies. Subsequently, David completed a Master’s of Theology in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland; a Master’s of Theology in Church History from Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia; and a Ph.D. in early modern British church history from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

David and Leslie have five children and eight grandchildren. David loves the study of God’s Word, preaching, teaching, and writing.