Ministry Bible Education

Ministry Bible Education

I am John Mendez and I am receiving ministry Bible education at Christian Leaders Institute. I live in California, USA. I am the fifth child of a family of fifteen children. My mother sent us all to Holy Redeemer Catholic Church School for religious education. I accepted the Lord the summer of 1946, in a cornfield on my uncle’s farm. We did not attend church. We moved from Montrose to Sylmar, California.

In April of 1949, I enrolled at O’Melveny Street School in San Fernando. The school allowed one hour of religious education on Tuesday and Thursday, off campus. I met my new neighbor, Evelyn Rosemarie Lane, the summer of 1950. I would walk to church most Sundays, three miles, because my family did not attend church. I went to classes for confirmation at St. Ferdinand Catholic Church. I was confirmed in 1957.

I enlisted in the Army in 1959. I married Evelyn in July of 1964. We had five kids; two boys and three girls. We continued going to church. I retired in 2012. While working on the computer, I kept seeing ads to take a minister test, so I did and passed it. Eternity Bible College let me attend some classes as an auditor, four classes. I joined Simi Valley Second Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Gray mentored me in my studies to be ordained as a deacon. In 2016, I joined Only Hope Prison Ministry, to do Bible study and Sunday services. In the prison ministry, some of the prisoners knew the Bible better than me. I knew that I needed more knowledge.

Now that I found Christian Leaders Institute, I am learning more in this ministry Bible education. My ministry dream is to make a difference for the people that don’t have a church, who can’t afford baptisms or marriages because of the high fees that many churches charge. I hope to be a pastor since I like doing Sunday services for the prisoners and leading the Bible Studies. I think the main challenge for me is learning. My wife has supported me one hundred percent in all of this.

Learn about local “ecuministry” ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.