Michael Skupin
At the urging of his two oldest children, Michael applied for the adventure where the ultimate prize was a million dollars. He walked away with an experience of a life-time that a million dollars could never buy. Michael became a contestant on the most watched program in Television history. More than 52,000 people applied for a variety of reasons and only 16 people were selected. They thought they were in it for the game but it turned into an incredibly spiritual 42 days stranded in the Australian Outback.
A church-goer his entire 40 years, God revealed many things to Michael in the Outback. Walking away with a "grass roots" understanding of faith, forgiveness, the power of prayer, a personal relationship and the "gift" of salvation, he started sharing his story with others. His church asked him to share his story to their 3,500-member congregation, 7,500 people showed up. He was then asked to speak to the AWANA (ministry to 35 million kids across the world in 110 countries) World Headquarters to their 300 leaders. Later that week he heard from Billy Graham's ministry, then Larry Burkett's, then Pat Robertson called and asked him to be on the 700 Club. He wasn't entirely sure why all these incredible ministries were calling him but he soon realized it was all part of Gods plan.
Within the last 3 years Michael has shared his story with millions of people at events like Acquire the Fire's "Stand Up" in Indianapolis to (50,000+ teens), Youth Quake in Canada (5,000+ teens), Bill Gaither's Praise Gathering (13,000+ adults), churches all across the country, Men's retreats, large stadium events, pavilions at beaches, political rallies, schools, summer camps and youth groups. He's shared the stage, often by personal invitation with Bruce Wilkinson (Prayer of Jabez), Tommy Tenney (God Chasers), John Maxwell, Jerry Falwell, Dobson, Max Lucado (He Chose The Nails), Billy Graham Ministries, Greg Laurie (Harvest), etc. He has appeared on and often had the opportunity to share his testimony on Hollywood Squares, Politically Incorrect, MTV, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Extra, The Early Show, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, VH1, CMT, and Sally Jesse Raphael. He even got to share the spiritual side of his Outback experience with current President Bush, Ted Nugent, Howard Stern and his listeners and many, many others.
Then an incredible offer came Michael's way. He was asked by Michigan's Governor and several other key political figures from Washington DC to be Michigan's candidate for the U.S. Senate. Hollywood had other plans for him hosting TV shows. Endorsement opportunities started coming in. Confused as to which path to take in his life, he asked his staff to pray about going into ministry full time. They asked God to show them which path He wanted them to follow. The following morning, everyone had the same vision....full-time ministry.
Throughout his adventure in the Australian Outback, Michael realized he had been a church-pew warmer his whole life. He never really had a personal relationship with Jesus because he spent very little time talking to Him. He now realizes those one-on-one conversations with God every day are critical to our faith and prayers being answered.
The testimony God blessed Michael with reaches every facet of beliefs from atheists and agnostics to pastor's and leadership conferences. Michael also has an incredible message designed for outreach: reaching the un-churched and unsaved. His unique advantage of being able to stir up the media in a town to gather thousands of dollars of free exposure to promote events gives him an opportunity to reach more people than ever. He offers free interviews with television, radio and newspapers (both Christian & secular) in every town's where he speaks in exchange for promoting the event. This publicity allows churches and organizations to reach a market normally untapped.
The Gospel message has been the same for over 2,000 years but in today's fast food multi-media culture, Michael believes the means by which we teach it and present it should keep up. God is using Michael to reach all ages, all levels of faith and many different faiths using his worldwide recognition, music, and a high impact multi-media presentation to change the lives of millions.
Michael has dedicated his life full-time now to:
- Sharing & spreading the Gospel wherever and whenever he gets the opportunity.
- Helping Christians better understand the Gospel, prayer and their faith.
- Teaching people how, when and why to pray.
- Reminding Christians that love, above all things will change this world faster than anything else.
- Teaching people about the personal relationship they were meant to have with Jesus Christ.
- Reminding people of the Great Commission and how we are commanded to share our faith with others.
- Challenging people to get involved in service with churches, small groups and in the community.
Michael's message is so simple in concept, yet so often overlooked as people study the Bible. He has had Bible scholars and pastors of churches thank him for reminding them in the simplest of terms what God's plan is for them. As we study the bible, we must never forget to worship the Author.
Michael currently lives on an all sports lake in White Lake, Michigan with his wife Karen and their seven children Michael (17), Kalyn (15), Brandon (10), Emily (9), Jaclyn (8), Leo (4), and Kristy (1). There they enjoy all 4 seasons skiing (water & snow), swimming, ice-skating, hiking, mountain biking, etc. Their back yard is 40,000 acres of state land where they build secret camps, explore, hunt and generally get away from the bricks, mortar and steel that consume far too much of our lives.
