Though Dr. Miller felt God's call on her life to preach in the early 80s, women in her church were not given that opportunity. Truthfully, this suited Joyce just fine because she didn't want to respond to His call on her life. But like Jonah, she could not ignore His voice. Her reluctant response to serve God began, ironically, to take shape in the form of drama. Even though she has no theatrical experience, God lead Joyce into this ministry. In elementary school Joyce showed no talent for drama. When given the small part to announce, "This is the end of our play," she choked and couldn't say a word. In God's sovereignty, because of a willing heart, He has gone on to use her to write and direct dozens of plays which have captivated and amused audiences since the 1980s. She has seen people respond to God's call in some unusual ways. In one instance a member of the drama ministry was playing one of Jesus' disciples. During the Last Supper scene only eleven disciples were on stage. Dr. Miller searched frantically for the missing cast member. She found him under conviction crying out to God in one of the Sunday School rooms. He found salvation in the middle of the performance. Now he is preaching the Gospel himself.
The first play she wrote and directed was called "The Gift Goes On." Over the years she has written serious as well as light-hearted plays that have kept her audiences in stitches. Subsequently Dr. Miller has written and directed dozens of other plays.
This is a partial list of her original plays:
- The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth – Women of the Bible
- Gospel Music Through the Years
- He is Risen
- Moving: Body, Mind, and Soul
- Living in America
- And God Said, "Let My People Go"
- Then the Judgment
- Hour of Truth, a Biblical Jerry Springer
- After the Rapture
- Satan, We Would See Jesus?
- Behold the Lamb
- Calvary
- That Was Then, This is Now
- The Lost Continent
- Motown
- Love Is In the Music
She has consistently written and directed plays for special events at her church (i.e., Easter, Christmas, Vacation Bible School, Black History, etc.). Dr. Miller shares, "God may give me a beginning picture of the play, or He may give me the end. As I pray, God fills in all the pieces. It's His gift to me." Church members attest to the fact that Joyce Miller "packs the house" with all of her productions. Faithful members of the church sell tickets for these productions. Proceeds are used for various ministry outreaches of The Greater Piney Greater Baptist Church.
Not only have her plays been presented at her home church in Atlanta but also in schools and churches throughout Georgia. They have also been performed in Louisiana, Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, and as far away as Japan. God's blessing has definitely been on Dr. Miller in her ministry of drama. In the early days she needed quality costumes. Unaccustomed to working with patterns, she would read the directions and was unable to make sense of the detailed instructions. In frustration she prayed, "I can't do this, Father, please help me." She felt God's hand on her hands and the costume would begin to take form. In the end it didn't look like the picture on the pattern; it was in fact even better. Several years later, Joyce's brother (Peter Bell), donated a large number of costumes to Joyce's ministry. As she has known God's blessing, she has endeavored to bless others. She routinely assists other churches and civic organizations by sharing her scripts and costumes. She serves as an advisor to anyone who asks.
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