About HSM PROMOTIONS…
HIS SERVICE MINISTRIES PROMOTIONS
HIS SERVICE MINISTRIES PROMOTIONS is owned and operated by DONNA H. SMITH with husband, DARREN SMITH, who is the Public Relations Director, and we are assisted by our Ministry Assistant, Alexis Diana Wilkinson.
OUR FAITH: We are of the Protestant faith, believers of the sovereign Trinity of God the Father, Jesus, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit. We believe that the BIBLE is the inerrant Word of God, given to man for instruction, encouragement, direction, and correction to guide our Christian walk and life. We believe that God sent HIS SON, JESUS, to earth to be born of a virgin, to walk this earth as a created man proving to us that amidst all the sin in man, we too are capable of living a GODLY life for the glory of God. We believe Christ Jesus died on the cross, bearing all of man’s sins, descended to Hell, conquering death and the grave and arose to life in three days. HE then ascended to Heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father and continues to intercede to His Father on our behalf, and is waiting until the day God himself says, ‘SON, go get my children’!
OUR FAMILY HISTORY: The SMITH FAMILY – Walter and Amy Smith sang gospel music their entire lives. We still have a 78rpm record from the 40’s to prove it! Each of us come from back grounds of parents and other family members that were active Christians and strong faithful servants of the Lord. The Smith’s sons, Jimmy and Darren remember many weekends and nights sleeping on the floor of some country church on a blanket or pew while everyone was singing until the late hours of the night. In the late 70’s The Smith Family had an hour and a half long radio program, they sang every Thursday evening in our hometown of Cleveland, Texas, on Radio Station KLEV. Darren Smith and Donna Hummel married on July 4th, 1981. From there, a new gospel music ministry was formed called ‘THE CANAAN HEIRS’ consisting of group members – Darren, Donna, Jim Smith and another young couple, Billy & Betty Masters. Changes eventually came about and in 1997 the group name was changed to ‘NEW DIRECTION’ and then later to ‘NEW DIRECTION MINISTRIES.’ With the Masters’ couple leaving the group to start a family, Jim’s wife, Teresa, then started singing with the group. It was at this time we felt the Lord leading us in a very NEW DIRECTION in our lives and ministry. As we look back, the Lord has had his hand on us and each ministry that he’s directed in our lives. We have had ministry opportunities that we never would have dreamed for ourselves, nor expected.
We have worked with the Baptist Outreach Director in upstate New York on an Outreach Tour, we were blessed to work with the Houston County Missions Director and pastors at a youth camp in Missouri, we organized a supply run to the people of Laurel, Mississippi during hurricane Katrina, we hosted an outdoor gospel singing at our home place in Cleveland, Texas from 1981 – 2006 called THE GREAT OUTDOOR GOSPEL ‘COWPASTURE’ SING’ hosting many local and National groups through the years. We have been blessed!!
From singing locally with many people that we looked up to such has the Eternal Hope Singers, The Northam Family, the Walters Family, Tommy Alexander, formerly of the Mid South Boys, David Gilbert of the Gilbert Brothers and having the privilege to sing on the same stage as The Sammy Glass Family, The Telestials, Ernie Dawson and HEIRLINE, LEWIS & LEWIS, The Florida Boys, DRIVEN, The Chuck Wagon Gang and so many more than I can remember. We have been blessed to become friends with many of these artists that have encouraged and mentored us. New Direction Ministries has sung at the 101st Airborne Division Chapel in Clarksville, TN,
NDM has also been blessed to write songs that we know were given directly from the Lord, we have also been able to sing and record them. The Lord continues to use NDM in various ways in ministering to people as He sees the need.
MORE TO MINISTRY – Darren and I have learned through our 42 years together and in the ministry, that the singing portion is a tool to open doors to share the gospel of Christ; there’s still more to be done. Darren has served as a Music Minister, Youth Pastor, Interim Pastor, and Pastor of several churches in the surrounding Cleveland, Texas area. He is currently serving as Pastor of AMAZING GRACE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, CLEVELAND. TEXAS. From my early years of scheduling dates for NEW DIRECTION MINISTRIES, I worked with National booking agents and artists scheduling them locally when the artists came through our area. Mrs. Lou Wills Hildreth was an encouragement to me in this area and was always willing to give advice to me on all that I had questions about. I will always be grateful to her for her willingness to take time to mentor me.
From our roots as artists, church staff and ministry workers; and from those that helped and assisted us, grew our desire to minister and reach out to the lost in any way that Christ would open the door to use us. We have seen the need to help and assist other artists that are like-minded in sharing their ministry and message in more ways than just from the stage!
