Meet the Applied Strengths Ministry™ Staff & Board Members
Welcome to Applied Strengths Ministry™. Continue reading to learn more.
Kenneth Shelton
I am originally from San Mateo and have moved throughout the state, living at more than 27 different addresses. My wife and I eventually ended up in Paradise in 2019. I have great sons Nikko and Nicholas, both of whom are married. I have been married for over 37 years. My interests include serving my communities, where I have donated much of my time and resources for over 30 years to social service programs within the context of local churches and other 501c3 organizations. I have spoken at men's conferences, Universities, and Churches on various spiritual and life-coaching topics. I have helped to build several church ministries from Southern to Northern California. Other specialized ministries included working with the homeless population, starting a bookstore, and a book program that was designed to provide free books to the homeless population.
I have a specialized Associate of Science degree in Building Inspection Technology from Butte College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Business Management from Azusa Pacific University, worked in part on two separate Master' of Art degrees concurrently, one in Organizational Leadership at Azusa Pacific University, and the other was at Fuller Seminary in Specialized Ministry in Evangelism.
I have taken additional courses at San Jose State University and Lewis & Clark College. Since 1994, I have read 944 books or 36 books a year up until 2022. Six hundred and two of them have been on what we call Christianity or religion. This includes reading through the Bible approximately 50 times within the same timeframe.
I have started four businesses beginning with Applied Strengths – Personality & Talent Discovery Journey, Applied Strengths – Real Estate & Financial Investors, Best Kept Secrets – Creating Memories for a Lifetime, and Applied Strengths Ministry™.
All of these things lead to one thing. I couldn't figure out why I had such an appetite to learn, which was activated once I was born again. I have attended 100s of other training courses, watched DVDs, listened to cassettes and CDs, and countless other resources. I asked myself why I suddenly had such an appetite for learning. My High School grades clearly reflected that I had no interest in learning, at least not the way that I am today. Well, this ministry is the answer, and if you stick with it, you will see the miracle of God as He qualifies the unqualified.
Debbie Avey
Debbie started building her own family legacy when she started Avey Cultural Exchange (ACE) International in 2000, a family-run and operated nonprofit foreign exchange program with the mission to break down racial and cultural barriers through the practice of hospitality. ACE has hosted as many as 500 international French high school and college students each year in San Diego and LA.
After starting ACE, Debbie decided to help encourage this practice of hospitality by creating a friendship partnership program to match American High School students with French High School students to foster and promote International friendship partnerships while sharing their daily life and culture together. This included a reciprocal program where the American students were now able to travel to France and stay with these same French students; it was a fabulous experience for everyone involved.
Debbie is the founder and broker for Staged Homes Real Estate and Innovative Real Estate Brokerage Corporation, which offers free professional home staging and design with every property they list and gives their clients a competitive edge allowing them to statistically sell faster and for top dollar. Debbie works alongside her daughter Trisha who is also a Broker, with both of them specializing in legacy land, showing Families how to create wealth through income-producing properties or utilizing their current property to make passive income through short-term rentals.
Additionally, Debbie started Three Strands Productions to film and showcase both the process and the completion of their beautifully Staged Homes and offer excellent real estate advice by bringing guests on her show.
From there, she went on to become a co-host for a luxury real estate show that airs to over 80 million viewers on both Cox and Spectrum. Her production company, Three Strands Productions, is getting ready to launch a new series on legacy land, working jointly together with her three children.
Tenessa graduated in film and photography and has become the most sought-after photographer in Maui, Hawaii. Trisha has been in real estate for nearly 15 years and is a broker with Staged Homes Real Estate. Travis is a finished carpenter and has been in this industry for over 15 years. He works alongside me in property management and setup for each unit, as well as performing the hosting for our clients.
When I quit work to homeschool, my kids, I had such an incredible opportunity to get to know each one of them and their personalities and their natural bent, and so for me, it was my goal to always invest in them and create opportunities to help them to become entrepreneurs and choose careers that would fit both being a parent and a mother.
ACE international was one of the first companies we all began to work on together, and since then, we as a family have worked together with all of the companies I have established as a legacy for my kids and my grandkids, and all future generations.
I started the concept of the Legacy Land Series on my own property in San Diego, where I currently have two Airbnb rentals that are allowing me the extra time to spend working and fostering this entrepreneurial and independent spirit in my grandkids which is where I thrive!
Nick Shelton
My name is Nicholas Shelton, and I'm a man of God looking to deepen my relationship with the Lord daily. In 2010 I joined the Marine Corps, which God used to strengthen and build my character and leadership platform. In 2018 I attended and graduated nursing school due to my love for people and compassion to serve others. God has now directed my life towards this ministry and the pursuit of bringing the message of God to others everywhere and helping them to walk out their own calling.