El Camino: July 2013 & Making Disciples

It's been 3 months already!?

The summer has been full of surprises and a constant work in progress with so many things happening at Christ Community Church: mission trips, leadership development, discipleships, and ownership.

Discipleship and meetings have been great, but have also been a great work; learning the culture on a daily basis, growing in friendships, and speaking truth into the lives of other men as they follow Jesus and desire to be used by Him.  Jesus has been giving me a heart for Denton and is constantly breaking my heart for our city.

At the bottom of all of this, my desire is to see people come to meet Jesus and be changed by the grace of His gospel.

Missional Communities

Two huge land-marks in the area of our missional communities: community groups and the start of college ministry.

As I type this, I am preparing material for this weekend as I meet with community group leaders and future leaders to talk about the vision and execution of goals and phases set in place for C3-Denton this coming fall and over-all year.  Leaders are stepping up by owning the mission of sharing the beauty of Jesus to the city by starting with their neighborhoods.

Denton houses two major universities: University of North Texas (UNT) and Texas Women's University (TWU).  Collectively, that's about 50,000 students on campus.  Much like El Valle, most of these students commute from near-by cities and unfortunately involvement is low.  Rather than trying to reach the mass with a small group of students, I'm taking a small group of students to disciple and equip so they can start a community group on/near campus, build relationships, and invest in the lives of other students.  In short, being faithful and intentional with little so that we may be faithful and intentional with much.

I have scheduled our first college-student meeting for the end of this month!

Prayer

• The weeks can be long and exhausting, prayer for strength to continue to move forward and invest.
• The fall will be exciting and as we move forward in our missional communities, that we constantly look towards Jesus to guide us and provide wisdom for the future.
• Discernment as we move forward with new opportunities within missional communities.

Wrap Up

God has been providing much this summer and I am extremely thankful.  I am enjoying my time in Denton as Jesus has been teaching me much about myself and my need for Him daily.  Right now, I am in the process of moving into a new apartment this month which I'm very excited for! I can't wait to get my furniture out of storage and have a stable home.  And finally, as many of you can imagine, I deeply miss botanas.

Financial Update: Thank You for your continued support and generosity! It has been a great encouragement of God's provision!  As  I continue to raise financial support, many needs have been met while I am still praying and working diligently towards others. Would you prayerfully consider financially supporting me as God has placed me on mission in Denton?

• Two Gifts of: $1000
• One Year Commitment of $100/mo.
• One Year Commitment of $75/mo.
• Special Gift of_______________

All gifts are tax-deductible and you have two ways to give:

1. Write a check payable to: Christ Community Church.  On the memo line, write: Marco A. De Leon.  Mail to: PO Box 2402 | Denton, TX 76202
2. You can give online: https://c3denton.onthecity.org/give/start. On the drop down menu, select: Staff Member Support- Marco De Leon.

Amigos, Thank You!

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El Valle y Tiempo

I was driving to a meeting the other day and became increasingly frustrated as slow drivers strategically prevented me from arriving on time.  It's as if everyone knew I had an appointment and decided to give me smiles accompanied with middle fingers at 20 mph in a 45 mph zone.  Only worse, I was driving to Roosevelt's today (local pub in McAllen) for some writing and was on my own time and the same conspirators, for fun, decided to pursue me.  As I sat up straight in a gallantly appropriate position to cuss them out, it hit me.  And this is where we begin... We are the generation that is focused on the $100 dollar bill in the middle of the freeway that we ignore oncoming traffic.  We are the generation that is firmly lusting after the finish line that we forget about the race.  Amigos, where did the time go?

We are a generation gasping for air in the shallow end of the pool that we're too stupid to stand up.  We are a generation who wants everything for the now to live in the future, but forget that our present from God is the present we're in and we suffocate by agenda.  Amigos, where did the time go?

The drivers of the Rio Grande Valley taught me something extremely important on both of my frustrated occasions: I can't beat the clock.  Now, while that may be a shock to some readers, allow me to continue.  Rather than full describing the Valley, let me simply say that it's an area where time doesn't exist for the majority of the residents, change isn't biblical or appreciated, and several of the cities are a representation of what the Valley once was and people are happy with that.

I live in a progressively aggressive generation and the Valley, while a great place to realize one's potential for growth, is a great place of reminder.  Time doesn't exist here because no one is in a rush to be anywhere and the appreciation for what used to be is nurtured because I'm too focused on the expansion of what I think I own, am entitled to, or deserve.

Amigos, la raza del Valle are not conspirators, but some of the only remaining survivors of time and have been placed in our direction in order to point us back to humility.  The question is, who's expansion are you living for?

¡Salud!

Oso