As the lead pastor of Empowered People Church, a non-denominational church in suburban Chicago founded in 2006 by her and her husband, Deland John, Dr. Kisia Coleman has been charged by God with many crucial tasks. Not only must she protect her flock from the cold, dark culture that has enveloped this country, but she must also prepare it for the next Great Awakening, which she believes is coming very soon.
With the many kingdom duties God has challenged her with “for a time such as this,” the latter is a responsibility she accepts without hesitation or reservation.
“It’s not just some cliche, some religious jargon that we all tend to have. I authentically believe that we are on the verge of a tremendous move of God that is going to be incredible,” Coleman says. “There is a lot that is going on right now. The Lord has really been waking me up.
“I have cried out to the Lord and said, ‘whatever you are doing in this particular season, I don’t want to miss You. Whatever it is, please tell me.’ I do believe that the Lord wants us positioned for the next season, and the next season is here.”
Coleman’s kingdom-focused attitude keeps her busier for Jesus than most. Not only is she a preacher of God’s Word, Coleman, the founder of KishKnows Inc., is a certified life and leadership coach and the head of a self-publishing book firm.
Online, she executes a prayer ministry she started in 2000, where dozens of people pray daily for each other and for the culture of this country on a prayer conference phone line.
She has written books and helped publish books that have impacted thousands. And, in addition to all of that, she and John have raised a family of five, including their own two children and two orphaned nieces and a nephew, whom they took in since the untimely death of the children’s parents.
On top of all of that, in the past year, she has become a podcaster. She is the host of Mastering Your Message with Dr. Kish on the Charisma Podcast Network. In her “spare time,” she also writes plays and spoken word pieces.
While everything combined can become overwhelming at times, Coleman takes none of it for granted and says she knows all of these tasks have been commissioned by God Himself.
“I would say that, according to Scripture, I believe there is an appointed time for everything,” Coleman says. “I just really believe that it has been building up to this point in time. Two years ago, I became the lead pastor of Empowered People Church as my husband was transitioning so that he could venture more into international ministry. We have a grown son who is doing well working for Apple. My daughter was graduating from college at that time, and our nieces and nephew, whom we ended up taking in about a decade ago, were at the point where they could start to take care of themselves.
“My business that I started from scratch back in 2013 had a system in place where it was really working for me, so, if I needed to, I could step back from it. I really do believe that, by God’s grace, I had come to a point in time where I could focus on more things and handle all of it.
“We know that God has appointed times and seasons right now for all of us. In the church, when people talk about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, we think about God having an appointed time for the Holy Spirit to show up. So, when it comes to us as believers, it’s an appointed time. If it were up to me—and it’s not—I would be doing all of this anyway. I grew up in church, in a pastor’s home, so I’ve been around this stuff for a long time.
“It’s just that point in time, and it’s been building to this point. I know what God has spoken to me and what He has told me to do, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Empowered People Church is hitting a growth spurt after having gone through various transitions due to relocation, and Coleman says it currently consists of about 25 to 30 families. But there is a consistent flow of new partners coming aboard on a weekly basis both locally and internationally. Under its parent organization, Kingdom Church International Ministries, the church’s reach is felt around the globe as it partners with ministries and other believers in the U.S. and various nations.
Locally and worldwide, Kingdom Church International’s core values focus on building families, restoring communities, awakening dreams and enforcing God’s kingdom plan in the earth with its creative outreach services to the community.
As a pastor, Coleman and her husband take these responsibilities very seriously. But it is only one aspect of Kisia Coleman’s ministry to help prepare the nations for the next great move of God.
KishKnows Publishing
As a writer, Coleman knows fully how difficult it is to become a published author. Many people, she says, simply write a manuscript because they believed God spoke to them to get a certain word out to the public.
And while their idea and His message may be ordained to reach the masses, Coleman is convinced that these potential authors are not completely listening to what God is telling them to do with it.
That is perhaps the main reason why she created her self-publishing company, KishKnows Inc. The company’s goals, according to her website, are to:
Help authors create quality, attractive, professional self-published books
Coach our authors to develop the mindset as the recognized authority in their industry and the credible go-to person in the marketplace
Empower our authors to attract their target audience so their message can reach the masses
Alleviate the frustration and overwhelm in the publishing process.
Alleviate the uncertainty and lack of clarity in the publishing process.
And, to alleviate the procrastination and delay that many aspiring authors and writers encounter when desiring to publish.
