In a recent interview Near West Partners’ Executive Director got a chance to chat with Near West Side’s own Pastor Craig Barnett of Greater Utopian church, located on 2925 W State St. In the community for the last 40 years, Greater Utopian Church is a family oriented church that believes in the full gospel. Pastor Barnett describes their mission as serving the whole man, not just spiritually, but also looking after individual needs as well as the family.
Keith and Pastor Barnett began their conversation by talking about the ever present topic of Covid-19, and how the pandemic has impacted life at Greater Utopian Church. As you can imagine, Pastor Barnett responded by telling Keith how Covid changed how Greater Utopian conducted their service. “Covid has impacted us in the sense of individuals being physically in service”, Pastor Barnett explained “we had to adopt a social media platform. Pastor Barnett went on to explain how before the pandemic Grater Utopian did not have a way to share their services via social media. However, Greater Utopia was determined to reach their members and now is able to share services with members via an audio program they have dubbed “Church by Phone” where members simply have to call in.
Through Church by Phone, and their now expanded social media presence, Greater Utopia Church has been able to reach the homes of their members with ease, now however, Pastor Barnett wants to bring those members back inside the church. “Now what we are trying to do through social distancing, and the best practices when it comes to safety is to implore members to physically come back to the church”, the Pastor Explained. Pastor Barnett went on to say how Greater Utopia has started its Sunday School back up in the last month, which he sees as a positive step in the right direction.
For those who wish to get in contact with or attend a service at Greater Utopian Church, Pastor Barnett expressed his welcoming to all at their Sunday Service from 10am-11am. Or by simply visiting their Facebook page here, where you can be notified when services are starting. If you would like to attend via their Church by Phone, you can find that information on their Facebook page as well, where it tells you the number to dial as well as an access code. Note that Tuesday services are also available at 7pm, but are only available virtually.
Be on the lookout for future collaborations between Near West Side Partners and Greater Utopian Church!
To listen to the Interview in its entirety click on the link below:
