Meet Mike Baldwin
A Career on the Front Lines.
A Calling to Restore.
Mike Baldwin is a retired law-enforcement leader with more than 20 years of frontline experience, serving as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, SWAT Operator, Sergeant, and Lead Detective in a Major Felons Unit. A Certified Professional Investigator known for ethical interviewing mastery, Mike built his career in environments where decisions carry real consequences and integrity matters.
After retiring from law enforcement, Mike partnered with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman to help rebrand and expand Grossman ON Truth, implementing the WIN (What’s Important Now) strategy to clarify priorities and build partnerships nationwide.
Now based in South Carolina’s Greenville–Spartanburg region, Mike founded Rise 7X to speak to first responders, churches, corporations, and community groups about faith, leadership, and resilience. His presentations combine candid stories from decades of service with practical frameworks audiences can use the very next day.
Why Rise 7X
The work of first responders is noble—and costly. Over time, relentless pressure, unseen trauma, and moral strain can erode confidence and isolate even the strongest professionals.
Rise 7X exists to confront those realities honestly.
Through keynote presentations and training sessions, Mike brings faith-anchored teaching, frontline credibility, and restorative leadership frameworks that rebuild resolve, restore purpose, and remind those who serve that what they do still matters.
The Heart Behind Rise 7X
The name Rise 7X is rooted in biblical truth:“a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” Proverbs 24:16a
For Mike, that idea is not theoretical. It reflects decades spent walking alongside men and women in high-pressure roles, people who have seen the cost of service, endured failure or trauma, and quietly wondered whether their best was still enough.
Rise 7X is built on the conviction that hardship does not get the final word. Growth is possible. Restoration is real. And purpose can be reforged, even after repeated setbacks.
That belief shapes every keynote, training, and conversation: honest about the toll of service, anchored in biblical truth, and focused on helping people stand back up with clarity, courage, and renewed resolve.
What Shapes the Message
Field-Forged Experience
Two decades in patrol, investigations, SWAT, and leadership roles inform every lesson shared.
Faith-Anchored Conviction
A biblical foundation frames resilience, identity, service, and long-term endurance.
Restorative Leadership
Practical frameworks rebuild teams, strengthen resolve, and sustain leaders over time.
Mike’s Testimony
I recognized I was a sinner and in need of a Savior at an early age. My parents were believers who faithfully prayed for my salvation, and under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I told my mom I wanted to become a Christian. She walked me through Scripture, helping me understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross and how to receive Him. I bowed my head, confessed my sin, and asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. A few days later, I was baptized by immersion at our local Baptist church to publicly declare that I was following Jesus.
From that day forward, I have sought to live for Christ and to share my faith with others. I graduated from a Christian high school in Arizona and went on to Pensacola Christian College, where I met my wife, Traci. We have been married over 30 years and are grateful parents of twins, Macy and Braden, who are walking faithfully with the Lord.
After college, I taught and coached basketball at a Christian school in Arizona. God later redirected my path into law enforcement – a career that proved to be difficult, challenging, and unexpectedly rewarding. For more than 20 years, I endeavored to serve the Lord and be a witness for Christ in that demanding environment, seeking to bring compassion, integrity, and hope to those I served and worked beside.
Following my retirement from law enforcement, I had the privilege of working with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman at Grossman ON Truth and learning more acutely about first responders and faith-based groups nationwide, and some of the struggles they deal with. That season of life helped plant the seeds for my current calling: to use my voice to share lessons of faith, hope, and resilience with first responders and the faith community. I believe God uses our failures and hardships to refine us, not to define us – and my passion is to encourage others with the truth that failure does not determine your worth or your future.
I am committed to speaking truth in love, bearing witness to God’s grace in my life, and helping others find strength in Christ. If my story or ministry resonates with you, I welcome the opportunity to connect and to serve together. – Mike Baldwin, Founder, Rise 7X
Learn More About Bringing Rise 7X to Your Organization
From the Front Lines
Reflections on faith, leadership, resilience, and recovering what service can take.
Why Duty, Honor, and Country are Still Important to Me
I recently was a guest on a radio show, and I was questioned about my opinion of the US Military Academy at West Point's deletion of the words, "Duty, Honor, and Country" from its mission statement. I used to work for Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and he, too has been...
Do Guardian Angels Exist?
I grew up hearing about Guardian Angels in church, and I believed they existed and protected me and my family (Psalm 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways). However, after a career in law enforcement, I can assuredly state...
A Lesson from a Pile of Rocks
I used to love a good object lesson, and (I suppose I still do) as a physical object can often reveal, show, or teach a greater truth that is memorable. Recently we purchased a new home, and I have been doing "hard things" to tailor the property to our liking. I've...
Trusted by Those Who Know the Cost of Service
From the moment I met Mike, his kindness, compassion, and God-centered faith were unmistakable. Guided by faith, his natural leadership and selfless courage reflects the heart and actions of a true hero, and I am deeply blessed to have worked with him and to call him my friend.
– Emily Pepe, Surprise Police Dispatch Supervisor
In a profession that can harden you, Mike reminded me how to stay grounded, purposeful, and human. His mentorship didn’t just make me a better officer – it made me a better man. I’m here today because Mike took the time to invest in me when I needed it most!
– Detective Joseph Gruver (ret.)
Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Few verses capture the essence of Mike’s character better. In life’s toughest moments, his faith, courage, and integrity shine through. God works powerfully through him, and his words carry the strength and truth men need to hear. Mike inspires others to rise higher and live with purpose.