Southwest Church welcomes back congregation for ‘church on the lawn’

One of the largest churches in the Coachella Valley is finally welcoming back its congregation in a unique way.

“I’m excited; I say hallelujah!” Nancy Grisa said while walking to church on Sunday.

This weekend, Southwest Church in Indian Wells welcomed back its congregation and the community for outdoor services.

“It’s such a wonderful feeling to be back on this campus,” Kerry Kemp, a member of Southwest Church told News Channel 3.

Due to state and county guidelines brought on by the pandemic, the church building was forced to close for almost eight months. Like many other churches, it shifted to online services only.

“Oh my gosh, it’s like old times," Grisa said. "It’s fantastic! We all love Ricky. We’re back here at this magnificent church and just worship God,” she added.

Now, Southwest Church is offering “church on the lawn” so people can still gather and create community while keeping in mind COVID-19 safety protocols.

They’re trying out a unique system where people can choose between a red, yellow or green wristband based on their comfort in being around others during this time.

“It’s evident that they really want people to feel comfortable coming on the campus no matter what their comfort level is with COVID,” Kemp said.

People in the same households gathered in marked circles.

“Where a family can come and sit and come and be themselves and take off their masks but then when they get outside the circle we ask them to put on their mask and make sure they’re safe because we don’t want to stop this," senior pastor at Southwest Church, Ricky Jenkins told News Channel 3. "We want to keep moving forward back into our building eventually,” he said.

Southwest Church continues to offer online services. It's now adding three outdoor services every weekend. It also offers one Spanish service on Saturday evenings and two English services on Sundays.

“We are here to love one another, to hear the good Word of God and celebrate the connection we have no matter what we’re going through,” Jenkins said.

To learn more about Southwest Church or RSVP for next weekend's services visit: https://southwestchurch.com/