The 160th Meeting of The Presbytery of Arkansas will take place on October 11 at Second Presbyterian in Little Rock starting at 9:00 AM with registration beginning at 8:30 AM. Registration is now open using the button below. The main packet will be available October 3rd on the presbytery website's meeting page.

Contact Stated Clerk Blake Brinegar by Thursday, September 11th if:

• You need time on the docket.
• You need a display table.

Registration deadline - Tuesday, October 7th.

Kick off the Presbytery weekend at Presby Pub with good brews, good food, and even better company! Join us Friday, October 10, from 6:00–8:00 PM in the fellowship hall at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Little Rock for a night of relaxed fellowship, local flavor, and lively conversation hosted by the Presbytery of Arkansas.

We’ll enjoy a craft beer tasting from Stones Throw Brewing, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and a spirited theological discussion led by Rev. Dr. Mark Douglas, Professor of Christian Ethics at Columbia Theological Seminary, on religious leadership in the public square.

Everyone is welcome, whether you plan to attend Saturday’s meeting or not. The cost is $10.00 per person. Bring your questions, your appetite, and your sense of humor — this is a night to gather, learn, and connect before our October 11 Presbytery meeting.

Registration deadline - Monday, October 6th.

New Presbyark.org Website is Live! Our new presbyark.org website is active. There will still be glitches, but just let Julie Price know when you find something that needs to be corrected.

Go check it out. See our great group photo, watch our new presbytery video, and see what else is new!

BOP Employer Agreement & 2026 Changes - Employer Agreements for 2026 benefits will soon be available in Benefits Connect.



From Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, through Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, congregations’ designated employer representatives can log in to Benefits Connect to review benefits options for 2026, make selections, and submit their Employer Agreement. No changes? There is no need to submit an Employer Agreement.

Your 2026 Employer Agreement: Tools and Resources for Success is a webinar being offered September 2, 16, and 25, 2025. It is for Employer representatives with at least one member enrolled in the Benefits Plan are encouraged to attend. This webinar is designed to be helpful to both Church employers and employers affiliated with the PC(USA) and regardless of your role in benefits decision-making for 2026.

Are You in Charge of Christian Education? Then this is the group for You! The Presbytery of Arkansas' Resource Team is starting a new group, Faith Formation Connections (FFC) that is all about equipping and encouraging those of you who are in charge of Christian education in your churches. Whether you’re a paid staff member or the elder over education, whether your focus is children, youth, or adults—FFC is for you!

At each gathering, you’ll discover fresh ideas, practical resources, and inspiring tools to strengthen your church's ministry. Even more, you’ll have the chance to connect with others who share your calling, building relationships with leaders from other churches who understand the joys and challenges of this work.

The majority of FFC gatherings will be on Zoom, but the First two will be in-person:

• Wednesday, September 24th at First, Bentonville from 5:30 to 7:30
• Tuesday, September 30th at the Little Rock Presbytery Office from 5:30 to 7:30

Both gatherings will include dinner and are free. So, come be encouraged, refreshed, and resourced—because when we connect, we grow stronger together.

Fall Cohorts - PC(USA)'s Office of Christian Formation has partnered with POAMN, APCE, PYWA, and UKirk to offer 13 online learning groups this fall. Each group will consist of five to eight church leaders or volunteers who wish to learn about a single topic together. The free groups are led by trained coaches. The cohorts will meet weekly via Zoom in October and November. Reg. opens 9/22.

Check out this list of cohorts being offered!

The SCRAPCE Fall Event will take place October 13-15 at Austin Seminary. The event, entiticled Holistic Worship: Engaging More People and People More Fully will be led by the dynamic Rev. Karen Ware Jackson.

The event is being offered both in-person and virtually.

The next Ruling Elders in Ministry Retreat will take place November 7-8 at the University of the Ozarks. The format will be the one to which you are accustomed. If you have specific areas you would like to discuss, contact Phil Blackburn at pblackburn@ozarks.edu.

The National Queer Presbyterian Gathering (NQPG) will take place Nov. 18–20, 2025, in Louisville, Kentucky, offering three days of worship, workshops and community for LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians under the theme “Abiding in Truth and Love.”

