November 22, 2005
Doctors say there’s no cure for his cancer. They say he’ll die by June. But Scott Ostendorf believes he’ll live. News 12 tells the story of one man’s journey to a miracle, and what he says will get him there.

Scott Ostendorf was living an adventure. But this biker learned in June his ride may be cut short. Doctors tell Scott he has less than six months to live. He has pancreatic cancer in the fourth stage. The survival rate is five percent. His eight tumors are inoperable and there is no cure.

But after learning such bad news, Scott’s life adventure has actually gained momentum.

This biker is also the pastor at Midland Valley First Church of the Nazarene. And somehow he’s turned bad news about him into good news for everyone else.

“I would never think of getting angry at God because his plans are perfect and his ways are perfect and he has done so much more through my illness in my ministry than he could have ever done if I would have stayed healthy,” Pastor Scott said.

With no cure, hope is all Scott has. His theme verse is from the Book of Acts, which says “I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.”

“It’s not a wish, it’s not a pipe dream, it’s not a roll of the dice, it’s not a lottery. The Greek word for hope in the bible is a confident expectation that God would do what he says He’s gonna do,” Pastor Scott said.

Scott is confident in what God told him, he’ll be healed.

“I believe that you can do a follow up story in a year with me and I’ll be perfectly cancer-free,” Pastor Scott said.

Scott’s incredible peace is catching on in the pews.

“God strengthens him and then he strengthens us,” said T-Wayne Johnson, church member.

“It gives us an excuse and a reason to talk to people that aren’t a part of the church about God and about our church,” said Gary Curry, youth pastor.

Church member Tasha Alison turned Scott’s daily updates into a website, myjourneytoamiracle.com.

“How incredible is that that one man, one man’s message can reach people all over the globe,” Alison said.

50,000 people from places like England, Bermuda, China and across the U.S. have visited the site.

It’s not just the tough that Pastor Scott touches. He also reaches out to the tender. One of those, a 10-year-old girl who watched Pastor Scott preach here since kindergarten. Now, she has the whole congregation sporting blue on their wrist.

It was Hannah Reese’s idea to remind people to pray for Pastor Scott. She gave him a blue bracelet that says ‘hope.’ Now 1,100 people wear one. It’s hard to find someone at church with an empty wrist.

“Because they love Pastor Scott the same as me,” Hannah said.

And that love grows all the time as he reaches more people with a Hope bracelet, his website or his new biker ministry as the hope of God is seen in a man revved up about his adventure.

“I’m happy with life whether I live or whether I die. God’s number one in my life and I’ve lived a great life. It’s been a great ride,” Pastor Scott said.

Pastor Scott says God gave him the name “My Journey to a Miracle” for a book title about his healing.

Click here to visit Pastor Scott’s website.