Walking Together with God: The Lives of Ray and Millie Pondell

Last week, I wrote about Ray Pondell and the faithful work he did as a deacon in my church. Today, I want to honor his wife, Millie Pondell, because they worked together and gave me encouragement and support as their pastor. Ray and Millie truly loved me as their pastor, and this is why I honor them by remembering the words I said about them at their memorial services.

Ray Pondell’s life was marked by his walk with God, his strong commitment to the truth of Christ, and his unwavering dedication to sharing the gospel with everyone he met. But Ray did not walk alone. Alongside him throughout his earthly journey was his wife Millie, a woman of equally remarkable faith, steadfastness, and grace. Together, they formed a partnership in ministry that strengthened the church, supported their pastor, and testified to the reality of Christ’s transforming power in human life.

The Fruit of Their Partnership

Ray Pondell was a man devoted to Scripture, to prayer, and to evangelism. He was a deacon whose heart burned with the desire to share the gospel with the lost and the spiritually confused. He could not rest while people around him remained ignorant of the way to the Father. This consuming passion shaped everything he did.

Yet Ray’s evangelistic fervor was not his alone. Millie shared that same passion. For over seventy-five years—more than three-quarters of a century—Millie consistently entered Trinity Baptist Church with faithful devotion. She witnessed the church’s history unfold and, more importantly, helped shape it through her unwavering commitment, her servant’s heart, and her steadfast faith. She was not merely a passive observer of her husband’s ministry; she was an active partner in it.

Ray’s love for his wife expressed itself in consistent care and devotion. He loved her deeply and looked after her even when she couldn’t care for herself. This was not a love based on convenience or mere sentiment; it was the love of a man who had learned from Christ what it truly means to lay down one’s life for another. And Millie, for her part, walked beside her husband through all the seasons of their life together—seasons of joy and sorrow, times of plenty and times of hardship. They were not just husband and wife; they were partners in faith, co-laborers in God’s kingdom.

Both Ray and Millie understood that the Christian life is not lived in isolation. They understood what the writer of Ecclesiastes knew: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and a time to die.” Both understood that life finds its ultimate meaning not in the accumulation of years but in the faithful pursuit of Christ. And both knew that their marriage itself was part of God’s plan for their witness and their ministry.

Two Lives, One Testimony

Ray was known for his consistent prayer life, his willingness to sit with strangers and talk about Jesus, and his evangelistic boldness. But Ray did not achieve this alone. Behind his public ministry was Millie’s faithful intercession, support, and presence. When Ray visited the sick in hospitals, prayed in hallways for elderly strangers, or was ready to share his faith with anyone willing to listen, he did so rooted in the love and support of his wife.

Millie’s legacy was quieter in some ways but just as meaningful. For over seventy-five years, she has entered these church doors. That is not merely about faithful attendance; it is a testament to a life of bold dedication. She witnessed decades of the church’s ministry, the preaching of God’s Word, the celebration of the sacraments, and the community of believers gathering week after week. And her presence was important. Her steady faithfulness was important. Her prayers were important.

The writer of Ecclesiastes acknowledged a deep truth: the end of birth is death, and the end of death is being born into a new and wonderful life. Millie Pondell understood this truth. She had lived it. She had seen her own life unfold over more than eight decades, witnessed God’s hand work in and through her, and remained faithful throughout. When her time came to leave this earthly home, she could do so not as someone who had failed in her calling but as someone who had finished her course with honor.

The Faith That Sustains

For those of us who knew Ray and Millie, their lives testified to a faith that was not merely intellectual assent but a living, breathing reality. Ray’s faith compelled him to evangelize; Millie’s faith sustained her through seventy-five years of faithful presence in the church community. Ray’s faith made him bold; Millie’s faith made her steady.

The apostle Paul captured this balance perfectly when he wrote about the nature of faith: “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” This is the faith that Ray and Millie possessed—not a faith of complete certainty about all things, but a faith that trusted in God’s character, God’s promises, and God’s redemptive work through Christ.