Hosted by the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in partnership with More Light Presbyterians, Covenant Network of Presbyterians, the Advocacy Committee for LGBTQIA+ and other affirming ministries, the gathering is designed to center queer voices in the life of the PC (USA) and to foster a space of affirmation, connection and celebration.

Communicators Club for Churches - Christen Kinard of Digital Congregations and Jaime Cowan of First Presbyterian Church in Georgetown, TX are forming a Communicators Club for Churches and Faith-Based Non-Profits. It is a free monthly online gathering for anyone who handles communications—whether it's your whole job, part of your job, or just something you fell into.

Mission of The Church Grants - The deadline for this year's final round of MOC grants is Wednesday, October 15. Dream big about the mission work your church/Presbyterian organization might undertake this year and let the MOC help you realize your dream by awarding you a grant of up to $1,500.

Click below for information about registering. Direct questions to committee moderator, Peg Falls-Corbitt and click below to learn more and apply for the grant by the October 15 deadline!

A Second Round of Faith Formation Resource Grants - The first round of grant requests yielded some great ideas from funding for a unique Advent event to providing some financial support to a mental health event. These grants to help kickstart a project in your worshipping community are now available from your Presbytery Resource Team! The purpose of these grants is to provide seed money to support Presbytery of Arkansas congregations and ministries in creatively engaging their faith community in practices of faith formation, Christian education, spiritual growth, and discipleship. 

These grants of up to $500 are to help you create a new Faith Formational program in your church or community that you otherwise would not have been able to afford to do. Look at the needs around you. Is there a need for a Grief-care or Divorce-care program in your community? Maybe you feel your church would rally around a new men's, women's, or intergenerational program or event. Maybe your church doesn't have children, but it has the man-power to sponsor a community VBS.

Pray, dream, then click below to learn more and apply for a Faith Formation Resource Grant by the October 30th deadline!

Exciting News from the Executive Presbyter Nominating Committee! The Executive Presbyter Nominating Committee has been busy over the past several months, including two in-person retreats filled with prayer, discernment, and lively conversation about the future of the Presbytery of Arkansas.

Now, an exciting milestone has been reached: the two new leadership positions—Executive Presbyter and Director of Operations and Congregational Vitality—are officially posted on the PC(USA)’s Church Leadership Connection (CLC), the denomination’s job matching service. Applications are open, and the Ministry Discernment Profiles (MDPs) can be found here:

·       Executive Presbyter

·       Director of Operations and Congregational Vitality

This is an important step forward for the Presbytery, and there is great anticipation for the leaders God will bring into these roles. Please help spread the word by sharing these opportunities with friends, colleagues, and networks who may be called to join in this next chapter of ministry in Arkansas!

The Synod of the Sun is now accepting applications for the Director of the Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery (SPDR) position. The deadline to apply is September 15, 2025. Read the job description.

SPDR began four years ago as a pilot initiative and Covenant Partnership between the Synod of the Sun, the eleven Presbyteries of the Synod, and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. SPDR is dedicated to connecting, equipping, and empowering Presbyterians to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crises and catastrophic events.

For more information, contact Rev. Mitchell Miller.

Some September webinars from PRC you might want to check out:

• Blessed Minds: Breaking the Silence About Neurodiversity: September 4; 1:00 pm (That's today, friends! Don't snooze on this one!)
• Understanding Polarization: Treating Division with Humility: September 9; 1:00 pm
• Generationally Speaking: Bridging Generational Divides for a Thriving Church; September 16: 1:00 pm
• Why Administration Matters: September 25; 1:00 pm
• Don't Overcomplicate This: First Steps to Fresh Ministry Initiatives: September 30; 1:00 pm

Advent 2025 - It may only be the first week of September, but planning for Advent now can save a lot of stress later on. So check out these two Advent themes just introduced last week.

• What Child is This: Beyond The Lullaby from Worship Design Studio plus their past Advent series. (They are offering a 50% discount on Advent/Christmas worship series resources right now! Use code AdventPRC.)

• What Do You Fear? Insisting On Hope This Advent from A Sanctified Art plus their past Advent series.

• Cokesbury Advent studies.