GRAVETTE — Donald Miller is the new pastor of the First Christian Church in Gravette. He accepted the position as permanent pastor June 1, after serving as interim pastor since April. His first Sunday as interim pastor was Easter Sunday.
Miller is a native of Augusta, east of Searcy. He accepted the call to preach right out of high school and preached his first sermon at age 18. He trained under elder Willie Clark, the pastor of his home church, for two years and was ordained an elder by Bishop L.T. Walker in 2004.
Before coming to Gravette, Miller was an administrative assistant at a church in Fort Smith from 2010 to 2016. He first came to the Gravette church in October, 2015, as a visitor looking for a new home church for his family.
Miller and his wife Lori have five children, ages 11, 10, 5, 2 and 5 months. They now live in the Christian Church parsonage in Gravette, having moved here from Lowell in June.
"Lori is the secret to my success," Miller says. "She supports me in the ministry, she supports me at work, she supports me in the home. She's the power behind my punch."
In the Christian Church, the members are the governing body, Miller explained, and he said he will stay at the Gravette church as long as they want him. Prior to Miller's arrival, attendance had dwindled and the congregation included only one child. Recent Sunday services have seen 70 to 75 in attendance, with about 20 children.
Miller plans to continue to target increasing attendance and church growth with a special emphasis on programs for youth.
"The youth are the future of our church," he said. He is also proud of the diversity at First Christian Church. "We are a multicultural church," he said, and he feels that is an important reflection of today's society.
Miller said he believes God is leading his church. When folks ask him about his vision for the church, he asks them to picture themselves with their feet on a dusty path.
"Look down at the road stretching ahead," he said, "and you will see that it is foggy in the distance."
Because the future is uncertain, Miller said he believes it's important to focus on the present and concentrate on the work to be done now. He said his motto is "preserving the legacy," because the church has a great history. He hopes to see the church grow enough to be able to build a new church on property the congregation owns on Arkansas Highway 72 in the west side of town.
If he is fortunate enough to be around when the congregation is ready to build, Miller said he hopes the present church building can be moved to the site as an annex.
"Or, if it's not possible to move the church, maybe we could build a replica," he said, "because this structure has such a rich history."
Miller and his congregation invite everyone to join them for Sunday services, with Sunday school at 9:30 and morning worship at 10:45. Bible study will begin in October on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
Miller has another job in addition to his pastoral duties. He is a wound-care nurse at Ozarks Community Hospital of Gravette. He works both with inpatients on the third floor of the hospital and with outpatient wound-care therapy for persons who come into the outpatient clinic.
Miller started his healthcare career as a home-health aide. He enjoyed the work and enrolled at Arkansas State University at Beebe, where he graduated in 2008 with a practical nursing (LPN) degree. He then went on to earn a certificate in wound-care management.
He believes in treating the overall person. He said that he works closely with the therapy department and the dietary department, "really every function in the hospital," to manage a patient's wound-care therapy. He works mainly with Dr. David Tucker but also with Dr. Marie Kane, Dr. Nancy Jones, Dr. Marcus Poemoceah and Dr. Stephen Morrison, wound-care director.
So whether a person is concerned with spiritual health or physical health, Donald Miller is ready to help on the road to recovery.
Community on 09/28/2016