In 1946, Pastor Miller became a
member of the Baptist Mission, which was part of the Fundamentalist Baptist
church (called the Southern Baptist convention in the States).
This church was later renamed the Berean Mission in the islands.
Guided by Pastor Robert Mains, the work of church planting began in Grenada.
At that time,
Grenada
was heavily Catholic. The aim of
the missionaries, Pastor Miller says, was to ”Preach
the Gospel so that people are born again.”
Pastor Miller continued
working in
Grenada
until 1959, when he briefly went to
St. Vincent
’s
island for a refresher course. When
he came back, he discovered that his young family was in need, so he went to
work.
It was then that he learned to be a craftsman.
He considered this one of the lowest points in his life.
Of the experience, Pastor Miller says, “Looking back, the Lord has
taught some marvelous things. The
Lord has been very, very good to me”
In 1961, led by the
evangelical twins, Ralph and Lou Sutera, through the Canadian Revival
Ministry, revival came to
Grenada.
The twins, who were then only in their mid-twenties, held open-air
meetings in
St.
Georges Square
for 10 days.
Hundreds of people were saved. The
twins returned in 1962, and there were many who recommitted their lives to
Christ, and they also returned in 1985, for meetings that centered on revival.
But those first meetings are what lit a fire on the
island
of Grenada;
the fire
of genuine revival. As defined by
Pastor Miller, “Revival is sin, self and the Holy Spirit.
Until we deal with the results of sin in our lives, the Holy Spirit
does not come in and revive us.”
“In the 50’s and 60’s
people were very skeptical to the word of God,” the Pastor continues. “After
that crusade, the hearts and minds of the people were opened.”
Many decades later, after the intervention of US
troops that overthrew a Marxist-style government that had killed a popular
Grenadian leader in the 1980's, the doors of evangelism opened further.
The Mennonite church,
Church
of
Christ
and other denominations are now part of
Grenada.
“Grenadians are very sensitive
about the church,” reflected Pastor Miller.
“Now there is a good evangelical base.”
Statistics bear out Pastor Miller’s
assessment. According to the CIA’s
world fact book, the religious population of
Grenada
is as follows: Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 14%, other Protestant 25%, and
Rastafarianism and Muslim,
less than 10%.
Pastor Miller offers a word of
caution, however, about new movements and crusades.
He believes often people come to the services only to be healed.
“I believe in miracles,” Miller admonishes, “but people have been
healed without being saved.” He
also believes that an emphasis on prosperity ministry puts far too much
pressure on people to have material possessions that are not necessary.
And he is disturbed by some ministries’ insistence on “manifestations
of the Holy Spirit” as proof of conversion, or of the Spirit’s presence.
There are now 7 churches planted
by the Berean Mission in
Grenada.
They are in Grand Anse, Calliste, Woodlands, Malmount, Saint Georges,
Saint Davids and Gouyave. Pastor
Miller is the Pastor of the church in Calliste.
There was an 8th work in
Grenada,
in Happy Hills, which was led by Pastor Paul Miller, but he left the Berean
Mission to form an independent church.
The Flag of
Grenada
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