“The doctor advised her to abort me…”

Micaiah Skelton (Alumni), Kids

with Gabriella De Jesus

OSL Kids Internship alumnus, Micaiah Skelton, was able to sit down with me and talk about how his life before and during OSL helped grow him into the leader he desired to be.

Tell me about your family life growing up?

I grew up in a very small town. My dad works for Ford Motor Company and my mom takes care of the billing and receiving for a mechanical contract association. I have always been really close to everyone in my family. My dad is such a terrific guy. He is definitely one of the sweetest guys. My mom is hilarious and she has taught me a lot about my walk with God. Up until the death of my uncle in 2001, my entire family was pretty tight-knit.

Can you tell me a little bit more about how the death of your uncle affected your life?

My uncle was one of those people that was somewhat the cornerstone piece to my entire family. He passed away due to cancer in 2001, and although it wasn’t at the fault of anyone, my family still blamed each other. It really began to tear my family apart. It affected me so much that I didn’t believe in God for two years after the fact. For those two years, I felt like I had to wear a mask. I tried to escape from the pressure and pain by delving into different realities of life. With that type of pain, it takes a while to heal. I don’t think it’s possible to completely heal from it.

Was there someone during this time that was like a mentor to you?

Two years after the death of my uncle, my family left the church we had been at and began attending another local church. The kids’ pastor, Mr. Pete, really took me under his wing. He seemed to know all the answers to my questions. If there was ever a time when he didn’t have the answers, he would take the time to figure it out and help me along. More than that, he was really intentional about pouring into me.

How did you ultimately come back to Christ?

It was through Mr. Pete’s help that I rededicated my life to God. His intentionality helped me to turn onto a whole new path. I began to start back on the path and life God had created for me. Since then, my family has become very tight-knit again.

Was there a specific moment that you can remember where you realized the call God has on your life?

I have felt called to ministry my whole life. To give more insight, before I was born, there was a pastor that had prophesied over my life. He said that my life would bring many to Christ. During that time, my mom was seeing a doctor that believed I was a tumor and prescribed medication in order to kill it, or me. My mom knew she was pregnant, so I don’t know why he thought a baby could be a tumor. She took the medicine and later the doctor advised her to abort me. My mom began to seek counsel during this time because she was being extremely pressured by the doctor to go through with the abortion. He tried to discourage her by saying that I would never have a normal life if I was born, or even live long enough after my birth. However, my mom chose not to listen to him and gave birth to me. When I was a little bit older, my mom told me that she would watch me as I preached to my stuffed animals. My calling was so strong that I even felt called to lead my stuffed animals to Christ. It was not until my sophomore year of high school that I was told about the past I had and what my mom went through. My parents did not want me to be aware of it until I figured out my calling for myself.

Can you tell me about any struggles you had with your calling during that period?

Growing up, I had been picked on a lot. Some of the things that were said to me were absolutely brutal. My issues with self-confidence were huge. I had no idea who I was at some point. I could not see who I was in Christ. I was still trying to figure it all out. Even in leading in the youth ministry at my church, I was still unsure of who I was in Christ.

How did your story bring you to OSL?

The summer after my sophomore year, I went to a church camp. This camp came at a time that I really felt the need and pressure to figure out what I was going to do with my life since I only had a year left in high school. I felt like I was supposed to go into ministry and I began to speak to the camp speaker, Keith Robinson. He was connected to one of the old OSL directors and began to tell me about the program. Even though I felt the call of God, I didn’t want to leave Indiana. In my junior year, I went to Fine Arts. It was there that I saw the OSL booth. I remembered the conversation I had the year before and chose to check it out. I immediately knew it was what I wanted because of the motto, “Learn By Doing,” and my desire to be trained as well as getting an education. The only downside was that it was still in Dallas and I did not want to leave my hometown.

I went back to my hotel room and spoke to God. I gave God a checklist of what I wanted from a college. I told Him that if He could place someone in my life that could read off every point on the checklist without knowing it, I’d go to that school. I felt that I could do ministry anywhere and didn’t see the need to go out of my hometown. The next day, while I was on a tram heading from the hotel to the convention center, I ended up meeting Dr. Bartel, who had once been the head of the Bible department at SAGU. As soon as I started speaking to him, he began to hit every point on my checklist in order. Even then, I still did not want to go, but I forced myself to speak to OSL recruiters and sign up for more information. I ended up going to Campus Days at SAGU. I had already become friends with the recruiters from OSL because I spoke to them so much.

