ripe artists
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ripe worship
Ripe Worship is a worship collective comprised of more than a dozen worshippers from various churches throughout the city of Philadelphia. This team consists of vocalists, musicians, and visual artists. As a collective, Ripe Worship desires to serve and represent the body of Christ in humility, truth, excellence, and unity.
Ripe Worship is led by a five-person leadership team: Esteban Nieves, Priscilla Nieves, Emily Phillips, Olivia Weatherbe, & Michael Weartherbe (Photo: Left to Right). Ripe Worship exists to exalt Jesus in purity through teaching the fullness of worship through various expressions while being a physical representation of Kingdom unity in the body of Christ.
Creatives' philly team
2 Lines Philly team
2 Lines is a spoken word platform in the city of Philadelphia. Launched in 2021, the 2 Lines team has hosted monthly open mic or slam-styled poetry events at various venues throughout the city. Since the beginning of 2024 they've called Deke's BBQ home on the third Thursday of every month. 2 Lines' goal is to be a safe place for all people who desire to express their creativity while pointing attendees to experience true everlasting freedom -- which we believe ultimately comes through relationship with Jesus. You can find out more about the upcoming 2 Lines Philly experiences through the events tab.
ripe CREATIVES STAFF
Scott & Darlene Smith
Founders & Director
Scott & Darlene were both raised in New Castle, PA. They first met in 1994 in preschool at First Baptist Church of New Castle. Scott & Darlene were married in that same church twenty years later in 2014. They have called Philadelphia home since 2012 and currently live in the neighborhood of Mt. Airy. They have served in ministry together in Philadelphia for over a decade. In June of 2024 they welcomed their first son, Levi James Smith.
In 2016 Scott joined the community of Ripe as a spoken word artist and artist mentor while serving on full-time staff with a separate urban ministry organization. In 2018 Scott & Darlene launched the platform of Creatives’ Philly to serve artists of various genres and backgrounds. In 2019 Scott and Darlene launched Ripe Creatives under Artists in Christian Testimony Intl to provide infrastructure and covering for both the Ripe community and the platform of Creatives’ Philly.
Darlene is currently an Assistant Vice President at Apogee Insurance located in Wayne, PA while also serving alongside of her husband to help lead the ministry. Scott is a ministry department lead of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl, serves as the Founder/Director of Ripe Creatives, and is ordained to the ministry of Ripe Creatives through Messengers Fellowship. Scott is a spoken word artist, emcee/host, event curator, artist manager, & speaker.
Emily Phillips
Director of Hospitality, Worship, & Visual Arts
Emily Phillips was raised in Lake Wylie, South Carolina. Emily moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 2018 to serve with an urban ministry in the city. In the fall of 2019, Emily began volunteering with Creatives’ Philly on the hospitality team. In the summer of 2020 Emily helped launch Ripe Worship, served as a vocalist on the traveling team, and subsequently became the co-leader of Ripe Worship shortly thereafter.
In January of 2022, Emily accepted a position to join missionary staff with Ripe Creatives under the covering of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl. Emily’s initial job-title was the Director of Hospitality & Worship Arts. Even before joining staff officially, Emily had already begun hosting Ripe Family Nights which have continually helped deepen our community values across all of our various teams.
In the spring of 2022, Emily launched the first of our Creatives’ Gallery experiences. Creatives Galleries specifically serve visual artists of various mediums here in Philadelphia. Today Emily serves as the Director of Hospitality, Worship & Visual Arts on staff with Ripe Creatives. Emily is an active member of CityReach Church which has two campuses in North & Northeast Philadelphia.
