Iglesia Nuevo Camino brings together community for worship, inspiration

by Summer Stevens

Pastor Roga and Betty Compeans are among the first to arrive at church on Sunday afternoon to set up for the weekly gathering of Iglesia Nuevo Camino, or New Way Church.

The band sets up, the team prays together, and they open the doors to welcome about a hundred people to the 2:30 p.m. service for worship, prayer and an inspiring message.

New Way Church is one of a handful of Spanish-speaking churches on the Outer Banks, but the Compeans remember when they were the only ones ministering to this community.

Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Roga and Betty lived in Kill Devil HIlls from 1988-1993. Though they loved living on the Outer Banks, they moved to Texas to be closer to family. Five years later, they were surprised to receive a phone call from Ark Church then-pastor David Daniels, asking them to return to minister to the Latino community.

“Latino community?” they asked him. “There are no Latinos in the Outer Banks,” they told him.

In the few years since they’d been gone, they were told there had been an increase in the number of Spanishspeaking people from Mexico and Central America, and a need to minister to these new families.

“It’s too far away,” Betty recalled thinking. Another eastern move would put them 46-hours away from family in Mexico, versus the 8-hour trip from their Houston home.

“But we prayed,” Betty said.

“We fasted and we prayed, and the rest is history,” Roga added.

They started out translating for about three or four families, but quickly outgrew their space. Roga began preaching in Spanish rather than translating and the growth continued. They moved to a room in the skating rink, outgrew that, and moved to another building associated with the Ark Church called The Dream Center.

It was an exciting time of ministry, and they worked around the clock meeting the needs of their ever-changing community.

“It was growing, growing, growing,” Roga said. “We did so many weddings, so many baby dedications, so many baptisms.”

“He preached, and I did the rest of the work,” Betty laughed.

“You were the head of every department,” Roga agreed. She led the children’s ministry, the women’s ministry, and helped with music, hospitality, and outreach. There were some years when they would travel out to Engelhard once a week to minister to the seasonal workers who lived there.

Their two daughters, Elsy and Danielle, worked right alongside their parents.

The whole family worked together to not only create Sunday and mid-week services and events, but also to help their congregation with the unique challenges associated with living and working in an area when many barely spoke the language.

Roga spent several days a week volunteering as a translator for the county courts whenever anyone needed help or got a traffic ticket. Betty attended doctor visits, was present at hospitals when women were in labor, and helped with official business serving as a translator.

“It was definitely hands-on ministry,” Roga said of the early years of ministry. Their congregation was mostly transient, moving from place to place according to the work available.

In 1998, the Compeans opened New Way Church, which is independent and currently meets at the Nags Head Church building on Soundside Road. New Way Church purchased property in Kill Devil Hills and is in the permitting phase to construct their own building.

Ministry looks a lot different now, too. The majority of their church members are established members of the community. Some are business owners, most speak at least some English and many are fluent, though services are still held in Spanish.

Roga and Betty have worked hard to create ministry teams, train leaders and create a core group of volunteers. There isn’t the same need for translators anymore, and they can purchase good curriculum in Spanish.

Because of the challenges of not having a permanent meeting spot, Roga connects weekly through encouraging Facebook posts and videos. They recently finished up a series on prayer and fasting, and held prayer meetings together.

It’s a close community, very much like a family, and they are there to support each other. As the service wraps up around 4 p.m., members of New Way Church stream out of the sanctuary, chat with one another, wave and give hugs until next Sunday.

Regardless of how ministry has changed for the Compeans, some things don’t change, like seeing God at work changing the hearts and lives of people.

“It never gets old seeing people in church. It never gets old baptizing people,” Roga said.

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