Jesús Romero
At KingsWay we are committed to helping one another pursue a growing relationship with God. Community groups are one of the primary ways we do that. Community groups are small groups of ideally 8-10 adults who are on mission to help one another follow Jesus in every area of life. KingsWay member Jesús Romero shares here the fruitfulness the Lord has brought about in his life through his community group.
I will share here how God has transformed my life through my participation in a Community Group. I’ve divided my testimony into three parts.
1st - The Lord used my participation in Community Group to bring me to Him:
About five years ago, after attending KingsWay for the first time, I started going to the Hispanic community group meetings. I wasn't a Christian at that time. The Lord used my participation in the community group to evangelize both me and my wife. There was something about these people—not just their kindness and love, but the peace they exuded. I had misconceptions about Christians before, but through this community, God enlightened the eyes of my heart, leading me to accept Jesus as The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Shortly after, I became a member of KingsWay and was baptized.
That Community Group was an evangelistic space that The Lord used to show me the Gospel. This is the biggest change, brothers and sisters!
2nd - God directed me to embrace Christian community life beyond Sunday mornings:
After some years of attending KingsWay and the Hispanic community group, I found myself regularly gathering with non-Christian friends. We simply spent time together, whether cooking out or just talking while listening to music. On the other hand, I attended our community group meetings every other weekend.
Before I continue, I bet some of you have read the book 'When Sinners Say I Do' by Dave Harvey. What if I'd say, 'When sinners get together on Friday night'? Both experiences—hanging out with my non-Christian friends and meeting with my brothers and sisters in Christ—involve sinners coming together, but with a difference: When Christians spend time together, it's not just sinners gathering; it's redeemed sinners getting together for the glory of God in the name of Jesus. The issue with spending time with my non-Christian friends is that I wasn't being intentional to share the gospel or glorify God; instead, I was merely having "my own worldly time".
One day, I was sharing the highlights of my fantastic weekend with one of my brothers from the Hispanic Community Group, and he asked me, joking: ‘Why don’t you invite me to join you?’ It was a joke but it got me thinking about how I could expand the time spent beyond Sunday mornings and even every other Friday night with the same group of men and women who worship God with me, pray for each other, confess our sins to each other, many times forgive each other, share our joy and sorrow with each other…my community group and my family in Christ!
I found myself opening up more of my life to them, which meant dedicating additional time to the glory of God in the name of Jesus Christ. I pray to the Lord that we have many opportunities to engage in His name throughout this year.
3rd - Persevering in faith and depending on Him:
In 2022 I got a job where I had to travel most of the time and work seven days a week. That meant more income, but I couldn’t go to church or regularly see my family. A wise man, who fears the Lord, the leader of our community group, advised me, quoting the Bible, to find a job that allows me to worship God on Sundays and not to be absent from home. As Matthew had also said recently: ‘Hear, Fear, Obey!’ My community group and this church prayed for me while I was traveling and encouraged me to do what my community group leader had told me. I heard, feared, obeyed, and guess what? I got a job in Richmond. However, I had to face many challenges: on one hand anxiety, depression, and on the other hand much less income. I didn’t want to go to our meetings because of my anxiety, and my wife literally dragged me out of home. But every time I was with my brothers and sisters they lifted me up, it was good for my soul, and it was essential to overcome those times.
At that time, I was doing what I was supposed to do as a Christian, but things were not going well. It felt like the more I obeyed, the more things went wrong. While my community group was always praying and taking care of me, one of them ended up praying for me and saying exactly what my soul needed. Finally, the Holy Spirit helped me realize that I had everything I needed: Jesus Christ! Regardless of my situation, regardless of what happened or what will happen, I have peace! I knew this; we often sing all I need is Jesus, and we know it, but living it is way different than just knowing it. Soon after this, God also provided me with a great job where I'm exercising my major as an electrical engineer. He just wanted me to persevere in faith and depend on Him alone, and He is helping me to do it by participating in the community of believers.
Thank you, Lord, for my community group, thank you for using my brothers and sisters to change my life, and thank you for making me understand that participating in the community is important for our life as Christians.
Jesús Romero