Ryan grew up in King and Winston-Salem, NC where he came to faith at a young age and grew up in a healthy gospel-minded church. He also met his future bride while they were still in the children’s ministry. After graduating high school, he moved all the way to Raleigh, where he graduated with a BS in Aerospace Engineering from NC State. After waiting on her to graduate from that light blue university down the road, he was overjoyed to marry his childhood sweetheart, Meagan, in 2007. The Lord has blessed them tremendously with four children – Riley, Abby Ruth, Charlotte, and Cole. During and after seminary at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Phillips family were members at Open Door Church in Raleigh, where they were poured into and trained for pastoral ministry. Open Door sent Ryan and his family to help replant Covenant Hope Church in 2018.