Abraham, the father of the faithful, weeps for Sarah, whom he loved. Jesus himself tears at the tomb of Lazarus. And today, we also experience the full reality of human grief and loss. This is not a failure of faith; it is the fulfillment of it. Christianity does not erase our humanity nor lessen our love. On the contrary, faith enhances our humanity, refines our love, and amplifies our sense of community.

When the Time Came

The Scripture reminds us that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” The time came when Ray Pondell had to go. August 1st was the day he was called home. He faced that day not with despair but with confidence, knowing that Jesus had prepared a place for him, that Christ would come to receive him, and that he would dwell forever in his Father’s house.

And then, less than two years later, the time came for Millie as well. At eighty-six years of age, after more than seventy-five years of faithful service to her Lord and her church, Millie Pondell was called home to her eternal rest. The finger of God touched her, and she slept. She moved from this earthly realm into the presence of the Savior she had served so faithfully for so long.
But this is not the end of their story. This is not defeat or loss in the ultimate sense. As Paul wrote, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”

Ray and Millie both understood what the Scripture teaches us: death is not the end of everything; it marks the end of pain and sorrow and the beginning of joy. For those who die in Christ, death is not departure but arrival. It is not losing but gaining. Ray and Millie have reached their final destination—their eternal home with Christ.

The Legacy They Leave

The writer of Revelation spoke a word that applies perfectly to both Ray and Millie Pondell: “Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from all their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

Ray’s deeds follow him. His evangelistic passion continues to challenge those who knew him. His willingness to speak boldly about Christ, to pray for strangers, to visit the sick and the dying—these continue to inspire those who witnessed his ministry. His deacon’s work, his prayer for his pastor, his constant study of Scripture—these leave their mark on the church.

Millie’s actions also follow her. Her seventy-five years of steady presence in the church community, her unwavering commitment through times of happiness and hardship, her life of quiet devotion and consistent faithfulness—these continue to speak as well. Young people who observed her faithful attendance learned what true commitment looks like. Members who saw her steadiness learned what it means to persevere in faith.

Together, Ray and Millie shared a powerful testimony about what it means to walk with God. Not perfectly—because they were human beings subject to all the limitations and struggles that define the human condition. But faithfully. Consistently. Devotedly.

They were partners in ministry, co-laborers in God’s kingdom, and witnesses to Christ’s transforming power. They loved the Lord their God, each other, their church, and their pastor. And they were loved in return.

A Word of Comfort

The loss of Ray and Millie has diminished our church community. As John Donne wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.” The death of believers who have walked among us for decades diminishes us. We are impoverished by their absence. We feel the loss keenly.

Yet we do not mourn as those without hope. We know that Ray and Millie did not simply cease to exist. We know they have gone to the place Jesus prepared for them. We know that Christ went before them and welcomed them into glory.

People leave their mark on the world in different ways. Some live quietly, so when they die, few will notice their absence. Others live in a way that makes them greatly missed when they are gone. Ray and Millie Pondell were such people. Their lives made a difference. Their presence impacted the community they called home. Their faithfulness strengthened the church they served.

But their greatest legacy is not what they achieved for the church or what they did for their pastor. Their greatest legacy is their testimony to the reality of walking with God. Ray walked with God, and then he was gone, because God took him away. Millie walked with God for over seventy-five years, and then she too was called home to her eternal rest.

For those of us who knew them, they stand as witnesses to the power of faith, the reality of Christ, and the promise of eternal life. They show us that it is possible to remain faithful through a long life, to walk with God through all seasons, and to face death not with fear but with confidence and peace.

Rest in Peace

Today we honor the lives of Ray Pondell and Millie Pondell. We feel sadness over their absence here, but we celebrate their presence with Christ. We mourn losing their earthly companionship, yet we trust in their eternal union with the Savior they loved and served.

In Christ, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The answer is that death has been conquered. It has been defeated. It no longer has dominion over those who believe in Christ and trust in his promises.

Ray and Millie now rest from all their labors, and their good deeds follow them. They have reached home. They are at peace in their Lord’s presence.

Rest in peace, Ray. Rest in peace, Millie. Your faithful witness continues to speak to us who remain. Your love continues to encourage us. Your example continues to challenge us to walk more faithfully with God. And we thank God for the gift of your lives—both of you together, walking side by side, testifying to the reality and the power of walking with God.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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