Miller family attorney hints at lawsuit against Mica’s estranged husband; Solid Rock Ministries worth millions

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A potential wrongful death lawsuit could be coming against Solid Rock Church, as documents left behind by Mica Miller suggest her estranged husband John-Paul used its authority to isolate her, a family attorney says.

“There seems to me that there could be a civil action. Not against the police — the police under the circumstances responded appropriately under what was happening at the time — but there are other things that happened that are related to this church,” Conway-based attorney Regina Ward told NewsNation last week.

Authorities said Miller, 30, killed herself at Lumber River State Park in Robeson County on April 27 — two days after serving her husband John-Paul with divorce papers.

She worked alongside her husband leading women and youth leadership classes, among other roles. Church leaders said John-Paul was relieved of his “ministerial functions” shortly after Miller’s death.

“She was employed there, there’s a question about whether she was appropriately paid for her time, the church itself was used by John-Paul, I have letters that he wrote on church stationary to her basically disparaging her,” Ward said. “He went after everything that meant anything to this young woman.”

News13 has been investigating circumstances surrounding her death amid documented claims that she was being abused leading up to her death.

On Tuesday, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed reports that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were asked to assist in the early stages of the investigation.

“Based on the information gathered during the investigation and jurisdiction reasons, the Sheriff’s Office has requested the assistance of both agencies,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins’ office said. “The request made by the Sheriff’s Office is not related to the cause of death of Mica Miller. Mica Miller’s death remains to be the result of a suicide.”

The Market Common church was granted tax-exempt status in 2015, according to IRS filings. But publicly available records give a peek into a multimillion dollar portfolio that falls under the “Solid Rock Ministries” umbrella.

A church official declined to comment for this story citing advisement from an attorney.

News13 on Tuesday found that the organization registered a 2007 Cessna SR-22 with the FAA on May 9. It’s not clear when the aircraft was purchased, or for how much. An airplane with that make and model listed for sale on Controller.com has an asking price of $429,900.

Horry County land records show that Solid Rock Ministries controls four properties with a total taxable value of $5.59 million. That includes a 2,089-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home along Coldwater Circle listed on court documents as John-Paul’s address. The house has a taxable value of $240,900.

Solid Rock Ministries also owns 28.2 acres of land off U.S. Highway 17 Bypass with a total value of $3.42 million. A sign on the property said Solid Rock planned to use the site to expand its Faith First Academy school. Meanwhile, the Howard Avenue church itself has a taxable value of $1.93 million.

John-Paul Miller does not own any property under his name in Horry County, according to land records.

The ministry also has at least two vehicles, county tax records show — a 2011 Honda and 2018 Chevrolet.

While Solid Rock Ministries doesn’t claim a denomination, marketing materials label it as “Christian.”

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability — which counts more than 2,700 affiliates nationwide — does not include Solid Rock Ministries among them, according to its website
Ground Zero in Myrtle Beach and WMBJ FM based in Murrells Inlet are ECFA members.

John-Paul Miller also runs Dare2Care Missions, whose website is “dedicated to Mica Miller.” The ministry is dedicated to “building the Kingdom of God” in Kenya and urges donors to give $300 a year to attend the ministry’s African-based school.

“While we do many local works in Horry County, SC, this particular mission work is mainly focused on the Children of Jebrok. We aim to have 100 children receive a Christian education, 2 meals each day, and know to take their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ back home to their parents,” its mission statement says. “Jebrok has very few Christian families, so by starting with the younger generation, we hope to reach thousands within the next 20 years.”

In her NewsNation interview, Ward said she has “mounds of paperwork” that were left behind by Mica or given to relatives. She said after Mica’s death, John-Paul called her law office to inform her of the news.

“Much to his disappointment, he thought that with her death, the lawsuit for separation would die with her,” she said. “He was quite dumbfounded and upset.”