By: Natalie Johnson
Jonathan Hernandez did everything right, at least according to the modern script of success. He built a steady, upward career in cybersecurity, working with government entities, a Fortune 100 company, and later a leading research hospital. He earned elite certifications, including CISSP and Certified Ethical Hacker, credentials that quietly signal expertise in a field most people only notice when something breaks. In Columbus, Ohio, he was recognized by FutureCon as one of the city’s rising cybersecurity leaders.
And then, at the moment when his path seemed most predictable, Hernandez stepped sideways. Instead of pursuing higher-paying corporate roles in Silicon Valley or expat positions abroad, he enrolled full-time in a Master of Divinity program at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. While studying full-time, Hernandez has continued working full-time in cybersecurity, maintaining active engagement in the field even as he pursues theological training. To peers in tech, the decision was confusing. Cybersecurity is defined by demand, mobility, and financial security. Seminary, by contrast, is defined by formation.
“It wasn’t about walking away from opportunity,” Hernandez says. “It was about building a foundation for my future family and ministry, one that honors God and prepares me to serve people well.”
Credibility Before Calling
Hernandez understands that credibility matters, especially when faith leaders speak into technological spaces. His background in cybersecurity is not abstract. It was built through years of applied work in governance, risk assessment, compliance, ethical hacking, security awareness, application security, and business continuity. He understands how attackers think, how systems fail, and how often breaches originate not from software but from human behavior.
That credibility is what allows churches to listen to him now. He approaches them not as an alarmist or critic, but as someone who understands both the technical realities and the pastoral implications. Churches today manage online donations, livestreams, volunteer databases, and sensitive personal information. Many are operating as data-rich organizations without realizing it.
For years, Hernandez watched churches assume they were unlikely targets. That assumption, he says, is precisely what puts them at risk.
A New Calling Within the Calling
Over the past year, Hernandez’s dual identity has accelerated into something new. Invitations began arriving from across the country, not only to speak on cybersecurity, but to preach, teach, and help churches think theologically about technology.
A trip to Hawaii became particularly formative. A church invited him to conduct a cybersecurity seminar, which led to a conversation at a local middle school. During the session, a student asked whether his online behavior was sinful. Hernandez answered honestly. The conversation deepened. The student realized he needed to change course. Later that same trip, Hernandez walked alongside another young person wrestling with faith and helped lead him to Christ.
“I saw how the Lord used cybersecurity as a doorway,” he says. “That changed how I understood my work.”
He later spoke at the 2025 International Conference of Computing and Mission in the Americas, addressing artificial intelligence and the Church’s responsibility in shaping its use. For Hernandez, these spaces felt like finding a tribe. Most people, he observed, are either theologians or technologists. Standing at the intersection requires fluency in both.
The Crisis Churches Never Saw Coming
Churches are now facing a convergence of challenges they were not prepared for. Cyberattacks targeting donation platforms. Phishing attempts aimed at volunteers. AI tools that blur authenticity in sermons and communication. Leaders often feel unsure how to respond and are hesitant to admit what they do not know.
Hernandez approaches this crisis with humility and preparedness. He avoids fear-based messaging. Instead, he emphasizes education, shared responsibility, and community response. When breaches occur, blame fractures trust. When leaders treat cybersecurity as discipleship, something different happens.
“The most advanced system fails if someone clicks the wrong link,” he says. “That’s not a technical issue. That’s a human one.”
Theological Literacy Across Borders
That focus on human understanding extends beyond the United States. For more than four years, Hernandez has served with Transform Literature, a ministry dedicated to publishing theological resources in clear, accessible language. The goal is simple but ambitious: to elevate theological literacy by making sound doctrine understandable to everyday believers.
Hernandez serves as the ministry’s research and development lead, helping shape content that bridges academic theology and lived faith. This past December, he travelled to the Philippines to train pastors and church leaders through Transform Literature.
His seminary education and technical background now reinforce that work. “Through my training at Southern Seminary, I’m able to support Transform Literature more effectively,” he says. “I can help develop resources that are theologically faithful, culturally aware, and practically useful.”
Technology, he adds, plays a quiet but critical role. It enables distribution, protects digital infrastructure, and ensures that resources reach communities securely. In regions where theological training is limited, clarity matters. So does trust.
The Question at the Center of Technology
At the heart of Hernandez’s work is a question that feels both ancient and urgent: What does it mean to be made in the image of God in an age of artificial intelligence?
In seminary classrooms, Hernandez often contributes a perspective grounded in both theology and technical architecture. He argues that AI cannot replace human worth because human identity is not primarily defined by productivity or intelligence. It is defined by a relationship. AI cannot commune with God. It cannot participate in redemption.
This spring, Hernandez will bring that framework to a symposium at Baylor University, exploring human identity and artificial intelligence through biblical conviction and technical clarity.
He credits his professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for shaping that integration. “They’ve taught me to engage these questions with conviction and a pastoral heart,” he says. “Being at the crossroads means I need guidance as much as expertise.”
A New Kind of Expert for the Church
Hernandez believes visibility is part of obedience when it is pursued with humility and care. He often returns to 1 Corinthians 15:58 as a compass for his public voice, standing firm, giving himself fully to the work of the Lord, trusting that the labor is not in vain.
Humility and ambition, he insists, are not opposites. Humility serves as a guardrail, ensuring that passion remains oriented toward God’s glory.
Through speaking, writing, consultation, and international ministry, Hernandez now serves as a translator between two worlds. He preaches biblical truth and explains technical risk. He moves between pulpits and whiteboards, doctrine and deployment, faith and infrastructure.
In a culture obsessed with acceleration, he chose formation. In a world that rewards specialization, he embraced integration. And at a moment when technology threatens to flatten what it means to be human, Jonathan Hernandez is helping the Church remember why humanity still matters.
For churches, schools, and faith-based leaders navigating questions around artificial intelligence, digital ethics, and human identity, Jonathan Hernandez welcomes thoughtful conversation. He can be reached for speaking, writing, and collaborative work at itsjhernandez14@gmail.com.
