Dear Prayer Partner—
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e’ve made it through 2020, and if you are like me, so far, 2021 doesn’t “feel” much different. We hope and pray for God’s continued grace and guidance as we continue in these uncharted times. Thank you for standing with me during these challenging days. Leaders realized their congregations’ mental health has to be acknowledged just as much as their physical well-being during these times. The anti-social lives many have been living these last 11 months has worn down our deep need for a live connection. Virtual or digital experiences have been vital to keeping us connected to some degree but nothing replaces human interaction. As we continue to heal over these next few months, the laughter, joy, Wonder—tools that New Dimensions Evangelism has used for the past four decades will be more critical to our communities our world than ever. Through our faithful supporters, donors, and prayer partners, we come out of the most challenging year yet better prepared than ever before to proclaim the Good News globally! As we enter 2021, we celebrate our 40th year in ministry, knowing that the best is really, absolutely, yet to come. The truth of Romans 8 is healing to my soul! “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Sharing His Wonder,
Scott & Family
JANUARY 2020
I
had set a goal to reach 100,000 live and through digital means in 2020. That was a bit of a stretch for me—but I believe God laid that number on my heart. I was excited to aim for it in 2020! We started 2020 strong; I was able to perform at Wonderworks in Orlando the first week. Then it was an after-luncheon performance at the Children’s Pastors’ Conference in Orlando. That allowed me to connect with old friends and meet new ones. Pouring into these magnificent leaders of small humans is always a delight. Then it was off to Englewood, Florida, for a school family night outreach. After a late-night drive home, it was up and out to attend a Columbus, Ohio conference. The conference was a good time of learning & fellowship, and taking a couple of days to “sharpen” my own tools was more vital than I could have imagined during that time. Back from Columbus, I was able to have another full-day school outreach program close to home, in Sanford, Florida.
On January 24th, I was able to take part
with three other comedians, was such a pleasure. We had an enthusiastic crowd of about 2,000; it was a super-fun-filled night. (They filmed the entire event for what was supposed to be an upcoming comedy special. We ended up releasing the footage in segments on social media throughout 2020. To view these and more videos simple use your smart phone’s camera on the QR code at the final page) I rounded out the first month with another school outreach in South Florida. It was an excellent start to 2020!
FEBRUARY 2020
T
he first week of February found me in the Florida panhandle with school outreach events. Schools were again seeing record crowds for our family night event. It was then back to the Orlando area for a school assembly in Lake Mary. In between the traveling of January and early February, I was busy preparing for another trip to England. This time it was to speak, teach and perform for the Fellowship of Christian Magicians from around the United Kingdom and parts
in New Mission’s Laugh All Night event at First Baptist, Orlando. This evening,
Oxford, England
First Baptist Orlando Laugh All Night
School Outreach Sanford, FL
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Grave Oxford, England
of Europe. The conference was held in Northhampton, about three hours from London, by car. It was fantastic being there! The response from the group was just terrific. (I have an open invitation to return, and I hope that can happen in ‘22.) Upon returning to the States, I closed out the month by returning to Wonderworks for a couple of nights. It was a full month! The stirrings of Covid began, of course, in January in the United States. Even in February, while in England, there were murmurings, and people started to be more aware of the news of the spreading illnesses.
MARCH 2020
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n March, the first Sunday, I was at a Center Pointe Church in Orlando, then a long night drive after the evening service to South Carolina. The first part of the week was filled with public school outreach events. Back home for a day before flying to Crossroads Church in Milton, Pennsylvania. That weekend the Covid warnings were growing louder. As I was in PA, my two oldest girls headed Hannah on mission in the Dominican
for the Dominican Republic for mission work on their University’s spring break. I returned home Monday, March ninth. By this time, my scheduled events started canceling. My girls got back to New Orleans by the 14th, just as cases were rising there. They never went back to Missippi College. Since they had been out of the country, they were not allowed to return to their rooms. They had to find friends that could get into their rooms and remove personal items before heading home. In the meantime, the rest of my March events were canceled. I began to question how this was going to play out in the next few weeks. We had church friends and strangers sending us money to help with the incoming bills understanding that our income had come to a sudden and abrupt end. A young woman on Instagram paid our health payment without even knowing us personally and without us asking. This was such a blessing to us. I recognized then, we would be alright.
APRIL 2020
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y the time April 1st came, my events for April were all postponed. By the
Scott with Noel Coward, President of London’s Magic Circle
Scott & Rev’d Nathan Ward
Ready to load in Newberry, SC
middle of April, May’s were canceling, as well. I mentioned to Debi that it would be a game-changer for us if these cancellations were to go into the summer. I began creating video content to connect with those events that were being postponed. My church asked if I would help improve their virtual services, I was honored they asked, and the income would help sustain us. In mid-April, as I was commiserating with our FaithKidz director, Steve, he said, (after witnessing all these cancellations—affecting church kids’ ministry worldwide), “How about an online VBS? What could that look like?” Steve and I have no trouble thinking big. So, with that conversation, a Virtual Bible Spectacular was born; A God-inspired challenge of impossible proportions. We imagined 10,000 churches worldwide reaching wait for it—a million kids!
