People of Joy: Building an Ecumenical Community in Winston-Salem

This time of year, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, it seems an appropriate time to celebrate other ways God is making Himself present among us. In this case, specifically in a small, new community in Winston-Salem, North Carolina: the People of Joy.

Rogelio Paredes and Johanna Delgadillo met thanks to the Gap program, and were married in 2010. They began their married life in Rogelio’s home community of Jésed, in Monterrey, but eventually needed to move for work reasons. These moves resulted in them living in multiple countries over the course of a few years, participating in local communities and forming new relationships. While not an easy or ideal way to participate in community life, all of this did help them to learn more about the many ways to structure and live out Covenant Community, as well as helping them learn to form strong, supportive relationships quickly in new situations.

In 2022, shortly after attending a Power from on High retreat in Miami, where Johanna grew up, they moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With no Sword of the Spirit communities nearby, and inspired by the retreat they had just attended, Johanna and Rogelio looked at their situation as a Catholic couple in now placed squarely in the Bible Belt, and realized this was a wonderful opportunity and invitation from God to live out a call to ecumenical life.

The family began to find places to connect with new people. Getting involved in a new church, home school groups, a youth soccer team, and Trail Life (a Christian organization similar to Boy Scouts) provided them with opportunities to meet other families and form new relationships. For the first year, they focused on simply forming and strengthening these new friendships, inviting people into their home, getting to know them and learning about their individual walks with Christ. At this point, supporting each other in further ways became a natural outgrowth of their relationships.

In late 2023, Rogelio and Johanna were joined by another community family, Joe and Rosie Gjengdahl. With this added support, Rogelio formed a men’s group with the men he had been getting to know since moving to the area. A few months later, Johanna began with a women’s Bible study, which then became a women’s group in the fall of 2024. With help from other communities, they held a Life in the Spirit seminar in late 2024, attended by five couples.

In trying to form a community from scratch, other communities in the Region have been an essential resource. While none are really close, several are near enough to drive to occasionally for bigger or multi-day events such as retreats. These have provided amazing opportunities for new families to experience and understand the culture and call shared by Sword of the Spirit communities.

In creating a community culture of their own, the People of Joy have found informal, relational events to be key. In particular, they hold regular cookouts where anyone who is available can simply show up and know there will be friends to talk with, children for their kids to play with, and food for everyone. This helps keep the joy of strong, supportive, Christian relationships as a central focus of their community life.

At this point, the People of Joy do not have a formal commitment or formal membership, but their men’s and women’s groups, Lord’s Day celebrations, prayer meetings, and other events are regularly attended by around five core families, with others joining somewhat less frequently. The families are mostly large ones, and come from multiple church backgrounds, providing many organic opportunities to learn and practice ecumenical life.

As always, such a small community, early in its life, needs our support and prayers. They are planning to begin a group for teen girls, providing both support for those girls and an opportunity for evangelism. In the summer, a Kairos mission trip to the area is planned. Please pray for these things specifically, as well as for the general growth and life of the community. Please also pray for wisdom and perseverance for Rogelio and Johanna, and for Ricardo and Maria Vargas, who have been assigned by the Community Building Team to advise and support them. Last, and perhaps most importantly, pray for the Lord to call more Sword of the Spirit families to help build this new community.

Thanks be to God for His perfect plan and His great blessings toward all of us!