We believe the church belongs to God and that the church is, in the words of the Apostle Paul, the body of Christ. The church is to be the physical presence of Christ in the world. As such, our primary aim is to do God’s will.  We believe God has called the Church of the Resurrection to the following: (Click Below To Learn More)

1. Our Beliefs

   At The Church of the Resurrection, we are Christians who are excited to be part of the United Methodist Church. 

   What is a United Methodist?

   United Methodists are the second largest Protestant denomination in America. We are the home to both President Bush and Senator Dole, as well as President Clinton’s family when he was in the White House. Methodists have played a significant role in shaping our nation, and especially the Kansas City area. The Shawnee Mission was started by Methodists. Johnson County is named after Methodist pastor Thomas Johnson. Several of the first public schools in Kansas City were started by Methodists. Della Lamb, reStart, Spofford Home, Kingswood Manor and a host of other community agencies and ministries were started by Methodists. Baker University is one of several colleges and universities in the area founded by Methodists. 

   United Methodists hold to the historic doctrines of the Christian faith. We are evangelical, but moderates rather than fundamentalists. We value the intellect and modern science, while at the same time looking to the Bible as the authoritative guide for faith and practice. Methodists have a passionate faith with strong convictions, but we also recognize that the world is not always black and white. We are willing to ask questions, to wrestle with difficult issues, and to do so with grace and compassion. 

   Methodists have been known for our emphasis on a personal faith, lived out in concrete ways in the world. We have historically valued well-informed and passionate preaching, worship that was lively, and small groups where people could grow in faith.

   Methodists have open hearts, and open minds--and welcome anyone interested in learning more about the Christian faith.

   If you would like to know more about what it means to follow Christ, please call 913-897-0120 and ask to speak to one of our pastors or e-mail us.

2. Our Purpose

   To build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.

3. Our Vision

   Changing lives, transforming communities and renewing the church.

4. Our Journey

   Knowing, loving and serving God.

5. Our Strategies

   The following five broad areas of ministry constitute the primary means of accomplishing our purpose and vision. They are the historic elements of the church’s mission: Worship, Evangelism, Service, Discipleship and Fellowship.

   Our first aim is to glorify God in worship; our second is to introduce people to Jesus Christ through evangelism; our third is to help persons of all ages to become deeply committed Christians through ministries of discipleship; our fourth is to build caring relationships and foster mutual ministry among the church family through authentic Christian fellowship; and finally, we aim to train, equip, inspire and mobilize members to live out their faith as salt and light outside the walls of the church through ministries of service.

6. Our Values

   It is our desire to honor God through our work on His behalf. To that end, we will do His work with the qualities we most value: integrity, grace, excellence, relevance, authenticity, passion, humility, faith, inclusivity, commitment, joy and love.

7. Our Limitations

   We recognize that certain actions could impede our ability to achieve God's purpose and vision for this church. We therefore resolve and state that the Church of the Resurrection shall not: pursue ministry which is contrary to its purpose; fail to seek to be good stewards of its financial and non-financial resources; do anything in opposition to the spirit and intent of the United Methodist Book of Discipline; stray from biblical principles and scriptures; stop discerning God's vision for Church of the Resurrection.

8. Our Story

   The Church of the Resurrection began in 1990 with the dream of launching a church that would reach thinking people who were not actively involved in a church and help them to see how the Bible and the Christian faith could change their lives, and how they in turn could change the world.

   Today, Resurrection is indeed one of America’s fastest-growing churches and one of the largest in the Methodist denomination. More than 15,000 people worship, study and serve at Resurrection’s campuses in Leawood and Olathe, Kansas, and in Blue Springs and Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. We are committed to changing lives, transforming our community and renewing the mainline church.

   Check out just a few of the ministry highlights from our 21-year history!

   • On October 7, 1990, approximately 100 people attended Resurrection’s first
   worship service in the McGilley Funeral Home. By 1992, worship attendance had
   grown to more than 230 each Sunday, and the church moved from the funeral home to the gymnasium of Leawood Elementary School.

   • In June of 1992, the first Resurrection-sponsored mission team went to Brownsville, Texas. In January of 1997, 26 members participated in Resurrection’s first international mission trip. Since then, thousands of people have participated in mission trips to Russia, Ukraine, Honduras and Africa, and a variety of locations within the United States.

   • Matthew’s Ministry was formed in 1993 to minister to developmentally disabled children and their families. Today, more than 100 families with special needs children or adults continue to experience a church that welcomes and extends the love and message of Jesus Christ to all persons.

   • The construction of a Sanctuary was completed in the fall of 1994. More than 1,700 people attended the inaugural Christmas Eve services in our first Sanctuary, which today is our Wesley Covenant Chapel in the East Building.

   • An education wing was added to the East Building in 1997 and children’s Sunday School attendance doubled. This year KiDS COR programs will share the love of Jesus Christ with more than 1,500 children each week, and more than 1,000 teenagers attend weekly programs in our Student Center.

   • In 1996, the Missions team organized the first “SOUPer Bowl” Sunday to collect canned soup for a local food pantry. This ministry has grown to three food drives a year, and collects more than 150,000 pounds of food annually to feed the hungry in our community.

   • More than 1,300 church leaders from across the country attended our first
   Leadership Institute in 1999. Committed to helping renew the mainline church,
   Resurrection staff and volunteers continue to share ministry experiences through the Leadership Institute and other conferences and speaking opportunities.

   • To accommodate growing worship attendance, we opened the doors to a new
   3,200-seat Sanctuary, education wing and prayer chapel in March of 2004.

   • Recognizing the importance of connecting and supporting one another as we
   grow in faith, Resurrection launched home-based small groups in 2003. Today,
   new groups are forming each week, as our congregation embraces the knowledge that becoming a deeply committed Christian is a journey of knowing, loving and serving God that is not meant to be traveled alone.

   • A second campus, Resurrection West, was launched in Western Johnson County in 2006, worshipping at Prairie Trail Middle School in Olathe. In 2010, we broke ground on our first-phase building of a permanent home for Resurrection West.

   • In the Fall of 2008 we launched our Vibe Service, an edgy, casual and fresh
   contemporary service for young adults, teens and their families that meets in our Student Center on Sunday mornings.

   • In 2009, we launched a new campus, Resurrection Downtown, in downtown
   Kansas City, Missouri, and began Resurrection Online, which includes live web streaming of two of our Leawood campus worship services each weekend.

   • The Resurrection Blue Springs campus began building a growing Christian
   community on the firm foundation of the former North Spring UMC in 2010.

   • In 2011, Resurrection West and Resurrection Downtown moved into permanent church homes. (Resurrection West at the intersection of K-10 and K-7 in western Johnson County and Resurrection Downtown at 15th and McGee in downtown Kansas City.) These facilities provided new opportunities for ministry and worship growth.

   The Resurrection story is about the transforming of lives, communities and the church. We stand in awe of the amazing ways God has used our church in the past 21 years to accomplish more than we ever could have imagined. We invite you to join us on this incredible journey of knowing, loving and serving God.