Reverend Ronald C. Miller Jr., Pastor
Born and raised in Bedford, PA, Pastor Miller was ordained in 1982 by the Central Penn Synod, Lutheran Church in America. After earning a BA in Criminology from the Indiana University of PA, he attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, where he earned a Masters of Divinity (1982) and a Masters of Sacred Theology (2001). His first call was to St. James Lutheran Church, Jersey Shore, PA. In 1988 he accepted the call to Trinity Lutheran, State College, PA, where he currently serves as pastor.
During his more than 30 years in parish ministry, Pastor Miller has served the church in a variety of ways: intern cluster coordinator, internship supervisor, congregational consultant, and served on variety of committees for the Allegheny Synod (ELCA) including the Candidacy Committee, the Evangelism Ministry Team and chair of the Congregational Ministries Committee, as well as Chair of the Committee on Reference and Counsel. He has served on the boards for both the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Penn State and Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries. He has been a consultant to various individual congregations and has served as an instructor for several educational events at the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg.
In 1999, He completed the Beeson Institute for Advanced Church Leadership, a three-year program through Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. He went on to be a Beeson Pastor at Asbury where he earned a Doctorate of Ministry, with a focus on preaching and church leadership. His dissertation focused on discipleship models and their impact on congregational health.
For the past 33 years he has led Trinity through various aspects of growth, including a major building program (1993-95). In a university town where one of the few constants is change, he seeks to empower the congregation to maintain focus on the mission to make disciples while adjusting to a constantly changing context.
He and his wife Ann have two daughters, Julianna and Rebekah.