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Peggy Miller

Retired Support Staff
"Helping Others Walk in the Light"
By Rachel Elwood, Staff Writer, March 2013

“I don’t remember a time in my life that I did not love Jesus Christ.”

Throughout Peggy Miller’s 32 years of service with World Gospel Mission, she and her late husband, Johnny, were fully committed to love the Lord and reach out to those who needed Him.

Born in Hawthorne, Alabama, on August 13, 1932, Peggy was raised in a Christian home where her mother taught her and her four brothers Bible stories and regularly took them to church. At the age of 12, Peggy accepted Christ as her Savior. She was a student at Asbury College (Kentucky) when she met Johnny, who was a World War II veteran from Cairo, Illinois. They were married on August 30, 1950. Johnny went on to complete his master’s degree in music education from Wayne State University (Michigan) and taught music in public schools in Alabama and Michigan.

In 1958, Johnny and Peggy attended Indian Springs Camp Meeting, a holiness camp in Georgia, where they both felt called to serve the Lord in missions. They applied with WGM and were appointed to Southwest Indian School on the American Indian Field near Phoenix, Arizona. At that time, SIS was a boarding school for Native American children.

Although their primary focus was teaching music, they also served in other capacities. At various times, Johnny was also high school principal and field director. Peggy taught arts and crafts, gave voice and piano lessons, was the music department coordinator, and served as dietician. They also served as dorm parents, a role in which they found great joy. Peggy shared the following story with her supporters about Vivian, one of their “daughters”:

“When Vivian was only 5, she saw her father murdered by his mistress. Unwanted and unloved, she grew up with a mother for whom she had no respect. ‘It seems that only sad things have ever happened to me,’ she told us. When Vivian came to Southwest Indian School, she was bitter. We could read distrust and hatred in her eyes. She never smiled, because she had known only ‘sad things.’ Then, in our revival service, she opened her heart to the Master. Jesus put a smile on her face and a light in her eyes!”

Vivian gave Johnny and Peggy a photo of herself wearing a huge smile and had written the following note on the back: “To Ma and Pa Miller, here is a picture of one of your daughters. I enjoy sharing the same home with you and the other girls. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. God bless you, Vivian.”

In 1965, Johnny and Peggy spent a year in Haiti, teaching at Ebenezer Bible Seminary and helping with evangelistic efforts. Peggy also helped with bookkeeping and secretarial work. They returned to SIS in 1968.

In 1975, they were appointed WGM’s missionary representatives in the Southeast region of the United States. They began traveling across the region, speaking at churches, missionary conventions, and camp meetings. Peggy developed a unique children’s ministry using ventriloquism and puppet skills to convey biblical truths to kids.

Johnny and Peggy retired from WGM in 1991 and returned to Peggy’s southern roots in Alabama. Johnny passed away in 2004. Peggy continues to live in Wagarville, Alabama, just down the road from where she grew up.

“It has been a special joy for me to be able to serve God and fulfill His purpose for my life at the side of a loving Christian husband,” Peggy wrote. “It is my desire to continue to walk in all the light I receive from the Lord and to be faithful in my love and service to Him as long as I live.”

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