Dan Miller's Testimony

A student of the arts since I was old enough to pick up a pencil, I didn't know what it meant to serve God as a Christian artist because I didn't know what it meant to serve God, period.  I went to college in 1997 in the field of graphic design, but I was an increasingly unhappy young man as the semesters passed.  Was it my duty, as a Christian, to be obliged to only paint and draw scenes from the Bible?  Would a cross always have to be a part of my composition?  Could I just paint a tree or a house and not feel guilty?  I doubted that.  "This isn't real work", I thought.  I reluctantly graduated in 2000, but volunteered in various positions of simple service (cook, housekeeping, etc.) and worked for a small church for a time in Staten Island, New York over the next two years.  It was there that I settled on going back to college to become a teacher.

This led me to Bloomsburg, where a flimsy relationship with the Bloomsburg Christian Fellowship took place for a year.  It was basically youth group without the roller-skating parties.  Come to think of it, they might have gone roller-skating at least once.  That all changed when a DM staff worker named Ben Hagerup came and preached a bold sermon to the fellowship on Titus, challenging them to step out and focus on evangelism. 

At least half the people stopped coming to the fellowship altogether the next week.  This was when I started showing up consistantly.  There was a real authority at work here- this guy had a vision I wanted more of.  Peter Krol, Matt Geiger, and Mike Chartowich became a big part of my life that year- all with the same vision: the transforming power of the Gospel from the heart outward.  I was twenty-four years old at this point, raised in a church, and I had never fully understood the concept of grace until this point.  I was so blind!  Praise God his grace in showing me the truth.  The next few years led to a summer internship with DM (in graphic design) which taught me even more about my constant need for Christ.  I learned a lot about the arts as well: God's vision is all-encompassing; the arts are not outside His domain.  And (I'm happy to report) I can "just paint a tree" if I feel like it, because He made trees and, besides, they're very nice to look at, aren't they?

So, if I end up in graphic design, great!  I'll be happy to help.  If envelopes need to be stuffed, that's fine, too.  Whatever part of the body I am, what stands out to me the most during my experience with the DM family is that God's vision is huge, and all parts of His body work together to glorify Him.  

It's an real honor to be part of the family.  Thank you for all of your sacrifices.