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Satellite church launches Resurrection Downtown Fred Koenig, Jan 11, 2010
PHOTOS BY FRED KOENIG
Resurrection Downtown in Kansas City, Mo., launched its worship services on the first Sunday of Advent.
By Fred Koenig Special Contributor
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Many United Methodists across Missouri have been to Grand Avenue Temple. The Lazarus Table ministry based in the church has been a vibrant mission serving the homeless in downtown Kansas City for years.
Churches from near and far have sent volunteers many times to spend the day providing meals at the ministry.
While there, many of those volunteers probably took a moment to admire the church structure itself: The beautiful pews, hardwood floors, plaster relief walls, enormous pipe organ; all would be the envy of many churches.
With many people moving back into downtown apartments as part of an urban revitalization movement, wouldn’t it be a blessing to see the historic church filled again with a vibrant congregation worshipping there every week?
The facility would need a considerable makeover, with years of deferred maintenance to make up for. It would take a massive upgrade to the church’s audio and video equipment, which would also surely require new wiring.
More importantly, it would take a team of top-notch church leaders to orchestrate a launch. It would take an energetic pastor who would live in the community and get to know a lot of people. It would take a core group of lay members who are downtown residents, who have the ability and desire to start something new. It wouldn’t hurt to have a well-known pastor and community leader heading up the whole project; someone with a record of success.
All of that is happening now. The Rev. Adam Hamilton of Church of the Resurrection, a United Methodist mega-church in Leawood, Kan., started working on the idea a few years ago with the Rev. Ron Brooks.
Church of the Resurrection has more than 12,000 members and averages more than 7,500 in weekly worship at its two campuses. Grand Avenue Temple, it was decided, would make a fruitful third campus.
Church of the Resurrection had a team of staff and volunteers working on the project, doing a feasibility study that looked at everything from issues with the building to local demographics.
The church is also investing a significant amount of financial resources in the project. The Missouri Conference Congregational Development Team is providing $75,000 to support the launch. The COR Resurrection Downtown budget for 2009 was $350,000, primarily for startup expenses and improvements to the Grand Avenue Temple UMC.
Brent Messick, managing executive director of operations for the Church of the Resurrection, said the preliminary budget for ongoing expenses also is $350,000.
“We are planning to have a capital campaign in the fall of 2010 to raise funds for needed renovations,” he added. “One of the top priorities is to install permanent, commercial air conditioning prior to summer 2011.”
This project really took life this summer with the appointment of a fulltime elder as pastor of the campus. The Rev. Scott Chrostek was appointed to Resurrection Downtown, moving to Kansas City from Detroit. He is still a member of the Detroit Conference.
“I’m answering to three bishops, three cabinets, three charge conferences, and a conference new-church start staff,” said Mr. Chrostek. “It shows the power and potential of our connectional system.”
Six couples from Church of the Resurrection sold their homes and moved downtown.
David Sisney became the committee chair for Resurrection Downtown. “With prayer and perseverance, it all fell into place,” he said.
Mr. Sisney had been a lifelong suburbs guy. He’s now lived downtown since June—and loves it. He’s been part of the Alpha group at Resurrection Downtown, and another home-based small group.
“We believe the connection formed in small groups is going to be a key way to grow the church down here,” Mr. Sisney said. “It’s cool to be part of the downtown revitalization, spiritually as well as physically,” he said. Mr. Chrostek is focused on making sure the neighborhood knows the church is there. He has been making a lot of trips to coffee shops. He sees the success of coffee shops as a sign that people are seeking something.
“People could drink coffee and read a book or use their laptops at home. They are going to the coffee shop because they want to make a connection with other people,” he said.
Up until the Nov. 29 launch, worship at the church had been monthly. Prelaunch services for Resurrection Downtown were held in the ballroom of the Scarritt Building, on the opposite corner of Grand Avenue and 9th Street, and drew more than 200 people.
While worship was taking place there, community groups from the church met almost every day. The people from the launch team have already done service projects: handing out bottles of water at community events and helping at the homeless shelter.
At the launch service, 368 attended. Mr. Hamilton preached the first four services at Grand Avenue Temple. Then the church will share Mr. Hamilton’s message from Church of the Resurrection via a video recording from the Sunday morning or Saturday evening service.
Mr. Hamilton’s sermon will be the only video element; the call to worship, communion, prayer and music will all be live.
There isn’t another downtown church reaching out to downtown residents, Mr. Chrostek said: “I’m a new resident downtown. We’re a young married couple. And we haven’t been invited to church anywhere.”
He sees enormous potential, considering the population density. A few downtown buildings house more residents than a 10-mile radius around Church of the Resurrection in Leawood.
Most downtown residents are in their 20s and 30s, and if they have children, the children are under the age of 5. The next largest group is empty-nesters, typically in their 40s or older.
The worship service is at 6 p.m. Sunday night, giving people an opportunity to sleep in and enjoy their day, yet begin preparing for their week by attending worship.
The church’s worship leader has a master’s degree in music and a strong jazz background. Music will be a stripped down, acoustic style. Pre-worship music will include Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Black Eyed Peas or anything else that carries a message that would support the worship.
“I want people to be surprised to hear these songs in church,” Mr. Chrostek said. “It will give the songs new meaning for people, and help them hear them in a different way. Then when they hear the song again later, they will attach the spirit to it.”
The motto of Resurrection Downtown is “Building Community, Changing Lives.” Although the church is still in its infancy, that’s already beginning to happen.
Mr. Koenig is editor for the Missouri Conference Review.
PHOTOS BY FRED KOENIG
The church is also investing a significant amount of financial resources in the project. The Missouri Conference Congregational Development Team is providing $75,000 to support the launch. The COR Resurrection Downtown budget for 2009 was $350,000, primarily for startup expenses and improvements to the Grand Avenue Temple UMC. 
He sees enormous potential, considering the population density. A few downtown buildings house more residents than a 10-mile radius around Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. 
