Annual Statistical Reports—As we begin the new year, so does the request for Annual Statistical Reports. The ability to submit your churches information is open and will remain so, until February 8, 2024. This information is important because it helps the denomination know how many members we have. The information also impacts the presbytery’s budget by determining how much per capita the presbytery pays. If you do not remember your username or password, you may contact Kim Palmer or Blake Brinegar who can assist you with the needed information. The link to submit your information is Church Statistics Login.



Clergy Compensation Form—It is also the time of year when congregations vote on changes to the terms of calls of their pastors. It is also important to remember that MWS members are also now mandated by the Book of Order to have 12 weeks of paid family medical leave. The form to report compensation can be found here, 2024 Compensation Report All MWS and CREs are encouraged to fill out the form even if there are no changes to the terms of call. 

Planning For Our Future. We value the future of the Presbytery of Arkansas, and we are committed to building a sustainable and strategic ministry that is going to have a deep impact; therefore, we want to develop a game plan together and we have invited Ministry Architects to join us in helping to develop this plan. If you have not shared your thoughts in a listening session, we invite you to complete this digital survey. Please complete it by January 22. After spending time in listening groups, and reading survey responses, the Ministry Architects team will write a report, sharing with us what they’ve heard – including assets, challenges – and where it seems that God might be taking us next.

Boundaries Training - Every 36 months, each pastor, CRE, and church professional serving a congregation is required to take a boundaries training course. Our Synod provides free online training four times each year, but they only accept 75 people in a class, so register and save your spot today! Click here for their 2024 dates. This information can also be found on presbyark.org on the News & Events page.

One other option to satisfy this requirement is to take the online course with Safe Gatherings, but this will cost you $29.

Lent Workshop on Zoom - On Thursday, 1/11 from 10:00 to 11:00 am, Julie Price, Presbytery Connector, will host a Lent Workshop on the Presbytery's Zoom account. If you attended one of her Advent workshops and found it helpful, you won't want to miss this. The format will be much the same with Julie sharing resources and ideas. Participants will be encouraged to share resources, thoughts, and ideas as well.

Pastors, church professionals, and elders are all encouraged to attend. Resources and ideas will be shared for worship, education, fellowship, and mission. Click here to register to receive email reminders with the link to join.

GO WITH THE FLOW! At our last Presbytery meeting, we were pleased to welcome Dr. Lester Ruth from Duke University as he talked about worship. Now, we invite pastors and elders to join us as we consider how to strengthen and create more inspiring worship. If you are interested, order a copy of the book FLOW by Lester Ruth.  We'll gather by zoom on Wednesday, January 31st at 12:30pm for a discussion about the book and other worship ideas. In February, prior to our March Presbytery meeting, we're planning a zoom meeting with Dr. Jonathan Ottoway, one of Dr. Ruth's doctoral students who wrote the chapter called "Musical Flow: Important Techniques." He brings a lot of knowledge and information with him. If your musicians are interested, please talk with them about joining in!  

Our March 1-2 Presbytery meeting will be at the University of the Ozarks. At that meeting, we hope to include elements of the book FLOW in the conduct of our worship service. We hope elders, ministers and musicians will consider joining in the reading and the zooming. Keep an eye out for more information.  If you have questions or want more information, contact Carol Clark at cbclark05@aol.com or 501-563-6279.

Diana Butler Bass to Give 2024 Willson Lecture at Hendrix - The Hendrix College Office of Religious Life will welcome Diana Butler Bass for the 2024 Willson Lecture on February 5, 2024. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Bass is known for being one of the nation’s most sound and trusted voices for religion and contemporary spirituality. She has offered commentary on religious and spiritual issues through a number of media outlets, including The New York Times and CNN. She has written eleven books focusing on developments in Christianity and received numerous awards for her writing, including the Religion News Association’s Book of the Year award. Read more...

Arkansas Presbytery Stories/Stuart Johnston - I was fortunate growing up to have an immediate family that provided a strong foundation for my faith and my life in the church. However, like so many of us, my faith has been informed, been made richer, been made deeper and more layered by the folks outside of my family that I have been fortunate to encounter along the journey. Many of those folks passed through my life during a critical stretch between age 13 and 20 in the 1990s, through events and places and programs associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Arkansas - church and youth group at FPC Batesville, Jr and Sr High YouthQuakes, Montreat and Mo-Ranch Youth Conferences, Read More...

Want to support the work and offset the costs for events of current youth in the Presbytery? Click here and donate to "Montreat", "Jr. High Summer Trip", or "Youth Retreat-Quake", YAP, A-Team, etc.