Worship leader and gospel recording artiste Virginia R Miller recalls the time when she decided to give her life to the Lord.

“I was 19 years old at the time, and my boyfriend at the time was physically and verbally abusing me. I decided that I was going to leave him and he threatened to kill me. That was when I decided that I would give the Lord my heart,” Miller disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer recently.

Miller, who later got married at the age of 21, has been doing gospel music for the past 30 years.

“I have travelled all over the island as a soloist as well as a group member. I have performed at Fun in the Son and I have done background vocals and sang in the choirs and at concerts, church services, weddings, and even at conventions. I was the female soloist of Youth for Christ in 2001, which earned me a slot to minister on Genesis 2001 into 2002,” said the artiste, who has ministered to audiences in Europe and the United States through online platforms.

Miller, who worships at Jubilee Worship Centre in Spanish Town, St Catherine, recently released the song
Jamaica Praise Medley (Love My Jesus). It is a joint production between Miller and her husband Patrick and is distributed by TuneCore.

“I have been a worship leader for close to three decades. Most of the songs that are chosen for Jamaica Praise Medley (Love My Jesus) are songs that I have a strong conviction about, and I sing them in my praise and worship sets inspired by the Holy Spirit. I have also walked through these songs on my daily walk with the Lord. The medley is an expression of praise and worship unto God for who He is to me and what He has done for me. It is my testimony,” said Miller.

Jamaica Praise Medley (Love My Jesus) will be included on an album that Miller is working on for release later this year.

“My plan is to release a song every other month and then compile most of those songs in an album that I hope to release very soon,” she said.

Miller is upbeat about the feedback that the song has been receiving.

“The feedback to the song has been excellent. Radio DJs have also expressed their love for the song. Even on social media, there are people who have been commenting on how much they enjoy the song and how much it has encouraged them. I am grateful for the positive feedback,” she told the Observer.

Miller spoke of what undergirds her ministry: “The lesson I learnt along my musical journey is that there is a process that we all should go through to be tried, tested, and approved by God before we do public ministry. I also learnt that private worship is what prepares me for public worship. God is looking for true worshippers, and I have learnt the importance of being a true worshipper. According to John 4:21, God is not looking for great singers and musicians; He desires truth in the inner man. He is looking for people who are yielded and broken before him. I also learnt that God is more interested in me dying to my flesh and become fruitful than for my spiritual gifts and talents to go to the nations. It is worth the pruning and waiting in His presence. As I wait upon Him I will renew my strength and mount up with wings like an eagle (Isaiah 40:31).”