Philip Lee Skellie

On the evening of February 22, 2017, Rev. Philip Lee Skellie died suddenly at the age of 68. It is a comfort to know that he is with the Lord that he served so faithfully. He was born on February 19, 1949 in Zamboanga City, Philippines to Lloyd and Nelrose Skellie. As a family, they were serving as missionaries with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Phil accepted the Lord as his Savior at a young age, and his experiences growing up as a missionary kid prepared him for his life of ministry. After returning to the states, he attended Simpson College, where he met his wife, Rebecca Ann Staub. They were married on August 14, 1971. After marriage, they moved to Massachusetts, where he graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree. Phil, with his wife Becky, pastored in East Randolph, Vermont and as an assistant pastor in Burlington, Vermont. Their son Chris and their daughter Heather were born during their time in Vermont. In 1979, they moved to Nyack, New York where Phil served as Personnel Director at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Headquarters. While there, he had the privilege of interviewing many people who would become missionaries and pastors. He was so good at his job that he recruited himself and in 1984, along with their two children Chris and Heather, began ministry outside Auckland, New Zealand as church planters. While in New Zealand, their daughter Amy was born. While in New Zealand they helped establish Christian Fellowship for the Disabled, a group dedicated to ministering to those with disabilities and to encourage churches to welcome and include the disabled in their congregations. In 1989, North Bays Alliance Church, which they helped establish, was turned over to a pastor from New Zealand. In the fall of 1990, Phil was asked to serve as Asia director for CAMA Services, the relief and development arm of the CMA , and moved along with his family to Bangkok, Thailand. It was their great privilege to work alongside a dedicated team that worked in the Bangkok office and in refugee camps along the borders of Cambodia and Laos. God used that unsettled time to bring many people into the Kingdom. In 1994, the Thai government made the decision to close the refugee camps and those people began to be repatriated back to their own countries. CAMA was able to move some of their staff into those countries. When the Asia office was closed, Phil was asked to serve as team leader of the CMA Commission team. Commission was an interdenominational organization that provided Christian teachers from the US the opportunity to teach Christian ethics and values in the Russian public schools. After 8 months the family transitioned into life in the United States. He worked for 2 years in the district office of the Pacific Northwest. In 1998, the family moved to Colorado Springs, CO where Phil was the director/president of CAMA services for 18 years. During those years, he traveled to encourage workers and support relief and development projects all over the world. He loved his travels but was always happy to return to the family and home he loved. He climbed many “Fourteeners” and loved biking, tennis and any activity that took him outdoors. For the last year of his life, he along with his wife Becky served together with marketplace ministries, providing member care to workers throughout Asia. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Skellie and his three children Chris Skellie, Heather Wong (Barnabas), and Amy Shumake (David) and three grandchildren Benjamin and Hannah Wong, and Sadie Shumake. He is also survived by his two siblings, Joel Skellie (Patty) from Silverdale, WA and Anita Skellie from San Diego, CA. He will be missed by many extended family and friends from all over the world. A memorial service will be held on March 3, 2017 at 2:00 PM at Front Range Alliance Church 5210 Centennial Blvd. Colorado Springs, CO 80919. Donations in memory of Phil Skellie may be made to CAMA services or Marketplace Ministries