Kiss The Waves

           Lawrence Simon, a native of Greensboro, North Carolina was raised by a single mother and is the eldest of two sisters. Shortly after graduation at Smith High School, Lawrence relocated to South Carolina. He eventually enrolled and attended Florence-Darlington Technical College in Florence, South Carolina, and he graduated in May 1990 with an Associate Degree in Accounting. In October 1991, Lawrence married the love of his life, Elizabeth. They have been married for 22 years and are the proud parents of two blessed and beautiful children. Lawrence and Elizabeth have be called a spiritual "power couple" as they often work together in the ministry encouraging and exhorting God's people.

            In 1994, Lawrence decided to continue his education and in 1998 he completed his undergraduate studies obtaining a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting from Francis MarionUniversity. After college, Lawrence gained employment in a variety of business organization such as the Department of Revenue, Real Estate Company and Tax Preparation. In 2002 Lawrence became an entrepreneur and opened Arisa Accounting & Business Consulting firm.

            2007 was a "major" year of transition in Lawrence's life. He felt the Lord leading him from the church fellowship he had been a part of for nearly twenty years. Lawrence began to earnestly seek God as never before for instruction and direction. After dedicating much time in prayer, fasting, and faithful study of God's word, he felt the calling and anointing from the Lord to minister His word. In the time since, he has built an extensive personal study library covering a wide range of biblical topics and doctrines. This, as well as listening to various bible teachers, expanded his theology to dimensions beyond the understanding of his upbringing and family traditions. He began to accept various speaking engagements and holding house-to-house bible study.

            Lawrence has always possessed a strong desire and calling to teach.  He pictured his dream job of being a professor at college or university. Little did he know that the Lord was preparing his path for another type of teaching. With His love for studying, and his love for teaching, he envisioned a biblical curriculum which would combine the theological and practical application of scripture. In January of 2010, Kingdom Studies Institute was born. The Kingdom Institute offers courses traditionally taught in most biblical colleges or seminary. The "Kingdom Life Series" is the core teaching at the Institute.  This series is specifically design to unpack and present the scriptures to the hearers in both a practical and relevant manner. As the leader and visionary of the organization, Kingdom Institute is adding three additional schools: The School Church Leadership Development, The School of Entrepreneurship & Business, and The School Personal Development & Destiny. He travels though the east coast conducting seminars, workshops and conferences on a variety of biblical topics. He specializes in Marital and Family issues, Biblical Economic & Finance, and Church Leadership. Lawrence is currently working on his first book, which is scheduled to be release in the summer 2014.

            Lawrence is also Founder and Director of Summit Social Solutions; a non-profit community development and consulting corporation. Summit Social Solution has three areas of emphasis, Community, Coalition and Consulting. Summit Community was formed to confront the challenges facing their community. One of the many objectives of Summit Community is to educate children in the areas of entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Summit Coalition works on building collaboration through the public, private and community sectors to bring value to individuals; thus creating economic empowerment to communities. Summit Consulting assists individuals and organizations with the tools needed to address the societal issue(s) which they have been calling to find minister to. When asked to evaluate his spiritual journey, he said, "...when I look at my life and many of the ungodly choices I have made, and when I consider the work that God continues to do not only though me, but more important IN me, I can honestly sum up my life in three words: "ALL of GRACE."