I Want to Be More Like Joe

Editor’s Note: Continuing on in our series of winning blogs for this Week of Gratitude, we bring you Ed Moncada’s entry.

I am so thankful for the testimony, witness, and inspiration of a man named Joe. He is no “average Joe” as the saying goes. Joe took an early retirement as a Math teacher and felt led to find a new job. Joe is an ordained minister and could have pastored a church in our area. He wanted to find more time to serve his home church, so he took up the opening as one of our church custodians. What a great lesson in humbleness and humility.

I’ve worked in full time ministry for more than 20 years and seen the best of the best. Joe undoubtedly is up there as one of the most evangelistic people I’ve ever met. Whether you’re a church visitor, homeless, or someone hired to fix something at church, Joe shares Jesus with you. We often hear the echoes of the sinner’s prayer as Joe leads them. Although he would never brag about this, since early this year I’ve heard Joe has personally led around 50 people to the Lord—most in our church hallways.

Joe is also an active deacon at our church and often goes on visitation on Monday nights. When our Filipino mission lost its pastor last year, Joe took up the interim position to lead that mission for a year. He didn’t want to take any pay; he asked that any supplement be given to his daughter who is a missionary overseas. Many of our Filipino families were led to the Lord while Joe led this mission. The Filipino community grew to love their short term Anglo pastor. I noticed there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when he ended his interim position.

Joe is such an inspiration to me and to so many who watch him share his faith. He is also a prayer warrior, if you ask him to pray for anything he will pray with you on the spot. Even if you’re in the middle of traffic in the church parking lot, he’ll put half his body in your car to pray with you. Joe’s evangelistic example has encouraged me to step up in my witnessing. I have witnessed to more people this year. This fall three of my own family members (brother, aunt, and cousin) came to know Jesus. I have tried to witness to these family members for 30 years. I am inspired by Joe’s zeal in witnessing. I want to be more like Joe because Joe truly loves to share Jesus.