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Spirit of Praise Takes the Ministry Reins
By Toni Terrell
The Answer Staff Writer
When Spirit of Praise Ministries pranced off the Cashman Theatre stage clinching the ‘Best Gospel Group’ award, its members were convinced stardom was around the corner.
“We knew God had blessed us with some talented voices and our hearts for ministry couldn’t have been any bigger,” said Rochelle Schoener, co-founder of the group. “What more did we need?”
But shortly after the big win, one of the group’s vocal power houses and lead singer – Nina Hooks - was faced with several deadlines in her professional career as a teacher for the Clark County School District, and some personal challenges amongst leadership brought things to a halt.
“We turned down several ministry engagements because we didn’t want to sing without our lead vocalist and her schedule just didn’t permit her to do anything during those months,” Schoener explained. “The name of the group was Nina Hooks and the Spirit of Praise – it was essentially her and us – which was the way God designed it.”
The group, scheduled to release their first full project this spring, was birthed from an annual women’s retreat hosted by the
founding duo’s home church. Nina Hooks and Spirit of Praise Ministries, as it was named then, took the Las Vegas area by storm during its first year. From its kickoff praise and worship set during the Gospel Music Workshop of America to the breathtaking worship injection at True Love Baptist Church’s Gospel Explosion – the group saturated the atmosphere wherever they ministered.
Alice Tugwell, KCEP’s Godmother of Gospel sang their accolades all over town. “Everybody was talking about them after they sang during a live remote broadcast for our station’s fundraiser,” she boasted during one of her Sunday shows.
Moreover, the group seized gospel enthusiasts throughout the city during a free concert where attendance was so great fans were forced to sit in the church’s choir stand or join other listeners packed in a standing-room-only balcony. “They were the darlings of Las Vegas at that time,” said Pastor Henry Black, president of the Gospel Announcers and Broadcasters Association and radio personality at KCEP.
Undoubtedly, the impact of the voices and the rich worship during the team’s local city-wide tour left admirers eagerly anticipating the concert and the release of their single, which sold out in five minutes.
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