LEAWOOD, Kan. — “O Holy Night” is the theme of this year’s Resurrection Candlelight Christmas Eve services, running December 21 through December 24 at nine Resurrection locations. With 41 Candlelight Christmas Eve services in the KC area, whoever you are, you are welcome at Resurrection.
You can experience the joy and hope of the season through fellowship, singing Christmas carols, hearing the Christmas story and passing the candlelight while singing “Silent Night.”
Pastor Adam Hamilton explained what has made the Candlelight Christmas Eve services so special over the past 35 years.
“This is our 36th year. Every year, this is the highlight of the year. This is where more people choose to come to church, where people bring their friends and their family. I think what keeps me going is I watch the joy as people leave,” Hamilton said. “I believe in this message. I believe in the good news that came through Christ, that God came to us as an infant — born in obscurity and relative poverty — in order to say, ‘I love you.’ You human beings, I love you. I care about you. There’s grace and mercy for you. And the worst thing is never the last thing. There’s always hope.”
Pastor Hamilton said he’s excited to share a message about finding peace with others in “O Holy Night,” noting he will play a clip from “Home Alone.”
The church expects about 200,000 people to watch the Candlelight Christmas Eve services in person, online and on TV. All donations collected on Christmas Eve will go to help children in need. Church officials said the 2025 Candlelight Christmas Eve offering will give hope to some of the most vulnerable places in the city and around the world.
In Kansas City, donations will support Avenue of Life, an organization that helps children and families break the cycle of homelessness. Funds will also support early-learning centers in low-income neighborhoods, as well as neighbors facing underemployment, addiction, housing insecurity and food insecurity.
Globally, donations will support Indigenous-led initiatives providing training and education in Malawi, South Africa, Honduras, Uganda, Lebanon, Costa Rica and communities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The services will also air on The Spot, Kansas City 38, at the following times:
Dec. 24 at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Dec. 25 at 7 a.m.
It will air on KSHB-TV, NBC, at the following times:
Dec. 24 at 10:35 p.m.
Dec. 25 at 11 a.m.