Was it possible?
Abby in her WOW Shirt
MAY 2020
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fter our initial discussions, we both agreed to pray & think about the idea for a week. Which we did—and then jumped in—faith first. May was a flurry of work. Emails, video recording, editing, scheduling, and more. Steve began coordinating ministry friends from around the world to jump on board with us. I was busy laying the management and marketing groundwork for the event. We settled on the name, WOW! VBS, a Virtual Bible Spectacular, we picked the launch dates in June & July. We had commitments from creators & artists around the world. Steve and I were working 60+ hours a week and loving every minute of it. We had NO budget for this project. Because of the US economy coming to a sudden stop—our primary funding source for the FaithKidz project informed us they could only fund half of what they had been able to do in 2019. Ouch! And, on top of that, my personal income source (love offerings and performance fees) had stopped. But my mentor’s mentor, John Edmund Haggai (who is now in his 90’s) and the founder
Abracampdabra, an online magic camp for kids.
of the Haggai International, has a great quote; “Attempt something so impossible that unless God is in it, it’s doomed to failure.”
This felt impossible.
JUNE 2020
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e had scheduled our WOW! VBS launch dates for June 22 & 29. Each week would be streamed LIVE, each hour for 23 hours. Four days, streaming on multiple platforms (YouTube, Facebook, and our newly created WOW VBS website), this was a mammoth undertaking. We asked my friend and publicist Gina Adams from the Adams group in Nashville to help us with the promotion. I was soon scheduling radio interviews with Christian stations around the United States. Even live streaming into local news broadcasts in cities around the US. We hired a consultant to help us figure out the streaming issues and to help coordinate the broadcasts. Steve began filming and coordinating recordings with our artists and entertainers around the world. In the meantime, we formulated a funding approach on a donation basis, and the donations were keeping up with the expenses! Praise the Lord! By mid-month,
Church ready for WOW
our theme song “Dancing On The Waves” was written by Steve Pennington and Rick Alvarez and recorded by the artists, and was ready to go. It is SOO GOOD! To view this and more videos simple use your smart phone’s camera to scan the QR code at the end of this update. We reached out and partnered with New Missions and Because International, along with ministries like World Vision, Equip to Engage. By the 22nd, after some very long days, we were ready to WOW! The launch went off very smoothly. Churches and individuals were hosting this online event around the world. Our Facebook feed started to show pictures of churches/people worldwide hosting the world’s first Virtual Bible Spectacular. We were pumped!
JULY 2020
T
he first week of WOW went very well, and the few minor hiccups we had we corrected before launching week two. Churches and individuals kept signing up. People wanted to know if they could access it later in July and August. So, we opted to let people know we’d have it available “on-demand” online until
WOW VBS in the Philippines
September 1st. The numbers that came in for sign-ups were astonishing to us. By the time summer ended, we had hosts in 67 different countries! Impossible? Nope. God was in this! The following artists contributed time and talent to this endeavor: Jana Alayra (US), Mark Willard (NZ), Esther Moreno (US), Mary Rice Hopkins (US), Simon Parry (UK), Dan Warlow (AU), Yoly Pacheo (US), Tim Hannig (US), Joey Evans (US), David Laflin (US), Miss PattyCake (US), & Yancy (US), Capitan ICan (USVI)
We had special guest hosts, Brad Montague, Chonda Pierce, & Gary Chapman, too. They were such a delight and helped us promote this to their friends and fans, as well. We wrapped up the second week of live-streaming and immediately made it available for on-demand viewing for individuals and churches—still completely free of charge.
IMAGES AROUND THE WORLD FROM WOW VBS
A personal story:
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s incredible as June & July were—with God doing beautiful things during the midst of this turmoil—my Father, Richard E. Humston, a life-long pastor, succumbed to cancer that he’d been fighting for the preceding nine months. Years ago, when diagnosed with skin cancer’s first signs, he fought it and bounced back—returning to the pastorate’s daily duties rather quickly. A few years later, when prostate cancer was found, he fought it—had surgery and treatments—and bounced back! Several years after official “retirement” from the pulpit, and as he and my mom enjoyed retired life in middle Tennessee, then the diagnosis—lung cancer was uttered. For a man who never smoked, he was shaken. After more tests and surgery removing part of his left lung and a few weeks of healing, he bounced back! He was farming again, living with a bit of leisure. He was back in a small rural pulpit each Sunday, encouraging others with the gospel. So, after several years, when the words “sarcoma” were conclusively declared by the doctors, he knew—we knew—that this would be an uphill fight. But guess what? On a Wednesday night, July 8th, just before midnight, surrounded by children and grandchildren, he passed from his earthly body. And in the twinkling of an eye—he bounced back! But this time, he bounced back with a new body—one that was no longer tired from chemicals and radiation. He bounced back and into the loving arms of a savior that loved him—a savior that my Father had unashamedly preached about since his teenage years. There’s no doubt that as he bounced back into eternity, he soon heard the words with his new ears, “well done, good and faithful servant.”
my mom & dad on their wedding day, June 21, 1963
Richard E. Humston Scott’s Dad my mom & dad with kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.
