Register now for the 160th Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of Arkansas, October 10–11. This will be a weekend of fellowship, worship, and renewal you won’t want to miss.

These are not easy times to lead congregations. Pastors, Commissioned Ruling Elders, and Ruling Elders alike carry heavy responsibilities, preaching, teaching, caring for people, and guiding communities through uncertain and divided times. That’s why our connectional church matters so deeply. We gather to remind one another that none of us carries the work of Christ’s church alone.

Our theme for the 160th Meeting is “When Red and Blue Don’t Make Purple.” Many of us hope our congregations can be “purple churches”—spaces where people of different political leanings worship and serve together. But how purple are our churches, really? Continue Reading...

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 Stone's 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.

Local churches - share this event in your church newsletter!

Registration deadline - Monday, October 6th.

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.

REM (Ruling Elders in Ministry) returns November 7-8 at the University of the Ozarks. REM seeks to support ruling elder leadership in rural and small membership congregations through conversation and continuing education. REM begins with dinner on Friday, November 7 and concludes late afternoon on November 8. REM is a free program provided through the Town Square Collaborative at the University of the Ozarks. Our offerings for the gathering are as follows:

Friday Evening, November 7:

"Embodying prophetic courage -- cultivating resilience and renewal as good neighbors inside and outside the church."-The Rev. Jim Poinsett, Interim General Presbyter--Read more...

Clabaugh Lectures at First Bentonville - Everyone is welcome to attend the 2025 lecture series on October 19 and 20. This year's series, entitled Good News from a Bad Pastor for a Better Church, will feature the Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel. Dr. Daniel is a nationally recognized preacher, teacher, and author.

Worship and evening talks will be livestreamed. You must RSVP to the church to attend the Monday noon lunch and talk.

The 2026 Honduras Mission Trip of the Presbytery of Arkansas will take place March 21-28 during the springbreak week. Join the Zoom information meeting on October 19, 2025 at 5:00 to learn more and get your questions answered!

Contact Leigh Woodruff at leighwoodruff83@gmail.com to get the link to join the meeting.

Bread for the Journey is a gathering for those engaged in ministry in many capacities.

In an effort to meet the ever-changing needs in ministry, Mo-Ranch’s historical ministry-related conferences will now be all encompassing to provide a community of respite, connection, education, and community between October 22 and 24. All clergy are welcome to Clergy Week! We will continue our Transitional Ministry Education course and then there's our FREE Youth Leader Summit!

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!

Rev. Judge Marion Humphrey, Sr will be inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame on Saturday evening, October 11th at the Robinson Center.

One of six inductees, Rev. Humphrey has been a pastor at Allison Memorial Presbyterian Church for 41 years and served as the presbytery's 2020 moderator. He served as LIttle Rock's sixth judicial district circuit judge from 1992 to 2010 and was also an assistant attorney general.

At the announcement of his induction, he was described as being "an advocate for social justice and a voice for those many who have no voice."

Tickets to the ceremony on the 11th can be purchased online.

Faith Formation Connections In-person Gatherings - The Presbytery's Resource Team has created a new cohort group consisting of both staff and lay people in the presbytery who are over education with any group. We kicked the cohort with two in-person gatherings in Bentonville, First and at the Little Rock Presbytery office (pictured left).

Time was spent connecting, breaking bread, and sharing resources and ideas. The goals of the cohort are to inspire ideas to take back to our churches as well as to form new connects throughout our churches that will supports the work of education.

The next gathering will be on Zoom on Wednesday, October 29th from 12:00 noon to 1:00pm. The topic will be Advent. Bring your lunch and join us!

Youthquake 2025 - Over the weekend of Sept. 12-14, over 80 adults, youth, and young adults gathered to play games, worship, listen to a keynote by Rev. John Arnold, and dig deeper into scripture in small groups. Once again, Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center provided amazing leadership from Rev. Jocelyn Wildwright and Ruth Arnold, and our free afternoon on Saturday was filled with camp activities. We danced the night away on Saturday night at the Silent Disco! Folks from 14 congregations around the Presbytery of Arkansas came together to learn and grow in faith together. Thank you to Rev. Dr. Susan Arnold... Read article & see photos...

Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center has been awarded a $300,000 matching grant from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Division to support its Transform Capital Campaign Stream Restoration Project. 

The grant will help fund a portion of Ferncliff’s $1.9 million stream restoration effort, a key element of the organization’s larger $7.6 million Connect. Inspire. Transform. Capital Campaign. This funding comes through the NPS 319 Grant Program, which provides federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds to states to address nonpoint source pollution (NPS), which is caused by runoff from rain or snowmelt that collects and carries pollutants into rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater. 

Ferncliff’s stream restoration project will: 

● Remove a dam and restore connectivity to Ferndale Creek 

● Improve local water quality 

● Restore aquatic and riparian habitat 

● Enhance fish passage and natural nutrient distribution 

● Provide better flash flood control 

In addition, the project will include aquatic education components in partnership with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other agencies. Learn more...

Pilgrimage 2025 was held the weekend of September 3rd through the 7th. Pictured left are the staff and attendees of the event.

Pilgrimage 2026 is tentatively scheduled for September 23 through 27 at Ferncliff.

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!

First Presbyterian in Jonesboro is looking for a full-time pastor. Do you know of anyone who might be interested in a strong church with a mission of diversity without division in service to a university community of 80,000 that is a regional medical and industrial center with strong schools and recreation? Do you know of a pastor who might be enriched with a church that houses an exemplary preschool and whose worship is transformed by an exceptional choir & music program? And which offers a starting salary of $75,000?

Please spread the word of this church in meetings & regions wherever you connect!

Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines, located in the gated community of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, seeks a full-time solo pastor to serve a vibrant congregation of 170 members. Caring, nurturing, and welcoming, the Kirk is characterized by joyful worship, Christ-centered community outreach, loving fellowship, growthful educational opportunities of varying kinds, and an acclaimed music program.  

They seek a dynamic, outreach-oriented leader with strong pastoral skills. A commitment to engaging other faith leaders in the broader community is desired, as we believe there is ample opportunity to light the way for others in the Village.

For additional information about the church, click here, or contact Randy Toney, PNC Chair at 225-573-6493.

Did You Know that if your church has a full-time opening for a pastor, there are places you can advertise outside of the presbytery and just on the denomination's CLC site. Here are two great places to advertise and get your opening more exposure not just in Arkansas and not just here in the state:

• Synod of the Sun Job Board - Click Here, scroll to the bottom and email Thomas Riggs about adding your church's position opening.

• Presbyterian Outlook's Classified Ads - Click Here to learn how to make your submission.

October webinars from PRC you might want to check out:

• Purple Church Reflections: Navigating Stewardship in an Age of Polarization Thursday, Oct. 2, 1:00 pm
• Reclaiming Confirmation Tuesday, October 7, 1:00pm
• Practical AI for Churches Tuesday, October 28, 1:00 pm
• Full Day VBS - it's not that scary! Thursday, October 30, 1:00 PM
• Creating Ministries for Neurogent Families Thursday, December 4, 6:00 pm

The next Leader Formation webinar is scheduled to take place on Oct. 23, from 7 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. While the first two webinars of the year, which took place in March and July, dove into essential components of Presbyterian theology, the third virtual learning event will focus on the denomination’s polity. 



The Leader Formation webinar series is designed particularly for the ongoing education and formation of ruling elders and deacons and is organized and facilitated by Martha Miller, herself a ruling elder who serves as the manager of ministry education and support within Mid Council Ministries. Miller brings in various scholars and church leaders to lead each session.

“Holy Shift: Young Parents are Rethinking Everything. So Should We,” was the first clue that the more than 500 people who signed up for the first of three installments were in for a time of learning and sharing ideas.

They weren’t disappointed.

Dr. Josh Packard, a sociologist and research director at TryTank Research Institute, an initiative of Virginia Theological Seminary, took the large crowd through key findings from the Young Adult Parents Research Project, “What Happens to Faith When ‘Nones’ Have Kids.” The research investigated the evolving role of religion and spirituality among parents in the United States aged 25-39, a group marked by increasing disaffiliation from organized religion. Read the entire article & watch the webinar.