Adam Hamilton is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.  He grew up in the Kansas City area, attending Shawnee Mission schools before graduating from Blue Valley High School.  He earned a B.A. degree in Pastoral Ministry from Oral Roberts University and a Master of Divinity Degree from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

Adam has received the B’nai B’rith award in Social Ethics, the Denman Award in Evangelism, the Circuit Rider Award for excellence in church leadership and he was named Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church by the Foundation for Evangelism.  He currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City.  He also leads a network of the 100 largest churches in United Methodism.  He lectures on leadership, evangelism and preaching across the country.

Under his leadership The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection has grown from four people in 1990 to over 13,000 adult members and 3,000 children with an average weekly worship attendance of over 8,000.   The Church of the Resurrection has a three-fold focus:  1. Reaching non-religious and nominally religious people and helping them become committed followers of Jesus Christ;  2. Equipping and inspiring members to transform the community and world; and 3. Acting as a catalyst for renewing the United Methodist Church.

Adam sees himself as a bridge-builder who seeks to find the truth in, and hold together, often divergent theological, ethical and political views.  He passionately believes that the evangelical gospel and the social gospel must be held together.  He holds that both liberal and conservative are characteristics that every Christian must embody.  And he believes that many issues are not black and white, but best seen in shades of gray.  He is known for listening, building relationships, and offering viewpoints that are thoughtful and which faithfully seek to apply the teachings of Jesus to today’s world.

Adam is the author of ten books published by Abingdon Press including Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, Enough:  Discovering Joy in Simplicity and Generosity (February 2009) and 24 Hours That Changed The World (November 2009).

Adam has been married to LaVon for twenty-six years and they have two grown daughters.