David
Skeba grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. His boyhood days were filled with sports and
a fascination with wars and battles in American history.
His life’s goal was to become a fighter pilot. Having
an alcoholic father, David’s childhood was a turbulent
one; however, many of the qualities that he would need later
in his life were formed during this time. The Holy Spirit
graciously worked in David’s life and God’s
hand was upon him.
Together
with his mother and sister, Lorraine, David attended a Ukrainian
Orthodox Church. Though he heard about God at home and at
church – and even believed that He existed –
David was prone to get into trouble.
Upon
graduation, David was accepted at a branch school of the
University of Tennessee on a football scholarship –
enrolling in its Reserved Officers Training Corps program
to pursue his fighter pilot aspirations. It was a dream
come true! At college, with new-found independence, he quit
going to church and began to live his life as though God
didn’t exist.
After
his freshman year at UT, David watched his dream disappear.
His new carefree lifestyle resulted in getting into trouble
with some of his teammates on campus, and as a result, it
cost him his football scholarship. Like sand through his
fingers, this tremendous opportunity escaped his grasp as
quickly as it came.
The
Holy Spirit was working in David’s life. Indeed, this
crisis got David’s attention. A short time later he
found himself kneeling at a bedside in a minister’s
home on a cold, but sunny Friday afternoon in February 1967,
repenting of his sins, receiving Jesus Christ into his heart,
and making Him Ruler of his life.
Looking
up at the wall across the room, he saw the reflection of
the setting sun, symbolic of the dying of his old rebellious
life and the beginning of his new life in Christ. For the
first time, David realized that God was truly alive. He
had just experienced a life-changing encounter with his
Creator. He was now embarking on a new relationship with
Christ – a brand new start in life.
To
David’s surprise, within two months David felt God
call him into full-time ministry – the last thing
in the world he ever wanted to do. Finally, he made the
agonizing decision to give up becoming a fighter pilot and
to obey God’s call. In the fall of 1967, He attended
Northeast Bible Institute in Green Lane, Pennsylvania –
an Assemblies of God affiliated school. Next he enrolled
at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri to finish
his ministerial education.
After
college, David moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he
pioneered the East Ridge Assembly of God Church from 1970
to 1973. In 1973, David was fully credentialed and ordained
as a minister with the Assemblies of God. Then, from 1974
through 1979, David served in several churches as an assistant
pastor.
In
1979, during a transition time in his life, David responded
to an opportunity to work at WPCB-TV40, a fledgling new
Christian television ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Eventually, David became Vice President of Programming.
Among his many duties as Program Director has been reviewing
program content and choosing programs to fill its 168 hour-per-week
broadcast schedule. WPCB-TV has eventually become Cornerstone
Television Network (CTVN), a national television ministry
broadcasting 24 hours a day via satellite – covering
much of the North American continent.
David
and his wife, Mary Anne,
have been married for 28 years. (Click
here for the wonderful, miraculous story of how God
brought them together.)
An
avid student of the Bible, David continues to search for
effective ways to communicate the power of Christ’s
love that so radically changed his life. His prayer is that
through his testimony and the resources he has developed,
you will see Christ and the Bible in a new and different
light – leading you to discover God in the same real
and personal way as he did.
Contact
information for questions, comments, or for author interviews
and speaking engagements: info@DiscoverMinistries.com
