Membership in a particular local church body is a critical means the Lord uses to provide His care to us and to keep us accountable to walking faithfully with Him. Christian and Julia Francis share here their conviction about the value of local church membership and what compelled each of them to become a member of KingsWay.

KingsWay has been a second home to us the last couple of years, and we are very grateful for the deep theology and expository preaching each Sunday.

I (Julia) have grown up at KingsWay and have gone there my entire life. KingsWay has been there with me through my rocky years with the Lord and was a huge part of my transformation. When the bulk of my peer community went to college and departed KingsWay in 2018, I struggled feeling at home here. I desired deep theology but closed myself off to community and did not want to expand my horizons to people other than those who I had grown up with.

In 2019, I decided to go way out of my comfort zone and join a community group with Christian when we were dating. It was a big step of faith but I knew I needed to make a change if I was going to continue attending KingsWay. The people in that group embraced us fully and the Lord then put it on my heart to join the body of Christ through membership. I always knew membership was important and was very excited to join the KingsWay body. To do this with many people in my circle, all from different ages of life, rooting and praying for me, has been a huge and impactful reason for the transformation of my heart towards the body of KingsWay.

I (Christian) started attending KingsWay shortly after Julia and I got engaged in 2020. I enjoyed my previous church but I was lacking community. Going to community group affected my heart deeply and was a game changer for both of us in our life plans. We spoke frequently of moving to Colorado to be in a snowy climate, but that quickly changed when we created deep, Christ-centered, and uplifting relationships within KingsWay, as a couple and as individuals. There was no way we could leave such a special church, and we don’t plan on going anywhere unless the Lord leads us somewhere else.

Something that KingsWay has helped me (Christian) to understand and value so much is church membership. I have always known about the importance of serving in the local body of Christ and being a member of the Kingdom of Christ, but I have more recently had a deeper understanding of what local membership is. In becoming a member of KingsWay, I learned that the structure of membership is a gift from God that allows us to be able to have deeper relationships with the whole body through accountability. The way KingsWay does membership is unique because in order to serve on the teaching team for children’s ministry, you must be a member. This is because there is an accountability to teach the Word, and church membership allows us to trust that what kids are being taught is biblical. I know that when I am a parent I can trust KingsWay to teach my kids. This is because I know what they believe and I know that KingsWay’s teachers are people who are a part of the body of KingsWay and have a public proclamation of faith in Christ.

In our marriage, work, friendships, leadership and personal lives, there is accountability from the church that we could not get without the unique way that KingsWay does membership. The entire body is looking out for each other and we know we will always be supported in our walks with the Lord because of it.

Christian + Julia Francis