Philip grew up in Coleraine, on the North Coast of Northern Ireland. He studied Geography at Queen's University, Belfast, and after a gap-year working with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Galway (Republic of Ireland), he entered seminary in Belfast at the Reformed Theological College. After completing seminary studies, Philip obtained a certificate in counseling at Christian Counseling Education Foundation (CCEF), Philadelphia. He then worked for eight years as associate pastor at Shaftesbury Square Reformed Presbyterian Church in the downtown area of Belfast. In 2011, he married his wife Heather (originally from Marquette, Kansas) and they now have four children. In August 2018 he moved to Bloomington to begin work at Bloomington Reformed Presbyterian Church.