It may have seemed like just another beautiful July day on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. However, for Lawai Valley and Kapaa church members, and the family, friends, and colleagues of Pastor Dennis Miller, it was an extra special Sabbath afternoon in paradise. On the 22nd, Miller was ordained for the gospel ministry in a formal ceremony.

The entire membership of the two churches on the island gathered at the new Kapaa church, along with the Hawaii Conference officers and many of the pastors from other Adventist churches throughout Hawaii. They participated in the presentation, ordination, charge and celebration of Miller’s calling to the sacred work of ministry. The president of the Hawaii Conference, Ralph Watts III, led the service.

First Fruit

This day was remarkable for several reasons. For one, it was a noteworthy milestone in the history of the Hawaii Conference. Dennis Miller's ministry is the result of an initiative several years ago to train local young men for the ministry by sending them to Andrews University Theological Seminary. For many years, this had not been done. The vision of its past president, Arnold Trujillo, and the executive committee was to recognize and respond to this need.

“I am impressed with the growing commitment, dedication, and maturity of our candidates as they study and train at the seminary," said Walter Nelson, a member of the ordination committee. "This first ordination of Dennis Miller in this program has demonstrated the wonderful blessings Hawaii will receive as a result.”

A Calling

For Miller, the day was a culmination of an extraordinary calling that he feels he received from God. A few months after he was baptized in the Hilo church on the Big Island of Hawaii, he was sitting in the front row listening to a guest speaker when he heard a voice say to him, “I want you to go and do what he’s doing.”

Sensing that God was calling him to be a preacher, Dennis ran outside to tell his father what God had said. His father suggested that he wait a few months to see if the conviction would remain. It did. After studying in various places around the United States, he obtained his degree in theology at Southwestern Adventist College. He also met and married Sara Cromack, a classmate that he met while pursuing medical missionary training in Alabama. They were the first couple to be married in the Puna church (also on the Big Island).

In June of 1999, Miller received a call to pastoral ministry from the Dakota Conference where he served for two years. In 2001, he accepted a call from the Hawaii Conference to pastor the Hauula church on Oahu. Two years later, he and his family made the long trip to Michigan so that he could pursue a Master of Divinity degree at the seminary.

In January 2006, the Miller family moved to the island of Kauai to pastor the two churches on the island. “Born and raised in the islands, Dennis has been on a long spiritual journey," said Ministerial Director Robert Lloyd. "It was wonderful to see God lead him full circle by having Dennis return to Hawaii and make such an immediate spiritual impact on Kauai following his training at the seminary.”

The family has three children: Kayla, 9; Daniel, 5; and David, 4. Dennis and Sara consider their calling to be parents vitally important. "The most rewarding activity of the day was to witness Elder Miller's first official duty after his ordination," said Ron Lindsey, secretary/treasurer of the conference. "It was the baptism of his only daughter, Kayla, in the clear blue waters of the Pacific ocean right outside the doors of the Kapaa church."

The newly-ordained pastor gave credit where it was due. “Jesus, it’s all because of You,” said Miller.