Pastor, Leader, Entrepreneur, Advocate, Teacher, Husband, and Father are some of the roles Rev. Dr. Staccato K. Powell, II has as he pursues his passion and purpose to make a difference in the community and the world. He says he aspires to “build ground-breaking ministries to create positive change within families and the world at large through Jesus’s discipleship model.” With that focus, Powell believes he possesses the driving force and remarkable wisdom for his success and for everyone and everything connected to him to succeed as well, which he calls the “Staccato Effect.”
Reverend Doctor Staccato Keithan Powell II was born on an Easter Sunday, April 22, 1984, in Wilson, North Carolina, to Right Reverend Staccato Powell and Dr. Susan Evans Powell. His upbringing is rooted in The A.M.E. Zion Church. Staccato accepted his call into the ministry at the age of 16 and preached his initial sermon in November 2000 at Mount Hebron A.M.E. Zion church in Hallsboro, North Carolina. “Based on a sign from God which involved the unusual affection of my little sister kissing me on my right cheek during an Indiana Conference and my ability to win multiple oratorical contests growing up, I realized that I’d been called to the ministry,” said Powell. He began to establish his legacy in the A.M.E. Zion church in the year 2002, where he became one of the first African-Americans at Washington Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church to earn the coveted Eagle Scout Badge issued by the Boy Scouts of America in Saint Louis, Missouri. This honor has proven to serve as an inspiration for thousands of other African-American youth. He continued to serve as Scout Leader at Grace A.M.E. Zion Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Rev. Dr. Powell excelled as a scholar-athlete in high school. He is a former Maxwell Football Club award recipient for his outstanding academic and athletic performance while attending West Chester East High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 2003, Powell attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He was initiated into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Beta Chapter during his tenure there. Powell describes his initiation as one of his life’s most challenging but rewarding experiences. While at Lincoln, Rev. Powell continued to expound upon his experiences by studying abroad in the South of France. While he lived in Aix-en-Provence, he traveled extensively through the continent of Europe. Some locations include Nice, Monte Carlo, San Tropez, Paris, Rome, Italy, Amsterdam, and Barcelona, Spain. While pursuing his education at Lincoln, he was also. In January 2004, Powell was ordained as a minister and became the Director of Youth Ministry at Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Powell was ordained as a Deacon on January 23, 2004. A few years later, he received his first pastoral appointment at Saint Paul A.M.E. Zion Church in Hertford, North Carolina, in 2007 by the late Right Reverend Richard Keith Thompson. During that time, he also assisted in planting a church in Wake.
Forest, North Carolina, which is now better known as Solid Rock African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. In May 2007, Powell graduated from Lincoln University with his Bachelor’s in Mass Communications (T.V. Production) and a minor in Religion. That same year, he began his ministerial career as a traveling minister for The A.M.E. Zion Church, as part of his shaping for his divine appointed purpose and impacting the lives of the individuals he encountered. After graduating from Lincoln University, he immediately enrolled in the oldest black institution in the South, Shaw University. He studied under Gardner C. Taylor, one of the most prolific preachers of our time, being known as “the dean of American preaching.” He was ordained as an Elder in The AME Zion Church on January 23, 2010. Powell received his Master of Divinity at Shaw University in January 2013. Six years later, in 2019, Powell received his Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Powell is an exemplary leader serving actively in several community and religious organizations such as Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Xi Nu Nu chapter, the Pan-Hellenic Council, the Executive Committee of the Multicultural Council at Penn State University – Delaware Campus, National Forensic League, 100 Black Men of Phoenix, member of the City of Peoria their Pine District Advisory Committee, Affiliate Pastor with Valley Interfaith Alliance, and Chaplain of Prince Hall Masons Salt Valley Lodge #4 in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition, he is the Founder of a non-profit organization, Mentally Anonymous, Inc., based in Peoria, Arizona, which supports all the causes. He has a passion for mental health, education, and spiritual development. As an avid mental health advocate and community leader, he enjoys educating others, and his first book is scheduled to be released this summer, titled “Mind Over Matter: It’s Not That Crazy,” which educates the church about new ways to think about mental health.
Since 2019, Powell has served as the senior pastor of Fisher A.M.E. Zion church in Phoenix, Arizona. He provides spiritual support, biblical teaching, and sound counsel to his congregants. He is also currently working on the expansion of a multimillion-dollar affordable housing project (owned by the church) to include a kitchen, restaurant, credit union; senior citizens assisted living, mental health center, daycare (to track children from kindergarten all the way through college), worship facility, and a health and wellness center.
Although his pastoral career has been within the local church assembly, Dr. Powell says, “I am internationally endowed as well; thus, I also have a global approach. The Lord has granted me the privilege to preach and plant churches around the globe.” With this approach, Powell is determined to build leaders and ministries to drive the purpose of The A.M.E. Zion Church as a whole into the future of cutting-edge ministry.
Powell is the loving husband of Joysaphine Waitman-Powell and the proud father of their two sons, Staccato Jose Powell, III and Saint Keith Powell. He hopes all the efforts and contributions show his passion for God and his people, to lead by example as a man of integrity, a spiritual leader, and trailblazer, establishing his own unique legacy and a testament to the profound impact The A.M.E. Zion Church has had on his life.
Email: PersevereWithPowell@gmail.com
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