Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - October 10, 2025
October 10, 2025
Dear Resurrection Family,
Last weekend, we began a month-long celebration of our 35th anniversary. It began with our Leadership Institute. Then on Saturday, we had our annual community event and car show. On Sunday, we had the official grand opening of Resurrection Lee’s Summit and the launch of Resurrection Mason, Ohio. At all of our locations, we focused on Christ’s words about his church, then looked at our purpose and vision, and finally, we celebrated some of what God has done through this congregation in the last 35 years (I’ll share the stats at the end of my email).
Our 35th anniversary t-shirts and our 2026 coffee mugs both have a part of the new vision of our denomination (the all caps portion) – to form disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, LOVE BOLDLY, SERVE JOYFULLY AND LEAD COURAGEOUSLY. It adds, in essence, that we do this in local congregations and throughout the world.
These three ideas, love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously, are the focus of the remaining sermons this month.
WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND: LOVE BOLDLY
As a kid, I loved watching the original Star Trek (I still do!). Every episode opens with the mission of the starship Enterprise – “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.” That word “boldly” is one I love. This weekend, we’re going to talk about why everyone needs love, how Christ calls us to love, and how he loved boldly as a model for how we love boldly. I hope you’ll find it inspiring – it’s a great sermon to bring your unchurched friends to.
WHERE ARE YOU SERVING THIS MONTH? BE PART OF OUR “SERVE 35,000 HOURS” CHALLENGE
In addition to the ways you are already serving (don’t forget to log those hours!), we have some special opportunities coming up:
RAISE THE BAR AGAINST HUNGER – We hope to collect 150,000 kid-friendly protein bars to support our Backpacks for Hunger program, which helps ensure children in our partner schools have nutritious food over the weekends. If you distributed door hangers to your neighbors, make sure you check back to see if they have bars to donate, and don’t forget to drop them off at church this weekend. (Make sure you log your time!) Learn more about this Fall Hunger Drive here.
GIVING GARDEN HARVEST FESTIVAL AND OPEN HOUSE – Did you know that Resurrection’s Giving Garden grows thousands of pounds of organic produce for Kansas City families facing food insecurity? I spoke with Stan Sword, who, with his wife Tracy, oversees and hosts the Giving Garden on their farm with dozens of Resurrection volunteers helping. I learned that this season we gave over 100,000 individual vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) to people who were hungry. Our community garden welcomes volunteers of all ages and experience levels. This Sunday, Oct. 12, from 1-4 pm, you can learn about this amazing ministry at their Harvest Festival. This free family fun event for all ages includes live music, garden tours, corn hole tournament, pumpkin painting, scavenger hunt and cookie decorating. The Giving Garden is located at 32400 W 127th St, Olathe, KS 66061. You can learn more here.
SIGN UP FOR SUPER SERVE SATURDAY – Help us blanket the city with Resurrection volunteers on Saturday, Oct. 18. We have over 400 opportunities for you, your family, or your small group to serve with others and make an impact on our community. Select your project and sign up here. I am excited about being around town with you that day!
GLOBAL SERVE AND INFORMATION EVENT – Join us on Wednesday evening, Oct. 15, in the Leawood Foundry from 6:30-8:30 pm for a Global Serve and Information Event. This is a great opportunity to be part of our 35th anniversary goal of 35,000 service hours in October—you’ll get to work on a hands-on project that supports our global mission work while also learning about the impact around the world and upcoming serve trips. If you’re part of an Adult Discipleship group, this is a perfect chance to serve together as a team. You can register here.
VOLUNTEER AT TRUNK OR TREAT – Help host this free annual community event happening at our locations on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Sunday, Oct. 26. We need volunteers to decorate their cars and distribute candy. This is one of our biggest outreach opportunities for kids and families, and it’s an easy way to invite other families, friends and neighbors to join you for a day of fun, games, crafts, and lots of candy. You can sign up here.
MAKING SENSE OF FAITH PODCAST THIS WEEK: FIRST SERMON AT RESURRECTION – OCTOBER 7, 1990
CONGRATULATIONS TO ST. MARK’S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN OVERLAND PARK CELEBRATING 75 YEARS
A LOT TO CELEBRATE: 35 YEARS OF MINISTRY BY THE NUMBERS
In the last 35 years at Resurrection:
- More than 24,000 came to, or returned to faith in Christ
- 10,373 people were baptized
- 6,300 third graders received their Bibles
- 5,836 youth were confirmed
- 1,706 couples were married here
- 1,787 funerals/memorial services held here
- 60,000+ unique church leaders trained
- 25,000+ churches have used Resurrection resources
- 64,608 pints of blood donated
- Over ten million pounds of food donated
- 794,000 backpacks for hunger
- 487,390 books given to children
- Playgrounds donated and built at partner schools
- Thousands of hours in support of partner schools
- Mobile Food Pantry, Book Mobile and Swope Health Dental Clinic
- Provided 215 wells for serving 100,000+ people in Africa
- Over 25,000 unique children served through orphan projects, schools, medical clinics, and community projects in Central America and Africa.
In Christ’s love,
Adam
Adam Hamilton
Resurrection Senior Pastor
Reverend Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor of Church of the Resurrection and the author of 22 books. He has been married to LaVon since 1982, and she has been a critical partner in every dimension of Adam’s work. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
Adam’s writings are known for helping readers make sense of challenging theological questions, exploring the significance of the biblical stories, and equipping Christian leaders to be more effective in their work. He earned his MDiv from Perkins School of Theology and graduated with honors from Oral Roberts University with a degree in Pastoral Ministry.
