Scott Dawson (born September 14, 1967) is an American author and preacher, and the founder of the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association (SDEA), and of the Strength to Stand Conference movement.

Biography

Dawson was born on September 14, 1967. He graduated from

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

earning a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

, and earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

from

Beeson Divinity School Beeson Divinity School of Samford University is an in-person, interdenominational, evangelicalism, evangelical divinity school located in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The current dean is Douglas A. Sweeney. The school offers several degre ...

in Birmingham, Alabama. Later in 1993, he received his ordination and certificate of gospel ministry by order of the Roebuck Park Baptist Church. He preached his first sermon at the age of 16. Shortly after, he began speaking at various churches. By the age of 20, Scott founded the evangelistic association that would come to be known as SDEA (Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association). Since 1987, the organization has founded and directed numerous music festivals featuring Christian artists and speakers. In 2005 Scott Dawson partnered with Scott Lenning who worked as crusade director at the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Train ...

for nearly 20 years. The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association operates out of Birmingham, Alabama, where Scott and his wife, Tarra, reside with their children Hunter and Hope. Dawson announced he would enter the 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election on the Rick and Bubba radio show on June 5, 2017. In the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary Dawson polled 79,546 votes at 13.46% of the general vote. He came in third place in the primary.

Drug testing all Alabama schools

As a candidate for governor Dawson has called for drug testing in all Alabama schools, a plan that would cost large amounts of money according to the American Association of Pediatrics.

Scott Dawson Conferences

Scott Dawson Ministering at Stadium Fest

Dawson and his organization founded the Strength to Stand Conference. Being held annually since 1989, the conferences, aimed at teens and young adults, feature Christian artists and speakers. Musical acts such as

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

Jamie Grace Jamie Grace Harper (born November 25, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, TobyMac found her songs on YouTube and signed her to his label Gotee Records for two alb ...

and

David Crowder David Wallace Crowder (born November 29, 1971), known professionally by his mononymous stage name Crowder since 2012, is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and author. He was the lead singer in t ...

. SDEA is also the parent organization behind StadiumFest, a festival which draws over 30,000 attendees annually. One ''Birmingham News'' reporter billed StadiumFest as "the largest free Christian crowd Birmingham has seen since 1986".

Writings

* ''Dear Lord Why?'' (Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association, 2001). * ''Complete Evangelism Guidebook'' (Baker Books, 2006). * ''Evangelism Today: Effectively Sharing the Gospel in a Rapidly Changing World'' (Baker Books, 2009).

References

External links

Official Site of Strength to Stand Conferences

Official Site of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Scott 1967 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Baptists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century Baptists American evangelicals American evangelists Baptist writers Leaders of Christian parachurch organizations Performers of contemporary worship music Samford University alumni Southern Baptist ministers