About Nakia O. Shy

Nakia O. Shy is a native of New Bern, North Carolina, and currently serves as the founder and director of Covenant Praise Ministries International. 

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Nakia accepted her call to the ministry of dance in March of 2006 but has felt a strong pull to the prophetic since 1997.  Since accepting her calling, she has ministered in various churches in Alabama, Alaska, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Maryland and Mississippi. She served in the capacity of junior praise dance leader and co-choreographer for the Next Level Dance ministry at the Elmendorf AFB Gospel Service in Anchorage, Alaska, as well as Dance Ministry Director of Flowing Under God’s Anointing at First United Gospel Assembly in Gulfport, Mississippi. She then served for five years as the dance coordinator for the annual “Worshipers on the Frontline Worship Summit” under the leadership of Prophet Joshua Smith.  It was during this time that she grew in the Word as well as in the ministry of dance. 

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Nakia’s vision for her ministry is mentoring and unity.  She desires to see dance welcomed as a part of worship in the entire body of Christ. Most of all, she desires that ministries come together as a family in order to effectively bring this powerful aspect of worship back where it was originally intended. It is only when all the Levites (psalmists, minstrels, and dancers) come together on one accord that the captives will truly be set free. To that end, Nakia is the author of “When Praise Meets Worship,” a manual and its companion workbook designed to teach ministers of movement the effective way to incorporate dance during worship.

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Because she has a sincere desire to see that everyone she comes in contact with walk boldly in their purpose, Nakia has developed, and is currently facilitating, Press into Purpose, a six-month mentoring program designed to unlock one’s buried potential.

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Nakia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management from Wayland Baptist University and a Master’s degree in Human Services with a specialization in Christian Ministries from Liberty University.  She was commissioned as a prophet in 2014 and ordained an Elder in July 2018.