Through forming HIS SERVICE MINISTRIES PROMOTIONS in 1998, Darren and I were able not only able to assists other artists in promoting them, but we were able to help connect others that needed help with those that could help meet their need. From helping a young man to have dental work done that he needed to helping a lady that reached out for help getting a car battery she couldn’t afford. Our ministry doesn’t end when we step off the stage or schedule a date for an artist. It’s listening to those on the other end of the phone who need someone to talk to, it’s trying to find a church that will go minister to someone because they are ‘at the end of their rope’.
Other people we have been blessed to know and were a tremendous blessing and mentors were pastors, Bro. Glen Cooksey, Bro. Jeff Wyers, Bro. Byron Reeves, Bro. Tim Holder, Bro. Everitt Brown Thompson, and music industry greats, such as Eddie Crook, Ms. Bonnie White, Ms. Lou Wills Hildreth and of course her husband, Howard, Tony Turner, Jimmy and Bette Davidson, and among many others, Scott Godsey. My list could go on forever because we have learned to take away from each person that we meet something that will help make us a better person! The people we have met through the years and across the miles are dear to our hearts and we consider each of them friends. Those that we have cried and prayed with remain in our hearts and we cherish the opportunity to share those times of going to the Lord on their behalf. In turn, we cherish the times that others took for us, lifting us up in prayer and entered the throne room on our behalf. I believe reaching people, encouraging one another, and being a blessing to each other are the jewels in our crowns. We give the Lord thanks for each, and every person God has brought across our path, and we are proud that we can still call each of these people friends all these many years later. The blessing of singing along with friends that are local or those that are professional has been above all that we could imagine for our lives; and it is a privilege to share the love of lifting the name of Jesus, in song!
OUR MINISTRY GOAL – IS TO ENCOURAGE, UPLIFT, EQUIP AND SHARE our experiences that we have been through, the knowledge we have gained, assist groups that are ministry minded; be of a help to churches that desire to have a group or ministry team come to their church but are hesitant due to previous unsavory experiences, or they feel they can’t afford a group or ministry.
HIS SERVICE MINISTRIES is a Ministry of connecting the Gospel Artists to the Church to be an extended ministry outreach to their community and church family. Having been in church ministry and singing all our lives, we feel the call to use the abilities God has given us, allowed us to learn, and enabled us to share will help and benefit both the church and artists. It is our desire to not only assist well established gospel music ministries to continue spreading the gospel through song, but to aid the newer ministry minded, up and coming, talented artists in their efforts to become established and more effective.
As we all realize, we live in a very different, unchurched world today than we did even just a few years ago. Our experiences have taught us we need to rely on each other for help, support, encouragement and even strength. Pastors today are walking away from their calling of preaching the gospel because they are overwhelmed and have lost their direction. Churches have closed their doors because people see no need to attend church any longer. Other churches have had outside ministries that come in preaching unscriptural doctrine and will no longer open their doors to outside ministries to protect their pulpit and flock. It is understandable and heartbreaking to us that our churches and its leadership have felt the need to close themselves off from the rest of the world just to survive. Gospel music artists and ministries, although they feel called of the Lord to minister, have fallen by the wayside, and given up because they are untrained, unequipped and lack the knowledge and skills they need to carry on a ministry.
This is where HSMPROMOTIONS comes in; first and foremost, we are a Ministry with a desire to see artists and ministries succeed and churches have confidence that the ministries or artists they deal with through HSMPROMOTIONS are capable, prepared and understand the privilege and etiquette of the ‘outside ministry/artists’ and church/venue relationship.
HSMPROMOTIONS spends countless hours, even into the late hours, speaking with people we meet by phone or in person, working to open doors for the ministries we represent. We not only reach out to churches, but venues such as civic and senior centers, performing arts centers, coffee shops and any other available possible venue to use in reaching the lost for Christ. However, it’s not as easy as it was even just 5 to 10 years ago, to pick up the phone and schedule a date for an artist. It may take several days, weeks and even months back and forth with a church or venue to actually set a date. Churches and venues, as they should be, are very cautious to do their due diligence in reviewing an artist and their background before they commit to allowing a ministry into their church. HSMPROMOTIONS is a ‘liaison’ for your ministry or your church; bringing the two together to collaborate an outreach or ministry opportunity in bringing a presentation that will be fresh, different, exciting, engaging and yet piercing the hearts of people to be open and receive what the Lord has for them without reserve.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ARTIST & BOOKINGS PLEASE CALL DONNA AT: (281) 224-7073 or Darren (615) 630-5163 DO you have a question for us? Give us a call!!!