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Newspaper Article
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following article appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper on
February 13, 2008.
It was the front page story in the neighborhoods section. |
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Strengthening the home ties
Shepherdsville patrolman's ministry focuses on
family
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Mike Miller stood at the pulpit at Family Worship
Center in Shepherdsville recently and went through a list of
tragedies.
A man threw his four children from a bridge in Alabama.
A woman undressed herself and her two children and walked with them
into traffic, killing them all.
Another man killed his wife and four children.
Miller, pastor for Family Day Ministries, said these sorts of things
make the news every day.
"But, no, we don't have any problems in the family," he said society
tells itself. Such problems can't be ignored any longer, he said. |
Officer Mike Miller, center, his wife, Melissa, and
their son, Jacob, 10, gave praise during a visit to the Family Worship
Center. Mike Miller is Pastor of the Family Day Ministries. |
| Miller, a third-shift patrolman with Shepherdsville
Police, started Family Day Ministries last March. Since then he and
wife, Melissa, have visited about 18 churches to share their message.
The goal of the ministry is to strengthen the bonds of family, thus
improving society. "If we get the family right, we don't have to worry
about anything else," Miller said. |
He was partly inspired by the work he does, he said. Before joining
the Shepherdsville force, he worked for seven years as a patrolman for
Shively Police and seven years as a deputy for the Jefferson County
Sheriff's Office.
The Millers also founded the River City Love Squad, a ministry
dedicated to helping Louisville's homeless. "You go into these homes
sometimes and see the breakdown of the family -- it's heartbreaking,"
said Miller, who lives in Pleasure Ridge Park. Melissa Miller said
that when the two worked with River City Love Squad, they helped
homeless families on the street. Now, "we want to be able to help
families in their homes." |
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The ministry involves each member of the family. Melissa Miller
handles bookkeeping for the ministry, which is getting its official
non-profit status. During visits to other churches, their son Jacob,
10, sells copies of the Mike Miller's book, "Family Day: A Day America
Needs Again." Their daughter Sarah, 17, sings during the services.
In their own
home, the Millers designate at least one day each week as family
day. They'll talk, eat meals together and do other activities such as
playing board games. "It's helped our own family tremendously," Mike
Miller said. Before starting the tradition a few years ago, he said,
he was facing serious times with his marriage and family. While
working overtime and doing other things to help his family, he said,
he may have inadvertently been hurting them. "Our family is moving
forward now," he said. "We're closer now than we've been in 12 years."
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At the Family Worship Center in Shepherdsville, Miller spoke to a
few dozen people about why the family needs to be strengthened. He
said Jesus ministered to the family before the church was created,
that Jesus built the church to build the family, and that families
need to bring Jesus back to the dinner table, meaning families need to
gather regularly.
The listeners nodded in agreement as he spoke. "I think it was a
strong message. It was a much-needed message," said Jackie Hall of
Mount Washington, who attended Miller's sermon with his wife, Kelly.
"The family unit is suffering now." |
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Juanita Rogers gave praise during
Mike Miller's family program. |
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