POMARIA — The name Dawn Smith is one that might sound familiar yet you can’t quite place how you know it. When you learn she was crowned Miss South Carolina in 1986 and was second runner-up to Miss America, more bells probably start going off.
But when you learn she is the older sister of Shari Smith, the young Lexington girl kidnapped and murdered May 31, 1985, just two days before her high school graduation, it starts to come together. The search for her sister’s killer was the largest manhunt in South Carolina history and it captured national attention.
The man who murdered Shari allowed her to write a letter to her family that said: “Please don’t let this ruin your lives. Just keep living one day at a time for Jesus. Remember, everything works out for the good to those that love the Lord. Some good will come of this.”
It did and has continued to do so.
The Billy Graham Crusade came to South Carolina that same year and Dawn’s testimony touched millions, as did her song Amazing Grace. Her sister’s final words allowed all of the circumstances in her big sister’s life to help form a full-time ministry that would reach millions.
Now known as Dawn Smith Jordan, she ministers through the 75 plus concerts and events she presents annually. According to literature about her, “the heartbeat of her music and message is the sufficiency of God’s grace, even to the point of forgiving the man who killed her sister.”
She will bring her ministry to Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church, 2360 Mt. Pleasant Road in Pomaria, at 11 a.m. Aug. 2. The public is invited.
She has appeared on the ACTS Network, the 700 Club, and In Touch Ministries with Dr. Charles Stanley. She performed with Pope John Paul II when he appeared in South Carolina and has been broadcast on Christian Cable Video networks and Contemporary Christian radio stations nationwide. She also shared her testimony at the 2005 Southern Baptist Convention.
For more information, visit www.dawnsmithjordan.com.