Scrutiny is building over the LGBT record of Pastor Adam Hamilton, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kansas, and specifically his record of church leadership. Church of the Resurrection is the largest United Methodist Church (UMC) in the nation, yet it promotes same-sex weddings, LGBT Pride, and drag performances without shame. In a recent undercover video obtained by Townhall, Resurrection’s connection and care pastor Lydia Kim boasted of Hamilton, “Our pastor is currently running for Senate as a Democrat. This is the church that he built.”

According to the church’s website, Resurrection offers a “Wedding Ministry for the very special occasion of holy marriage between two people. … Resurrection welcomes all couples.” In the Townhall video, Kim affirmed that the church performs “queer weddings” and volunteered, “We did them before — when we weren’t supposed to.”

In a May 3, 2024 newsletter, Pastor Hamilton reflected on the UMC’s vote to remove language declaring homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching” from the conference’s Book of Discipline. “Over the years I’ve been a pastor to hundreds of gay and lesbian people, including many who are married, and couples raising children,” he wrote. “My meager efforts to change our Discipline were in part because of my love for them, and in part, a reflection of my belief that God loves them even more than I do.”

“Since we started the church in 1990, I felt a concern and compassion for the gay and lesbian people who came to visit Resurrection,” Hamilton explained. “My sense then, as now, was that Christ never intended the faith he was launching to be used as a rationale for bullying, teasing, or excluding people.”

He declared that the “desire to love and be loved [by people who identify as LGBT] … was no different” from his own desire to love and be loved by his wife. “If one of my children were gay, would I want to exclude them from sharing in a loving relationship like their mom and I have, a relationship that is so life-giving to us? No, if one of them were a lesbian, I would want them to have this kind of love and share their life with another.”

Hamilton noted how he had successfully imprinted this affirming attitude on the megachurch he built. “At Resurrection, the last time we surveyed the congregation, back in January of 2020,” he reported, “75% of our people considered themselves progressive when it came to same-sex marriage, and 25% considered themselves traditional, and 94% of them said they could be a part of a church where there are both progressives and conservatives on the question of same-sex marriage.”

Accounts differ on exactly how and why the UMC changed its Book of Discipline. But Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), whom Hamilton is challenging, argued that the pastor of the conference’s largest church must have played an influential role, provoking a conservative exodus. “He’s the reason that the Methodist church split. One out of four left his denomination because of Adam Hamilton’s wokeness,” Marshall said.

In addition to hosting and performing same-sex weddings, Hamilton’s Church of the Resurrection is also a repeat sponsor of the Kansas City Pride Fest, according to the church’s website. The most recent Pride Festival featured participation from two separate church agencies. “Throughout the festival, Community Justice and QIC Ministries staff and volunteers engaged in conversations with people from across the Kansas City community as thousands gathered to celebrate Pride,” the church stated.

In 2026, the KC PrideFest main stage scheduled no less than 31 acts billed as a “drag performance” and one described as a “burlesque performance.”

But the church’s support of drag performances goes beyond participating in a common festival. According to a vague outline sketched by Kim, Resurrection financially supported another church in the same UMC diocese (Great Plains) whose drag performances generated backlash. Townhall identified the church as Urban Abbey in Omaha, Neb., which hosts drag story hours at a church-run coffee shop.

In 2023, Urban Abbey reported bomb threats against the drag story hour but refused to stop hosting them. This drama fell out while Nebraska senators filibustered the entire legislative session over bills to protect minors from transgender procedures and from exposure to adult performances like drag shows. “We as a church responded,” Kim explained, “because we were like, ‘That’s not okay. Like, there are children and families who come and worship at this space, and like, some of the drag queens are members of that church.’ And so, we sent money to help with security.”

The Omaha Police Department found the threats to be not credible, merely a “hoax,” it told Great Plains UMC.

Beyond these external efforts, Church of the Resurrection maintains a full-blown “LGBTQ” ministry. “Resurrection is a LBGTQ friendly church,” the website promises. “Resurrection is committed to reflect the LOVE of Christ by fostering a community where ALL people — including but not limited to age, race, gender, sexuality, identity, ability, background, nationality, and socioeconomic level — are valued, respected, and treated with dignity.”

The Resurrection website’s LGBTQ page advertises seven different LGBT-themed community groups, including gay and lesbian small groups, several location-specific “Queer and Allies” groups, and a “Parents, Family & Friends of LGBTQ+ Loved Ones” meeting. It lists contact information for the pro-transgender Trevor Project and a Trans Lifeline. It also features four relevant video teachings (three from Pastor Hamilton) to cement its “affirming” character.

“This is the church that he built,” community Pastor Lydia Kim said of her boss. In October, Kansas pastors published an open letter to Hamilton entreating him to withdraw from the race and publicly “repent of what you have taught” because it undermined the authority of Scripture. On Monday, the letter had gathered more than 1,000 signatures.