Joe’s Story
Joe Mendez is a living example of a full circle moment.
Joe was born in El Paso but spent the first five years of his life living in Juarez, Mexico with his parents. Spanish was his first language, so he started attending ESL classes to learn English as a kid.
“It was through second or third grade,” Joe said. “I remember attending ESL classes with my mom, sitting in the back of the classroom.”
Decades later, Joe and his wife started watching Irving Bible Church online during the pandemic. They would eventually attend in person, and it wasn’t long until Joe learned that IBC had its own ESL ministry that was starting back up.
Now, you can catch Joe every Wednesday night teaching English to people from all around the world—14 different countries, to be exact. “You talk about a full circle moment,” Joe said. “I used to stay back and watch. Now I try to use my opportunities and skills to serve others.”
From sitting in ESL classes as a young kid with his mom, to leading weekly ESL classes with people from a