Keith Skinner
Head Deacon of Support Services

Name: Keith Skinner

Family: Wife, Debbie; Son, Samuel

Saved: 02-22-1976. Although I had grown up in church, believe it or not, I had never heard a salvation message. Most of what I knew from church was that we were supposed to be "good" people. I was in my senior year in high school, preparing to go away to college. I had been discouraged by my church. I remember telling myself that there has to be something more to this church/Christian thing than I was currently experiencing. I had decided that if there wasn't anything more, then when I got out of the house and away at college, I would be done. No more church for me. Then on that Sunday night a friend invited me to a Christian concert at a local church. In the 70s contemporary Christian music was pretty much in its infancy. I agreed to go and listen to this group called the "Good News Circle." Throughout the concert the music ministered to me and while the lead singer was talking about a personal relationship with Jesus, I realized that this was what I was looking for - that there was something more to church. I responded to his invitation to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior that night.

Joined Victory: I honestly don't remember the exact date, but we first visited Victory on the day that a video of Brandon proposing to Maraline was shown. The one thing I remember from that first sermon was when Pastor Ed said that "you must end a thing before you can begin a thing." For me and my family, that spoke volumes to where we were at the time. From that time on, we began attending on a regular basis. We actually became members shortly after services began being held at NCHS.

Favorite book/author: John Jakes and John Grisham are my two favorite authors - sorry, can't pick just one. I have enjoyed every book those guys have written. Another favorite book is "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge.

Favorite food or snack food: There is nothing better than a juicy rare steak! Although pizza is a close second.

Where would you like to visit someday: A better question is where wouldn't I like to visit, because I have always enjoyed traveling and there are so many places I would like to see. The UK, Alaska, Hawaii, Israel, Australia, and Switzerland to name just a few. Part of me would still like to finish a goal I had in my youth to see a game in every Major League stadium in the country.

What do you do in your free time: Free time? What's that? I don't have a lot of free time, but I do like to spend time with my family. I enjoy movies and sports, too.

What scripture has impacted you the most/why: Philippians 1:27 "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." And Philippians 3:14 "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me." These two scriptures have impacted my walk with the Lord in that no matter what happens in life we continue to press on - striving to be more like Christ everyday. No matter the situation, there should be no doubt of whom I serve.

Most influential person/people in your life: Roger LaWarre. Roger was my youth pastor during my last two years of high school and during my early years in college. He showed me what it meant to love others and walk out Christ's love in our daily life. He encouraged my in my new relationship with Jesus and taught me how to be a minister (servant) to others. To this day, I still have several of the small tokens he gave me to remember who I am in Christ and my responsibility to minister to the body of Christ.

Favorite kind of music: Contemporary Christian and contemporary worship music. I cut my teeth on Keith Green (loved his music and his ministry). Currently, Chris Tomlin has written and performed several of my favorites.

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