It was just before Covid hit that Troy Miller got his calling to the ministry.

“I just felt it about eight or nine years ago,” Pastor Miller said. “I knew that God was calling me. I did not know when or where. I just had the faith He would direct me.”

That calling eventually led Pastor Miller to the Heartland Community Church, where he has been a pastor now for the past seven years.

During his time there, the church has grown into one of the largest non-denominational churches in the area.

“We have a pretty large following,” Miller said.

Miller grew up on a dairy farm between Great Bend and Hoisington. He graduated from Hoisington High School and runs a lawn care business out of Hoisington currently. He heads Miller Lawns as well as his duties as a pastor.

Faith has always been part of his life. He grew up in the Concordia Lutheran Church in Hoisington. A couple key figures in his time working toward his spot as the pastor at the Heartland Community Church were Dwight Dozier, Aryln Thielenhaus, and Sandy Kennedy.

Pastor Thielenhaus had a role founding the Grace Community Church as well as the Fellowship of Faith Church, both in Great Bend. Pastor Thielenhaus also had close ties to the Heartland Community Church and helped guide Miller there.

“I was serving the role as a substitute pastor at churches in the area that needed help,” Pastor Miller said.

He was the Fellowship of Faith Church, where Pastor Arlyn was at, when he was asked to step in at Heartland.

“I was at the Fellowship of Faith Church,” Miller said. “Heartland called to be their interim pastor.

“I was the interim pastor there for about a year,” Miller said. “Then Covid hit and I got the call to the full-time pastor. They voted me in.”

So after serving most of 2019 as the interim pastor, Miller was now the head pastor at Heartland.

“Normally if you are serving as an interim pastor at the church, you don’t stay and become the pastor,” Miller said. “But God had made the path for me. When they voted me in I knew it was the place for me.”

Now in his seventh year at the Church, Miller and Heartland have grown in the way he wanted.

The building was a Food 4 Less store. Heartland moved into the building in 2014 and the transformation began.

Miller is the lead pastor. Marcela Oliveira is the associate pastor and Jack Love the youth pastor.

The building, in its fifth year as a church when Miller took over, has made even more changes.

“It’s a good group of people,” Pastor Miller said. “We are blessed to have a great worship team. We have built a good foundation.”

While the building has made some changes to accommodate worship, it is just that, worship, that drive Pastor Miller and allows people to come pray during service, worship without judgement, and flow in the power of the Holy Spirit as well as believing in the miracles of healing.

“The main thing is winning people to Christ,” Miller said. “Without Jesus no one is getting into heaven. That is what it is all about. Spreading the gospel so people can be saved.”

Heartland has taken a role in helping feed people during some important times of the year.

They run what they call Turkey Time just before Thanksgiving. They hand out close to 60 cooked turkey to local families.

The church also has a Christmas Day meal for the community for those that don’t have a place to eat on Christmas. Operation Christmas Child is also a big part of what they do.

Another key piece for Pastor Miller and the Heartland Church is fellowship.

“Family atmosphere is important,” Pastor Miller said. “People can come and serve and build friendships and have some laughter.

“Having that fellowship with other people and sharing their lives. Learning about good things and praying for families when they are sick and needing some prayers.”