“When aspiring authors don’t understand the process and the investment, which are really one and the same, they most likely are not willing to go through it,” Coleman says. “We know that when it comes to actually writing the book, you have to take time and effort to sit down and map out your thoughts.
“But, if you are really going to do it, you have to have an objective point of view; you have to have people to help you with the process, and that includes editors. Many people are afraid to go through the process because they are afraid of red marks, or the editing. They don’t want to be groomed.
“They also don’t understand that there’s a financial investment involved. They think about the old adage, ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Well, it just doesn’t work out that way. When you are writing and publishing a book, it’s like building a house. You don’t just build a house that you’re going to move out of next year. You build a house that you’re going to be in for a long time. And so, you want to make sure that foundation is right. And with that, I’m talking about some key strategies. It’s a process and an investment. A lot of people don’t understand it and are not willing to go through it.”
That’s where, as a book publishing coach, Coleman comes in. She conducts regular workshops for potential writers to learn the process and obtain the skills to help them accomplish their dreams in getting their book published. Coleman helps them to understand the entire process, the costs involved and the marketing aspects of the publishing project.
Most of her clients are potential Christian authors, but she does publish some positive non-Christian literature also.
“If the writer isn’t aware of key elements involved in the process, they’re going to get frustrated,” Coleman says. “So, when we do our workshops, our main focus is on how to write and publish a quality, attractive book that gets your message to the masses in an excellent, exciting way. So, when you’re writing and publishing a book, one of the things that we have to get our audience to understand is that you are talking to a target audience and you are targeting a specific reader.
“If you are just wanting to write this book for yourself, make it a journal. But if you have a specific message for a specific audience, make sure you know exactly what you’re doing so you can accomplish what God wants you to.”
Lakeea Kelly is a prime example of one of Coleman’s clients who followed the process well. Kelly’s book, TransHermation, helped her to win both the Pitch Competition and Judges Choice Awards at the Battle Creek, Michigan, Small Business Pitch Competition. Kelly, who was also a coaching client of Coleman’s, won a total of $3,000 to help start her new business with ideas that came from her publishing project.
Dr. Cynthia Chess’ book, Grace to Administrate, has become a “go-to” book for many ministry leaders, churches and training centers in the Tracy, California, area.
Coach Kish’s website, kishknows.com, houses many other positive client testimonials:
“I am a Doer and now that I’ve been armed with the content of your workshop, I am a soon-to-be-author.”— K. Parks
“The information you shared was priceless!”— Q. Robinson
Empowering Podcast
Mastering Your Message with Dr. Kish is a prime example of Coleman’s ministry as a life and leadership coach. Her mission through her podcasts is to help her listeners mold, maximize and monetize their kingdom message to the masses and spread the Word of God worldwide.
She interviews many of her self-published authors through KishKnows Publishing and helps those authors who might not normally know or understand how to market their message to reach a much wider audience.
“We want them to know how to define their core message and understand how to deliver that message to a target core audience,” Coleman says. “During this past season, we had a lot of interviews with our published authors, with people who are just empowered to do whatever God has called them to do. These people want to inspire listeners to know that, if they did it and succeeded, then others, with God’s help, can do it, too.
“But the thing is, you’ve got to find out what message it is that God has given you. What is your life’s purpose? And then, you’ve got to learn how the message can be communicated, whether it’s by podcast or by social media, blog writing, or whatever. It might be communicated through your service to someone else. So whatever that core message is, that is your purpose. Like John the Baptist, when you understand what your purpose is, you just really come forth with the power of the Holy Ghost to articulate it and communicate it and get it to those who need to hear it.”
Ready for the Next Move of God
Coleman knows that she is saved by grace—the powerful result of Jesus’ death on the cross—and not by works. She knows that everything she is currently doing for the kingdom will not get her into Heaven.
But she says she also knows that believers must position themselves for the next great move of God.
And by positioning herself with the talents and skills God has given her, it will speed up the timing of that move by equipping others to take advantage of the talents and skills God has given them.
“Our hearts must be receptive to hear God’s Word and listen to what Jesus is saying and to receive the move of the Spirit,” Coleman says. “The next move is upon us, and I believe it is already here. It is an honor to be in position to be the ones who are going to be used by God in wuch a mighty way.
“I believe God’s miracles, signs and wonders are about to come to the church again. I don’t know exactly what part I’m going to play in that, but I don’t want to miss what God is doing in this season. I don’t want to miss this next move, and I don’t want others to miss it, either.”
Shawn Akers is a content development editor for Charisma Media.
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