The Hudson/St. Lazare Reformed Presbyterian Church has never been financially self-sustaining and is now dealing with the departure of its pastor. But God has been faithful in preserving this body of believers.

After 13 years of living in Canada, Pastor Courtney Miller and his family have been led by God to return to the United States. They leave an unforgettable legacy of ministry in the church and community. How will God’s leading be made manifest in the Hudson RPC now?  Courtney Miller, born in 1958 in Bellefonte, Pa., wasn’t always connected to the Reformed Presbyterian Church. In his childhood years, he and his family were part of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Presbyterian Evangelical Synod (which became part of the Presbyterian Church in America). When he was four, he and his family attended the RP church in Syracuse, N.Y. They became part of the College Hill (Beaver Falls, Pa.) RPC in the early 1970s. It never occurred to young Courtney Miller that he would become pastor one day. 

Q: How did you come to be a pastor? 

Miller: If you talk to my mom—she brings this up occasionally—I was in third grade when the pastor’s wife said, “Courtney’s going to be a pastor someday.” My parents couldn’t understand because I didn’t want to be at church; I’d rather have stayed at home and played on Sunday. 

His father and mother saw something of a counselor in him. As early as his junior high years, they encouraged him to read Jay Adams’ books on counseling, but he never did. 

Miller: I tended to be the guy that other people would come talk to, in high school, college, and into business. 

Business is what he pursued for 15 years after his collegiate studies. His parents offered to pay his way through Westminster Seminary’s counseling program, but Courtney was moving on to a job in the business world.

Miller: Through a variety of events—as I reflect back, I see I never found a sense of fulfillment in the various jobs I had. I was always looking for the next job opportunity. 

After some career-testing exams, counseling seemed to be the strong contender for Pastor Miller’s main occupation. 

Miller: As I was considering how best to pursue counseling, one pastor came to me and said, “If you’re going to do counseling, you’re going to want to do it under the oversight of the church; and that will require a seminary education and becoming ordained in the church.” 

Richard Ganz, pastor of Ottawa, Ont., RPC, speaking at a National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) conference, commented that a seminary education would greatly equip a man in leading his family in spiritual matters. This remark was influential in helping Pastor Miller (and especially his wife Barb) decide to go to seminary. 

A wife is an invaluable source of comfort and companionship to a pastor. Barb, whose hometown is Orange, N.J., had never anticipated being a pastor’s wife. 

Q: What is the biggest struggle for you being a pastor’s wife? 

Barb: I think as you minister in the church, you see your sin so easily: how you respond to people, situations, your husband being away or ministering to somebody else and not present with the family. Instead of being thankful that he can do it, you resent it. 

Q: What has been the greatest blessing being a pastor’s wife?  Barb: I think all of it has been a real joy and blessing. Just to see me growing in my faith and then see others growing in their faith. 

So how did this American family come to the Canadian-French world of Quebec?

The Hudson RPC had been faithfully led by Elder Brian Brodie for the 16 years prior to Pastor Miller’s arrival. Brian, a dairy farmer, loved to preach, but the busier summer months of field work as well as the regular dairy work made this double duty difficult. The church had guest preachers come for the summer months to help out—when they could find them. In summer 2000, the opportunity for a summer intern arose. A family in the congregation wanted their son to be baptized. Their former pastor (the Millers’ pastor at the time) was unable to come. They asked if he knew anyone who might come for the summer. He suggested Courtney Miller, then a student at Westminster. The Millers arrived in Canada at the end of May and stayed until the end of August. During that time, they had the opportunity to counsel families of the church and to see the cultural diversity of its members, from farm folks to city people. That fall the church called Courtney Miller to be their pastor. He accepted that call in early 2001.

Q: Did you do some sort of assessment of the needs of the church? 

Miller: I didn’t have that kind of sense of it. From my mindset, ministry is pretty straightforward: preaching and teaching. My mentality was this: “I’m not coming to change the church and how it operates. I’m coming to fit into what’s here, and in time look and think ‘Are these things the way they should be? Are there other opportunities?’” 

Looking back over the past 12 years, Pastor Miller believes the congregation has flourished for several reasons. Unlike other churches that utilize a marketing strategy to attempt to reach the community, this church has seen growth as it focused on its covenant families. This has meant the Word of God being preached, taught and modeled in weekly worship and Sunday school classes, as well as Bible studies, summer vacation Bible school, church information classes, youth group, and family counseling.

There have been challenges that the church has faced in its outreach. One of the greatest challenges has been the lack of a church building. The church has rented church buildings, holding worship services in the afternoon. Another challenge has been language. Only a handful of the members speak French, and the area in which the church rents is predominantly French. One other challenge that most churches face in Quebec is the people’s disregard for religious activity and authority. Because of the painful past the people of Quebec have had with the Roman Catholic Church, many of its inhabitants distance themselves from any church. All these factors contribute to making Quebec a foreign-like mission field.

Q: What would you say is the strongest point of the church?

Miller: The consistency of the preaching and teaching. That’s what draws people to it. 

Q: As for its weakest point, what would you say it is?

Miller: In my mind, we, along with other churches, face the issue of strong male leadership: men who are committed to church activity. One of the statistics out there is that, between mothers and fathers, children tend to follow the father’s direction. Fathers are real influencers. This is why we look to some of the younger men to lead classes, taking ownership of the church. I think we’ve done an adequate job of equipping and preparing these men to take on the roles of leadership in the church. 

The congregation, now in a somewhat vulnerable state, needs the prayers of the saints. It must remain unified and be on its guard. 

Miller: A large question to ask is, “Do people come to church because of a person or a church?”

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised); and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:23-25). 

—Leah Lindeman