The pinnacle point for me was when I stepped foot on the Oaks campus. I felt the need to be here, even though I did not want to be here. The moment of confirmation for me came a month into my first semester. I was in a class taught by Dr. Bartel and after a month, I built up the courage to speak to him about our conversation. Dr. Bartel shared that he had felt God guiding him throughout the conversation. Ever since that moment, God has strategically placed great leaders in my life for each season.

During your time in OSL, what internships were you a part of? How did you choose them?

During my first year in OSL, I was apart of the Local and Global internship. I chose that internship because I considered myself to be a huge evangelist. I thought that because I was very passionate about evangelism, I should go into this internship. I wanted to be able to be a part of that here. I was able to go into the community and help in ways I wasn’t able to in the town I grew up in.

During my time in Local and Global, I began to get involved in kids ministry because of friends that had been involved in it. I began to get involved in both internships. After a lot of prayers, my second year brought me into the kids internship full-time. During that year, I was given so many opportunities that really changed my life.

Were there any difficulties you went through while in OSL?

Two of the most difficult things I had to go through was overcoming past hurts and fears and dealing with self-confidence.

How did you get through them?

There were tons of leaders that helped me through these difficulties but the main three people were Kolby Kissinger, Brandon Pardekooper, and Pastor Bryan Brooks. Within my first month of school, Kolby, who was my head RA and was in OSL, pulled me aside and had a conversation with me that boosted my self-confidence. The boost was in the fact that here was my head RA, that was in OSL also, taking the time to tell me that he believes in me. He made me feel like I could actually make it through. During my second year, Brandon Pardekooper, who was one of the old directors of OSL, had to sit me down and have a tough love conversation with me. He explained that some people could have felt neglect from their families and that caused them to feel as though they were not right for ministry, but I had a great family and in turn, had no excuse. I was called for ministry and Brandon took the time to explain his expectations for me and how I would grow. He was very direct but it pushed me and opened my eyes. During my third year, Pastor Bryan Brooks, the Dean of OSL, took the time to just encourage me. I appreciate him and his leadership so much. His encouragement was huge.

Down the line, during your time in OSL, where did you see yourself after graduation?

I saw myself doing some type of ministry. Honestly, Pastor Joey Alcala was a huge mentor for me while in OSL and one thing he would always say was, “the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener on my side because that’s where God has me.” He always advised me that God would guide my footsteps so I shouldn’t look for any single ministry experience. I should really let myself be led to where God wants me to go. I thought that maybe I’d be a variety of things but those words really helped to remind me that I just wanted to be led to where God wants me to be.

Going off the last question, what have you been up to since graduating from OSL?

Immediately after OSL, I got a job in creative and helped in supporting Powerhouse. About 9–10 months into my job, I worked in Powerhouse solely and soon after became the Discipleship Pastor at Powerhouse for 2 years. One of my favorite things I was able to do was the opportunity to be the Internship Director for Powerhouse. I loved the opportunity to pour out into the lives of students and be apart of sending them out. As of this April, I have recently transitioned to the position of resource manager for OSL. Other than that, I just got married on July 13!

Was the experience what you had imagined it to be? Did it meet your expectations?

It was not what I had imagined it to be at all, it was better. They had marketed that students get one-on-one time with pastors. I believed it to be just another marketing strategy, but I got a ridiculous amount of time with so many different pastors. OSL ultimately exceeded my expectations. I would not be the man and leader I am today if I had not gone through OSL.

Lastly, do you have any advice for students currently going through OSL and those looking into it?

Take notes. During my first two years, I didn’t take notes and I really regret it. Other than that, enjoy the experience and submit to the process. God has a call on your life and it is not for you to doubt that call. Trust the process that the leaders have set forth for you. It is going to work out. OSL is not for everyone but if God has called you here, it is going to change your life. OSL is extremely intentional and not just a regular leadership program. It is a life-changing and intentional discipleship program.

The Oaks School of Leadership (OSL) at Oaks Church was founded in 2009 and since then more than 600 students have gone through OSL. Many serve in high-caliber leadership positions throughout our nation and around the world. OSL exists to position students for effective leadership in a variety of capacities, including ministry, non-profit and business leadership, by providing students with hands-on leadership training combined with a degree from an accredited university.