She has overcome challenges that would have broken the average man or woman, but author and entreprenuer J. Nicole Spencer is by no means average. A native of Houston, TX, Spencer is building a multi-media brand that is reaching across the globe with the aim of helping others in their day-to-day lives. During her conversation with Cyrus Webb of Conversations, she talks about her beginnings, the foundation of her faith and success and what advice she has for anyone who wants to live a better life.
First of all, Nicole, thank you for taking some time to talk to us about your organization. Before we get too far into the business side of your life, why don't you tell our readers a little about yourself.
I am a native Houstonian raised by my mother the first half of my youth and my father the second half. I have been on my own since the age of seventeen. I joined the US Army at age eighteen with an attempt to escape a street life of drugs, alcohol and abuse. Running from the calling I heard on my life even as a young child I ran right in the hands of God. Although I made up my mind that I would have fun first then when I got older I would I turn to God, He had other plans for me. While serving in Korea I clearly heard the voice of God say, it’s time. November 2002 I rededicated my life to God and took off running.
Undergoing a dramatic transformation I developed an understanding of my calling to evangelize and serve the people of the very streets I was trying to escape. I returned home with a goal to do just that by starting a non-profit organization, United Soul Seekers, bringing many to Christ in the same community I once sold drugs in. Despite the success of my ministry my marriage brought about pain and low self-esteem. Struggling to keep together a marriage based on abuse and control I slowly drifted away from ministry while pregnant with my first child. After surviving a near death experience by the hands of my husband, my child and I relocated to the Dallas Fort Worth area. Frustrated with having to work full time and ask for donations to raise money to support my organization I decided to start my own business which will allow me to manage my own time and have an opportunity to make an unlimited amount of money to pour back into the kingdom. The birth of Christian Touch Media came from this frustration.
Do you think those who grew up around you are surprised about all the things you have done in such a short period of time?
Of course! I have always been a leader but I lead people straight to hell. I have always been a dreamer but my dreams had nothing to do with serving God. People in the Army and from my hometown could not believe the girl that was once the life of the party, was now talking about a man name Jesus. You know like the woman at the well, well that was me. From a youth I knew that I wanted to change the world but I didn’t know how. Once I sold out to the gospel I was ready for others to do the same. His love is where the passion of everything that God has allowed me to prosper.
There are many people, Nicole, who have goals of doing things in life. Some of them never achieve the level of success that you have. What do you think separates you from them?
Nothing! The same God I serve has predestined every believer for His good works. If we seek what He desires in due time success will follow. If we align our goals and desires to his plan and are diligent they shall come to pass. I give all glory to Him and Him alone. Yes there are principles that I follow but everyone has access to these same principles….. The Bible.
A great deal of what you do today comes under the umbrella of your business Christian Touch Media. Talk to us about where the idea for it came from and what it does.
A man once told me that he who dominates the media dominates the mind of man. I thought about that and said the quickest way for me to get the gospel out in this society is through the media. Think about it, texting, internet, TV, radio, books, newspapers, and magazines. Even marketing products, clothing and music influence people in the most powerful way. One day I thought to my self the church needs help in dominating media. Wouldn’t it be great if the Christian community could walk into a place where everything they needed to be effective for Christ was in one place? You know a one-stop shop? If you were a writer and needed assistance in publishing or selling your book. Or if you were an artist and you need to record. Or a teacher and you needed study tools. What about a business owner and you needed business cards? Well welcome to the world of Christian Touch Media. We create multiple outlets of marketing and media for the Christian community.
It would seem that a great deal of what you do, Nicole, is centered around your faith---even your work in the community. Talk to us about the role of faith in your life and how it has grown over the years.
I laugh because I do nothing, absolutely nothing without faith in Jesus! I am a simple woman with a back ground that doesn’t agree with my current circumstances. I should be dead or in jail right now. Instead God allowed me to write a book. God allowed me to raise my child with a clear mind. God allowed me to have a business when I was once a slave to corporate America. With out Him I am nothing. Every moment of my life is depended upon His grace.
We are living in a time when people are afraid because of everything that is going on in the world around them. How do you keep such fear from keeping you from achieving your goals?
I am not of this world or its economy. I started a business with faith and three thousand dollars in the middle of a recession and have profited 4 times over. In the economy I operate in faith is like a million dollars. I am rich not by the balance in my account but by the faith that God brings me to through every level of knowing Him more. Even if I fall flat on my face today I am still rich because I serve a God who can flip $1 into a million if I have enough faith to let it flow into my life.
One of your latest projects is the release of the book "Sarah's Secrets". Can you tell us about the inspiration for it and what you hope readers take away from the book or the audio version?
Honestly I feel like I had no choice. I really wanted to write a book but not this book. Sarah’s Secrets Exposing the Fear of Submission is a book that teaches women about biblical submission. This was a topic that I fought with for a long time, as due many women today. Submission is a topic that society has rejected time and time again, yet our Bible teaches it. How can we as Christian reject a mandate from God? In this book I reveal three simple but powerful secrets that will help women submit to God first then to godly authority in their lives. Sarah Abraham’s wife is our teacher and four women grow to learn how these secrets can benefit them. It was a book that I had to write because God instructed me to.
Here we are in a new year with many possibilities ahead. What are your goals for your business and yourself personally in 2010?
As for myself I desire Gods righteousness more than anything else right now. I have salvation but now I want to be like Christ. In 2010 I’m asking Him clean, restore, and grow me in Him. As for my business, my record label, clothing line and several more store locations are on my plate to develop in 2010.
Nicole, any advice you want to give to those who might hear your story and want to find out how to make their dreams come true?
Do not live your life in vain. What ever time you have left on this earth help someone by being all that God called you to be.
Thank you again for your time, Nicole, and continued success to you. For those who might want to keep up with you online, how can they do so?
Thank you. I have several websites in which they can find information www.christiantouchmedia.com, www.sarahssecerts.net, www.warcallrecords.com and www.redeemedplatinumwear.com.
