Josh + Rachel Fernandez
On April 25, 2021 Josh Kruger interviewed Josh and Rachel Fernandez about how they thought through church membership and why they decided to join KingsWay. Below is a transcript of their conversation.
Josh Kruger: Simple questions first. How long have you been members of KingsWay?
Josh F: Well, we both joined around the same time. About a little over a year ago officially, but as many people know I started coming to the church back in 1999 with my family when they first joined.
Rachel: And I’ve been going to KingsWay for about 6 years.
Josh K: So this is the process that I would like to know. How did you decide to become a member? You both were in the church for years, not members officially of the church, and then something must have happened—conversations, decisions, thinking through membership versus just being in church, to get to a point where you said that you are actually going to take the class and are going to become members of KingsWay Community Church. Walk us through that process a little bit.
Josh F: Well, we were both part of the Swank’s community group and really God just showed his care for us spiritually through that group. And we were like, we wouldn’t go anywhere else. This is our home. This is where he has us for a reason. We realized that that was just part of where we needed to be and what he had in store for us. And we wanted to pour back into the church and not just the Swank’s community group, but be able to go and actually care for the church on a level that wasn’t just limited to the community group, but the entire body. And we decided to go and work on becoming members. Not limiting ourselves to only being a part of the community group, but letting God work through us in the rest of the church.
Josh K: Who guided most of that discussion and was there unity?
Rachel: I mean, I think we were just about to get engaged, or newly engaged and it was like, what do we want for our family? We wanted that foundation of a body of believers. And it already felt like the Lord was knitting our hearts to KingsWay. It wasn’t just “Boom! Go out and become a member!” We felt the Lord really leading us in that way. Not just individually, but together as we were heading towards marriage. It was like, I want this foundation. We wanted this body of believers to be our church home.
Josh K: It was good to see at the time how God has just been knitting you deeper and deeper into the body—it was like the natural thing almost to happen.
Rachel: Yes
Josh F: Very much so.
Josh K: How did the Bible influence or impact that decision?
Rachel: Well, there are several things in the Bible that I think emphasize just being part of the body. You know, Romans 12 talks about being members of the body and that we aren’t meant to do that alone as Christians. There is an emphasis on us being a part of something bigger than ourselves and I think church membership can sometimes look and seem like a formality, but I think it is something that God intends for us to do together. He is the head and he is the one who is glorified in that. I know for me there was a sense of conviction that I was hesitant about church membership because there were things I needed to learn about what it meant. The Lord really worked in my heart to help me understand that it was about something bigger than myself. He was the goal. I could be a part of the church body that emphasized his glory through that.
Josh F: And the other part was that like the Bible says, we need to build our house upon the rock and not the sand. And just after several weeks and long nights of talking through it together, it was very clear that being a member and caring for the church was a very strong corner in being planted on the rock and having a strong foundation. The church is a part of that to us. It was very clear that this is what God intends for us as Christians.
Josh K: So one of the commitments we make to one another as members of the church is to be accountable to one another. That can be scary, right? How do you think through that? Does that mean, man! People are going to be in my business all the time? What does that mean for you? Even making that decision, I’m going to be accountable to other people and hold other people accountable.
Josh F: I think the thought of it can be very scary. And leading up to it being like I need to go and actually have people walk alongside me in this—in difficulty or just like a tough time in life. That can be difficult thinking about people being right there with us and knowing what is in our head and what is in our heart. But at the same time that is one of the most excellent opportunities to go and extend grace to people.To go and extend grace to one another and then knowing that we need that grace. Like if we are walking in sin we need the Lord to work in us. That is one of the most beautiful moments he can use. Cause we aren’t meant to stay in that sin, we are meant to experience that grace from him.
Rachel: Yeah. Well said.
Josh K: Rachel, KingsWay Community Church is not a perfect place and these members making up the church aren’t perfect people. And so, you know, how does that make you feel to think, I’m going to unite myself to an imperfect people and an imperfect church. Does that scare you?
Rachel: I think the emphasis of the church is that, sure, there is accountability and I think that is a good thing that we have that structure in the church, but we aren’t a perfect people. I’m not a perfect person coming into this expecting people to be what I’m not. You know? The point is that we have a really gracious God who is merciful. He disciplines his church and he moves through our imperfects still. I didn’t come to KingsWay expecting this church to be perfect and I’ve seen this church go through some things in the past 5-6 years. But it has been cool to see how the Lord worked through those difficulties to grow this church. I’m more excited to see how the Lord uses our imperfections than to put that expectation on the church.
Josh F: I think part of it is that, as Christians, we walk through our lives as he is sanctifying us. And he is doing that in each individual part of our lives—in every single one of us that are a part of his body. It is a group of people being sanctified to him. We can’t hold that to perfection. That isn’t what we are called to do. The point of sanctification is God working in us, showing how we rely solely on him for his grace and for his mercy and what he does in us.
Rachel: I would be more worried if we were claiming to be a perfect church. I think that is more concerning.
Josh K: I would be worried too! Okay, last question! What would you say to someone who is wrestling with this question of should I or should I not become a member?
Josh F: I think to pray through that process. Really go and seek the Lord first and see what he would have for you. Whether this is the church he would have for you or not. But I think it is also important to ask yourself why you’re on the fence about it. What is holding you back or giving you reservations about joining the church and becoming a member? I think it is also really important to go and talk to people who are in the church that can go and walk you through this process. To talk through it with them and see what the Bible says and what the Lord says about it.
Josh K: It was a joy for Karin and I to see the interaction of how Josh and Rachel wrestled with membership. Thank you for your example of walking through this in a manner that honored the Lord.