The Miller Family
Winston Miller
Winston Miller IS THE HEAD PASTOR FOR Grace Life Church in Lauderhill, Florida . WE ARE HONORED TO PARTNER WITH HIM AND his CHURCH COMMUNITY starting January 2020.
How have you seen God working in your life?
By His grace, church planting has allowed me to widely use my gifts of shepherding and edification to share the gospel and encourage others by the gospel. However, I have seen these same gifts reveal a sinful desire to merely please others to gain their approval. By God’s grace, I’m blessed with my wife and friends who remind me through the Word of God that this type of idolatry challenges the gracious working of God’s desires for my life. The very gift that he has given me in order to lead others to him and see them edified through His Word can be the very gift that separates me from Him, if I value people’s opinions more than the truth and more than His promises to me. The gospel loudly says that I am not only accepted by God the Father because of Jesus Christ, I am now a Son of God. I therefore have privileges, rights, and a relationship with the God of the universe! As the Lord continues to give me opportunities to shepherd and edify, he is reminding me that I can share Him not out of obligation or for utilitarian purposes, but out of love for those whom he is calling to also become his adopted Sons and Daughters in Christ, like me.
How have you seen God working in your family?
When we decided to move back to South Florida, I assumed my family would be as excited as I was about planting a new church. We often discussed church planting, and I was confident they knew my heart, the necessity of the sacrifices we would have to make, and the great reward we would experience when the church was launched! I also assumed that as we were on a spiritual journey, it would become easier to cultivate healthy relationships and rhythms with my wife and children. The reality is that my children were very attached to their friends, their school, and the neighborhood where we were living at the time, and they were apprehensive about moving back. Moving back would actually challenge rhythms that were healthy for them at the time. Moving threatened to negatively impact the opportunities for healthy communications in the family. I’ve since learned that, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, I need to be intentional about cultivating healthy communication between my wife and I, and between us and our children in order to foster healthy rhythms and healthy family relationships. It will not necessarily be the shared experiences in the mechanics of church planting that will aid this healthy communication, but time spent simply as a family, getting to know them and participating in their interests, enjoying times of recreation and leisure, and date nights with my wife. God has been working in our family to help us recognize and pursue these rhythms.
How have you seen God working in your church?
In these very early stages of our church’s life, we’ve been blessed with a core group of folks who are mainly de-churched. Some of them are realizing for the first time what the gospel really means and implies, and it is changing their understanding of how a relationship with God and with others is defined, and what it looks like in their daily lives. There have been times where I’ve been tempted to believe that the more attractive worship, or the coolest website, or the most overwhelming social media presence would be the key to ensuring a vibrant and growing church. However, as I witness the slow work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people, I’ve been changed to trust God for the growth of the church as we work to make and multiply disciples of Jesus. I am therefore much less anxious, while becoming more excited about the daily work of church planting.
Church Mission & Vision
Mission: We seek to make and gather disciples of Jesus from every nation, help them to grow and live by God’s grace, and equip them to go into their communities to make a difference
Vision: We exist to see the spiritual, social, and cultural renewal of Lauderhill, South Florida, and all nations.
If you would like to know more about Winston and Grace Life Church check out their website at www.gracelifefl.com.