The background music for the human race was written in a minor key. People woke every morning to a tone of tension, knowing something was wrong but not having a solution. The deep longings of the soul had no resolution; darkness prevailed; the need for light was universal…
John wrote his version of the Christmas Story against the backdrop of that despair:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1)
Life offers no peace or hope, without the Creator of Life. Existence feels empty when the horizon of Eternity is unreachable in the darkness. Mangers and shepherds – angels and Wise Men – are all great for the reenactment of the drama, but the satellite view offered by John focuses on the Big Picture. Darkness has been pierced by the arrival of The Light. We now have The Way: it’s Jesus.
Merry Christmas, my friend. Thanks for allowing me to challenge your thinking again today, as we head into an amazing week, understanding the Big Picture. Would you allow me a short, personal moment?
We’re all reflecting on the year almost past as we set our sights on the year just before us. During 2025, my time has been spent on two principal themes. Through The Master’s Program, we continue to help Christian leaders discover ways to enlarge their commitment to give time, talent and treasure to the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the expansion of Jesus’ Kingdom. Alongside that, I’ve spent dozens of days – partnered with other Christian organizations – helping them raise money from their constituents to advance their Kingdom missions. It’s an honor for me to help ministries I trust raise the funding they need to fulfill their ministry vision.
Missing from my 2025 calendar: any event organized to secure contributions for The Master’s Program. We help our TMP community to multiply and maximize their Kingdom giving, and we help great ministries present and promote their missions. While we’re doing that all-year-long, what were we doing to secure the contributions we need to continue?
The funding to support The Master’s Program always comes from ministry partners – friends like you! – who know that our commitment to give overshadows our effort to raise our own support.
For two decades, our experience has been consistent: we have a financial deficit for 11 months, then, God provides through friends like you at the year’s end to recover those reserves and eliminate the shortfall. Most years, 80% of our funding comes through year-end gifts in December.
We need $300,000+ to restore our operating capital, allowing us to end the year in-the-black. We have no way to know who might be planning to make a last-minute gift, but we’re praying.
If you’d like to help us start 2026 with the same two-part agenda – helping Christian leaders elevate their engagement in advancing God’s Kingdom while helping Christian ministries procure the resources to enable their missions – you’d be multiplying your giving toward 100x returns.
Can you help? Click here to see how you can help. We’re confident that God will come through… and He always does that through friends like you!
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Merry Christmas!
— Bob Shank
Refer someone to TMP: Click Here
Become a TMP Table Mentor: Email or Call Chris Skiff
TMP COHORTS STARTING SOON!
ORLANDO – January 2026
DALLAS/FT. WORTH – January 2026
NEWPORT BEACH – February 2026
CHARLOTTE – March 2026
VIRTUAL – March 2026
Chriss Skiff’s Contact Information:
Email: chris.skiff@priorityliving.org
Phone: 805-440-1700