AUGUST 2020
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SEPTEMBER 2020
s we moved into August, we continued to have sign-ups for the WOW Event almost daily. Along with occasional donations, which was a huge blessing. We created a follow-up questionnaire for those who hosted the WOW VBS. The overwhelmingly positive responses were so affirming. Of course, all my events for August were postponed or canceled. In June, First Baptist Mount Dora ask me to come on staff as Family & Connections Pastor. I was humbled when the votes were cast & counted during Sunday morning services, and I received a 100% affirmative vote. It was an answer to prayer for my family as the future continues to be so uncertain. My church will allow me to continue to travel & minister occasionally as things slowly return to normal. I know bringing in large crowds to schools and churches frequently will be unlikely for the next year or two. So the ability to continue to proclaim Christ in other creative ways will be this ministry’s continued focus. At New Dimensions, we’ll also be creating more resources for those church leaders to more effectively share the gospel.
T
ypically September is full of events. Of course, I knew that 2020 would be different. However, it was the first month, since March, that I returned to the stage. With the theme parks opening in July, this encouraged others to move forward with their events. Even while social distancing and taking other precautions. Florida was blessed to have good leaders who knew that we had to get moving as quickly and safely as possible despite the spread. The Experience Conference (for music and worship leaders) was once again held in Orlando. I was delighted to help open their Thursday morning event. It was just about 1,000 people—but in a ballroom that could seat 4,000. It was a pleasure to hear laughter—even if from behind the covered faces. I continued to manage conversations and cancellations from pastors, conference leaders, and others I had been serving for many years. Steve, our FaithKidz project director, was able to come from Nashville for a day, and we did some brainstorming about the future of FaithKidz, WOW VBS, and more. He is such a blessing to have on board!
Onstage at the Experience Conference 2020
recording WOW Theme Song
FaithKidz Scholarship
OCTOBER 2020
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ctober was the calmest I’ve had in 27 years. I was able to visit 3 Circle Church in Daphne, Fairhope, and Mobile, Alabama. Scheduled initially back in April—they had a ministry team stuck in Israel for more than ten days when Covid first broke out in the middle east. You may have seen their story—as it was featured on Fox News among other national news outlets. This fall event for families was the first they had done, too. It was a successful time—three events for three campuses in two days. I loved the church—their professionalism and ministry focus was a delight to be a part of.
NOVEMBER 2020
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gain, all of November’s events had been either canceled or postponed— except for Freedom Church’s DaddyDaughter event, which I was honored to be a part of. Pastor Tim Thomas and assistant Pastor James St. John were classmates of mine at University. I’ve partnered with the church several times in the past—and this event was a delight. People were so happy to sit and laugh for a bit. I was invited to bring the messages
ministering with rapper Phil J at 3Circle Church
to their Sunday morning services as well. The church has a passion for reaching the orphaned locally and globally. More than 5 of their families have either adopted or fostered children. I shared about my work with New Missions in Haiti—and we had more than six children sponsored in the morning services. How awesome! I was asked to preach again at my church the last Sunday in November, as our pastor was out. It’s always an honor to bring the word to my congregation, too.
DECEMBER 2020
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s we entered the final month of this very hard year, I couldn’t help but be so thankful for all the good that had been accomplished. Even through the many difficult days (my Father’s loss, the death of 5 other friends due to illnesses, and Covid; the lack of personal income, and then transitioning to a new pastoral role) it has been an extremely difficult year. But I have Joy! Great Joy! I am excited about the future! I am reminded that joy true joy is only found in the hope of Christ. It’s not just a platitude—it is truth that, when experienced personally, is truly life changing.
Laugh All Night; Lifeway Church, Sanford, FL
Along with New Missions, I finally hosted the first Laugh All Night Family Concert since late winter. We were at Lifeway Church in Sanford, Florida, in midDecember. The small masked crowd was delightful. 2020 was undoubtedly the most challenging of any, so far, for this work. Thank you for standing by us as we proclaim His word. Because of the pandemic, we shared His name in 67 different countries with a super talented team. In 2021, we’ll continue to pray for guidance, listen for His direction, and proclaim the Gospel in unique ways. Thank you, dear friend, for your prayers, encouragement, gifts, and dedication to this work.
I am enthusiastic about the next 40 years! To view the videos referenced in this review, visit my website at scotthumston.com/2020-year-in-review/ Or use this QR code
To donate or learn more, please visit scotthumston.com
NEW DIMENSIONS EVANGELISM PO BOX 283 - MOUNT DORA, FL 32756