Like many Methodist churches in the United States, Bethany Church in Columbia underwent a substantial change last year as it stepped away from the United Methodist Church, welcoming a new pastor to join them in this transition.

Pastor Steve Barrett, along with his wife and three kids, joined the church this past August.

Barrett  grew up in California up until he was a senior in high school. With his father serving in the Air Force, he bounced around the state quite a bit.

After high school, he found himself living in the Belleville-O’Fallon area, attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale before himself joining the Air Force to serve as a military police officer.

After his honorable discharge, Barrett completed his degree and worked for a time as an information technology project manager with companies like Bank of America and Joyce Meyer Ministries.

While working there, he felt a bit of a nudge toward the life of a pastor which turned into a much stronger push as he and his wife went to Israel for their honeymoon.

“While I was in Israel, and this’ll sound crazy to non-churchgoers, but God spoke to me, and he said ‘This is the path I have for you,’” Barrett said. “And shortly after we returned from Israel, I started the process to being ordained as a pastor.”

Barrett had actually been raised Catholic, serving as an altar boy when he was young. He stepped away from the church but found himself returning to faith after his time in the Air Force, attending a Methodist church in Fairview Heights.

The first church he actually worked in was in Marissa as a supply pastor while the primary pastor was away on maternity leave.

Shortly after his four-month tenure there, Barrett was appointed to a trio of churches in Hartford, Alton and Elsah for four years.

Barrett then served in Carlyle for six years, deciding to step away in 2023. As he recalled, he was speaking with a friend who requested that he point any of his fellows who might be available toward Bethany Church.

“As we continued talking, it really dawned on me what they were looking for was somebody that had all of the qualifications that I happen to have,” Barrett said. “We started a conversation down that path, and the church decided that they wanted to invite me to be the pastor here.”

Barrett spoke about what interests him when it comes to his work as a pastor. While the trip to Israel with his wife was the big start for this point in his life, he described a number of ways in which he’s had his faith strengthened over the years.

He particularly pointed to several car accidents in which he was involved where paramedics voiced their surprise at how he was able to survive the crash.

Similarly, he recalled a medical emergency he once had which prompted his doctor to suggest God must have a plan for him.

Barrett said that, as he feels he’s encountered Jesus in these ways throughout his life, he wants to share that feeling with those in his church.

“I’ve seen God at work, and so first and foremost is Jesus’ love for me that I have experienced, and because of the things that I’ve experienced, I can’t help but want other people to experience those things,” Barrett said.

Barrett also described the approach to his work as a pastor, explaining he doesn’t want to preach about a single-faceted God like some others he’s encountered.

While many, as Barrett said, might wish to focus on the aspect of God portrayed by Jesus and his love, he also wants members of his church to recognize the more wrathful God from the Old Testament.

“My focus, if you want to call it that, is preaching the whole Gospel,” Barrett said. “It’s kind of like when you get married. You don’t want to just know one aspect of your future spouse. You don’t want to know what they’re like just when they’re having a good day. You want to know who they are overall. You want to know their whole self.”

While explaining his own approach to sermons and preaching, Barrett touched on the current state of Methodist churches in America as thousands of churches in the country recently opted to leave the United Methodist Church.

He explained that Bethany Church and himself decided to leave the UMC around the same time, explaining his decision by saying the UMC is struggling with its identity, has left behind some of the scriptural beliefs he still holds firm to and has generally become something not intended by its founder.

On a national level, coverage from PBS late last year titled “Why thousands of congregations are leaving the United Methodist Church” indicates that a major reason for the ongoing schism is the UMC’s approach to LGBT pastors and congregants.

Per the PBS story, a push for greater inclusion within the UMC has prompted many more conservative groups to step away.

Returning to Bethany, Barrett expressed his great affection for the church and its congregants.

He recalled a conversation he had with his sister who happened to visit Bethany Church. She had expressed her own praise for the church, stressing how she saw that they genuinely loved other people.

Barrett further expressed his joy to be able to serve as a pastor for Bethany Church.

“What I say is God brought us all together,” Barrett said. “I don’t view this as accidental. It was time for me to leave, it was time for this church to leave, and we found each other.”

When it comes to the future of the church, Barrett said he doesn’t anticipate any exceptional changes to the church itself in the near future – though he does hope Bethany can become more active in the community.

He specifically mentioned his hopes to take care of poorer individuals in the community as well as local veterans.

“The church is really going to lean into our stepping out into the community,” Barrett said.

The church, located at 1608 Hill Top Road, invites everyone to its Easter Sunday service at 10 a.m. There will be an egg hunt following the service. 

For more information on Bethany Church, call 618-281-5849 or visit bethanycolumbiail.org.