Marvin and Teresa Miller love pastoring the congregation of Wellington First Assembly, Kansas. Prior to accepting the call in the Fall of 2014, they served on staff at Bethel Life Center in Wichita, KS and Palm View Assembly (now City Reach Church) in Whittier, CA. During their college and early married years they were active with First Family Church Whittier under the leadership of Rev. Ronald Prinzing.
Marvin was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He was baptized in the Christian Reformed Church and attended a local Lutheran elementary school (Missouri Synod). In 1979, his family began attending Bellevue Christian Center pastored by Rev. Sam & Jeanne Mayo and graduated from Bellevue Christian School in 1987.
After completing a liberal arts music major (organ, trumpet) at the historically Quaker Whittier College, California (BA - 1991), Marvin married Teresa (1992) and attended Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div-1997). Marvin completed his doctoral dissertation (D.Min-2016) in leadership with a concentration in disability theology and ministry from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. Marvin also studied elementary special education at Cal State Los Angeles (2004-2006) and secondary special education at Pittsburg State, Kansas (MAT, 2018).
Marvin has served as a college chaplain, hospital chaplain, associate pastor, and ACSI Christian School superintendent in both California and Kansas, where he served on WASC & ACSI accreditation committees. He also spent over a decade employed in senior financial management positions in both the hospitality and 3PL (third-party logistics provider) industries. For the last 8 years, he has been employed bi-vocationally with USD 261 Haysville School district. He holds a Kansas teaching license in secondary special education with middle school endorsements in Math, Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts. His assignments have included elementary special education (4 years), middle school emotional / behavior disorders (2 years), 5th grade math. He currently teaches the Autism Focus / Communication Disorders class at Campus High School.
Marvin has served a number of disability organizations in various roles: From 2004-2010 he was actively involved in the steering committee of the National Association of Christians in Special Education (NACSPED) with Jeff McNair at Cal Baptist University. From 2007-14, he was appointed to serve on the board for Friendship Ministries, an international disability ministry based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2014, he was appointed to the Kansas Department of Education's Special Education Advisory Committee, which he chaired in the 2016-17 school year. In 2015, he was appointed to the Kansas legislative task force on ESI (Emergency Safety Intervention) to study the use of restraint and seclusion in Kansas schools. In 2018, Marvin was appointed to the Kansas task force on secondary transition for students with disabilities.
Marvin has written for the Joni & Friend's Journal of the Christian Institute on Disability, developed curriculum for Special Touch Ministries, and serves as the President of the Council of Exceptional Children's Caucus for Faith Based Schools and Organizations.
Teresa is a career classroom educator, having spending nearly two decades teaching all grades in upper elementary and K-8 Spanish. She studied music (bassoon) at Whittier College (1992), completed a masters in education from Whittier College (2003) and studied Spanish at Cal State Long Beach and at the Castilla Institute in Granada, Spain (2004, 2005). She holds credentials in elementary and music education as well as building leadership in both Kansas and California. She currently serves as a district learning facilitator in the Haysville USD261 while completing her doctorate degree in education at Wichita State University.
Marvin was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He was baptized in the Christian Reformed Church and attended a local Lutheran elementary school (Missouri Synod). In 1979, his family began attending Bellevue Christian Center pastored by Rev. Sam & Jeanne Mayo and graduated from Bellevue Christian School in 1987.
After completing a liberal arts music major (organ, trumpet) at the historically Quaker Whittier College, California (BA - 1991), Marvin married Teresa (1992) and attended Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div-1997). Marvin completed his doctoral dissertation (D.Min-2016) in leadership with a concentration in disability theology and ministry from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. Marvin also studied elementary special education at Cal State Los Angeles (2004-2006) and secondary special education at Pittsburg State, Kansas (MAT, 2018).
Marvin has served as a college chaplain, hospital chaplain, associate pastor, and ACSI Christian School superintendent in both California and Kansas, where he served on WASC & ACSI accreditation committees. He also spent over a decade employed in senior financial management positions in both the hospitality and 3PL (third-party logistics provider) industries. For the last 8 years, he has been employed bi-vocationally with USD 261 Haysville School district. He holds a Kansas teaching license in secondary special education with middle school endorsements in Math, Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts. His assignments have included elementary special education (4 years), middle school emotional / behavior disorders (2 years), 5th grade math. He currently teaches the Autism Focus / Communication Disorders class at Campus High School.
Marvin has served a number of disability organizations in various roles: From 2004-2010 he was actively involved in the steering committee of the National Association of Christians in Special Education (NACSPED) with Jeff McNair at Cal Baptist University. From 2007-14, he was appointed to serve on the board for Friendship Ministries, an international disability ministry based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2014, he was appointed to the Kansas Department of Education's Special Education Advisory Committee, which he chaired in the 2016-17 school year. In 2015, he was appointed to the Kansas legislative task force on ESI (Emergency Safety Intervention) to study the use of restraint and seclusion in Kansas schools. In 2018, Marvin was appointed to the Kansas task force on secondary transition for students with disabilities.
Marvin has written for the Joni & Friend's Journal of the Christian Institute on Disability, developed curriculum for Special Touch Ministries, and serves as the President of the Council of Exceptional Children's Caucus for Faith Based Schools and Organizations.
Teresa is a career classroom educator, having spending nearly two decades teaching all grades in upper elementary and K-8 Spanish. She studied music (bassoon) at Whittier College (1992), completed a masters in education from Whittier College (2003) and studied Spanish at Cal State Long Beach and at the Castilla Institute in Granada, Spain (2004, 2005). She holds credentials in elementary and music education as well as building leadership in both Kansas and California. She currently serves as a district learning facilitator in the Haysville USD261 while completing her doctorate degree in education at Wichita State University.