Monica Lisa Stevenson

Monica Lisa Stevenson serves as both a minister and a contemporary gospel performer whose powerful vocal delivery reflects deep roots in traditional church music. Based in Atlanta, this singer-songwriter first gained notice in 2009 through the independent release Finally...In God's Time, an album that secured two Stellar Award nominations. Later projects encompass the 2013 concert recording Live in Atlanta, the 2016 acoustic set Kainos (The Acoustic Documentary), the chart-topping single “I’m Not Ashamed” that reached number one on the Gospel Airplay tally in 2021, and the 2023 release “It Is Well.”

Born Monica Felicia Bowen, she grew up in Wetumpka, Alabama, alongside five younger siblings; her parents nurtured both her spiritual life and her musical development. After relocating to Atlanta, she and her husband Derrick Stevenson—who also functions as her musical director—affiliated with New Life International Family Church and the Gospel Music Workshop of America. In 1997 she received her ministerial license and formed the ensemble Lisa Stevenson & Company. The self-released debut Finally...In God's Time earned nominations for Best New Artist and Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year at the Stellar Awards. Following a role in the film Madea's Big Happy Family plus performances in Italy and Switzerland, she issued Live in Atlanta, which climbed to number fourteen on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart in 2013. Three years afterward came the more stripped-down Kainos (The Acoustic Documentary), featuring guest turns by Lisa Knowles and Pastor Walter E. Ellis; the project reached number eight on the Heatseekers chart and was supported by a fifty-city church tour across the United States. Stevenson’s 2021 activities included supplying a vocal for National Geographic’s anthology series Genius: Aretha—lip-synced on screen by the actress portraying Sammie Bryant—while “I’m Not Ashamed” ascended to the top of the Gospel Airplay chart. She returned in 2023 with “It Is Well.”