Pastor Aaron Miller looks right at home. Coffee in one hand and a how-to book in the other, he leans back in his chair and tries to talk over the noise from a lawnmower outside the window. When the mower stops, the student choir rehearsing Lord I Lift Your Name on High drowns him out again. A slow grin spreads across his face. Amidst all the distractions in the Colonial Café, the hang out area of student ministries, Pastor Aaron is indeed right at home.

“As a young man I wanted to be an FBI agent,” said Pastor Aaron. But the Lord had different plans. Aaron Miller is Pastor of Middle and High School Ministries, a job he took on a little over a year ago. Before that, he served as Colonial’s Middle School Pastor. A graduate of Southeastern College at Wake Forest with a double major in Philosophy and Theology, he felt led to Student Ministries. In the beginning, it may not have looked that way. “The first kid I ever baptized, I gave him a bloody nose! I was trying so hard to make sure he didn’t get water in his nose under water, that I pinched it a little too hard. Up he came with blood everywhere! Very embarrassing.”

Pastor Aaron understands the importance of his role as pastor of students. “I try to read constantly to keep my mind sharp…I have the most curious minds—they ask a lot of questions.” His plan for Student Ministries includes developing battle-ready teens. “My vision is to get these kids out,” (he spreads his arms wide for emphasis) “living out their faith, understanding it first and, I know this seems to be the battle cry of many youth groups, but…you’ve got to equip them first.” Pastor Aaron knows that equipping the students at Colonial is about more than how to live a Christian life—they must also learn how to live the gospel. “We [Student Ministries] are text-driven, Bible-driven, and that means we are going to approach our world with [the Bible] in front of us—not with our culture in front of us.”

Although he was born in Kentucky, Pastor Aaron spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C. area. His stepfather, Tim, is a special agent with Homeland Security (yes, theHomeland Security) and his mom, LaDonna, stayed home raising their family. He spent his teen years in San Diego. “I enjoyed being a teenager—I was a hard worker and a good student. I enjoyed activity. I was always on the go!” Raised in a Christian home, Pastor Aaron said he grew into his faith.
He lettered in soccer and baseball and surrounded himself with the right friends. Friends, he admits, who held him accountable for his actions. Pastor Aaron said he is trying to encourage Colonial’s students to be that kind of friend. “Going to Busch Gardens, or having an after-the-football-game event called 5th Quarter…the camps we do—those are all wonderful platforms where these kids can bring friends and be prepared to enter [meaningful] conversations with them. I want this ministry to have a sense of gravity to it.”

During his downtime, you’ll find Pastor Aaron at home with his wife, Ingrid, and their children Noah, 2, and Jossalyn, 1. He considers his time at home a time to power down.  “Here’s where I get boring,” said Pastor Aaron. “I read a lot, I enjoy cooking…I am involved in a ministry where there is so much energy!” Student Ministries has several activities a month that keep Pastor Aaron charged. And, of course, there is the coffee! Joking aside, fellowship with other believers helps to nourish his faith, that and studying the Bible. “God’s Word and God’s people,” he said.

The café is finally quiet.  Finished with his interview, Pastor Aaron grabs his coffee and book and heads to his office where he will spend 15-20 hours throughout the week preparing for the Sunday morning student service. He will also find time to continue studying for his Master of Divinity in Christian Apologetics. Good thing the lawn is mowed.