Speaking and training
For Churches, Christian schools, and the people who care for the hurting
Mike Skinner speaks and leads training at churches, Christian schools, pastor gatherings, parent groups, and ministry retreats, on mental health, pastoral care, and the cruciform shape of hope.
He brings fifteen-plus years of pastoral ministry, university-level theological teaching, and high school chaplaincy, along with his own lived experience of anxiety, panic, and depression. The result is rare: a speaker who can hold the theology and the kitchen-floor reality at the same time, without flattening either one.
Talks and Trainings
What Mike is most often asked to address:
Faith is not the opposite of mental illness.
A message for churches, small groups, and adult education. The Beatitudes as announcement rather than command, and what it means that Jesus pronounces the kingdom over the weary before they get better.
Pastoral care for the suffering.
A training for pastors, elders, and ministry teams who carry the weight of other people's pain and are rarely cared for themselves. Practical, theological, and honest about the cost of the work.
Holding hurting students.
A training for Christian school teachers, administrators, counselors, and chaplains on recognizing and responding to mental health struggles in the students they see every day.
Loving someone in crisis.
A session for parents, spouses, and family members caring for someone who is struggling, including what to say, what to avoid, and how to keep your own faith and footing.
Cruciform hope.
Mike's fuller theological vision, suited to retreats, sermon series, and longer training contexts.
Formats
Single talks and Sunday messages. Half-day workshops. Full-day trainings.
Weekend retreats. Customized programs for your context.
Honoraria are scaled to the setting. Reduced rates and pro bono availability exist for small churches and under-resourced ministries. Cost should never be the reason this work does not reach your people.
Curriculum, coming
Alongside speaking, Cruciform Hope is building written resources for the moments pastoral training does not prepare you for.
The first, The First Five Minutes: What to Say When Someone Discloses a Mental Health Crisis, ships fall 2026.
If you would like to pilot, review, or use it with your team, say so in your inquiry and we will keep you posted.
Bring Mike to your church, school, or event
Tell us a little about your context, your audience, and the dates you are considering, and we will follow up.
Holding on, and holding forth.