When the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church launched the Following Jesus. Loving People. Sharing Grace. campaign in the fall of 2025, the goal was clear: create a visible, hopeful and unified message that would help Arkansas United Methodists reclaim and share their identity during a season of transition and uncertainty.
What began as a statewide communications initiative quickly became something much deeper.
Across Arkansas, churches embraced the message not simply as a slogan, but as a framework for ministry, discipleship and community engagement. Through outdoor billboards, streaming television, social media participation, worship, outreach ministries and local storytelling, congregations found fresh ways to communicate who they are and how they seek to live out their faith.
The campaign, funded through the generosity and vision of Arkansas United Methodists Linda and Rush Harding, prioritized statewide outdoor visibility while also incorporating streaming television, public relations and local church engagement.
The results were substantial:
- More than 8.2 million outdoor billboard impressions statewide.
- More than 332,000 Connected TV impressions on KTHV Ch. 11’s streaming service.
- More than 200,000 Arkansas households reached.
- A 98.26 percent video completion rate through streaming television placements.
- Additional outdoor placements associated with the campaign continued extending visibility across Arkansas communities into 2026.
- Two additional billboard campaigns generated an estimated:
- 6,000 daily views per face
- 180,000 monthly views per face
- approximately 360,000 monthly impressions
- The placements primarily reached adults age 18 and older and helped reinforce continued statewide recognition of the campaign message.
Updated Facebook and Instagram analytics later confirmed strong digital engagement connected to the campaign and Arkansas Conference messaging.
Combined reporting periods showed:
- More than 928,000 social media impressions and views
- More than 530,000 reach across Facebook and Instagram
The engagement demonstrated that the campaign’s message extended well beyond billboards and streaming television into ongoing digital participation, ministry storytelling and church engagement across Arkansas.
But more importantly, the campaign sparked stories.
A Clear Message for a Complex Time
Following denominational disaffiliation, many churches felt Arkansas United Methodists needed a clearer and more hopeful public identity.
Rev. Dr. Michael Bolin of First United Methodist Church in Searcy described the campaign this way: “It helped us to show people who we truly are, not who people said we were.”
Bolin, who serves on the bishop’s leadership table, said the campaign created an opportunity for churches to reclaim their story with authenticity and grace.
“People were writing our story for us and projecting an inaccurate story,” Bolin said. “The campaign has helped us speak with clarity and confidence, not just through words, but through the ways our churches are engaging their communities, making disciples and creating space for all people to experience God’s grace.”
For many churches, the campaign also reinforced connectionalism across the Conference.
Rev. Tony Griffin of Russellville First United Methodist Church said the campaign became a visible reminder that Arkansas United Methodists are “in this together.”
“It focused us as a conference on our collective mission and how we’re all in this effort to spread the good news of the Gospel together,” Griffin said.
Griffin also noted the campaign’s visibility across Arkansas highways and communities. “It was a pleasant surprise every time I saw it. With all the noise in our culture today, it’s good to see positive things.”
He added that the campaign represented an encouraging sign of healing and momentum following disaffiliation.
“It was a sign of us making significant strides since disaffiliation,” Griffin said. “There are great days ahead.”
More Than Messaging
As churches began engaging the campaign, many discovered the language naturally connected with ministries already taking place across Arkansas.
In Walnut Ridge, Blackbird Fine Arts at First United Methodist Church continues offering free afterschool music and arts programming for children who may not otherwise have access to those opportunities. Tasha Weeks described the ministry this way:
“We follow Christ by showing up for our community’s children and creating a space where they are seen and encouraged. We love our neighbors by offering these opportunities at no cost. And we share God’s grace through creativity, mentorship and relationships that remind each child they are valued.”
Weeks said what begins as a music lesson often becomes something deeper: “a child discovering confidence, belonging and joy,” she said.
In Paragould, First United Methodist Church’s Pecan Grove Connect ministry continued growing through sports outreach, literacy support, refugee assistance and community relationships.
Associate Pastor Sarah Ellzey explained that the ministry evolved from relationships first formed through a mobile food pantry and eventually expanded into mentorship, family support and educational outreach.
The ministry has:
- assisted a recently resettled refugee family with housing and school registration.
- partnered with schools for Christmas sponsorships.
- raised funds for back-to-school shopping trips for local families.
One especially memorable ministry initiative, “Books and Basketball,” brought children from the Pecan Grove community to the church gym for basketball instruction, literacy activities, meals and mentorship.
The event included coaches, church youth, volunteers and local families spending time together in relationship-building and encouragement. At the end of one event where only a few children attended, one little boy quietly told volunteers, “This was the BEST DAY EVER!”
For organizers, that moment captured the heart of the ministry.
Hospitality, Healing and Open Doors
In Jonesboro, First United Methodist Church experienced an unexpected ministry opportunity during prom season when severe weather forced dozens of students and families to scramble for a backup location for prom photos.
The church opened its sanctuary, narthex and fellowship areas to approximately 50 students and families.
Christi Crawford, minister to youth, children and families, said the answer came quickly.
“At the thought of 50 teenagers and their families seeking ‘sanctuary’ inside our Sanctuary, the ‘yes’ was easy.”
For many families, the experience became something more than a weather backup plan. Some students returning to the church had grown up there before disaffiliation.
“The aftermath of disaffiliation was hard,” Crawford said. “So seeing these students walk back in, laughing and taking pictures, it felt like a small step toward healing.”
One parent tearfully hugged Crawford and said, “Thank you for loving our kids, even still.”
Crawford’s response was simple: “There’s room for everyone here.”
Jonesboro churches also recently gathered for Community Holy Week services involving Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Church of God in Christ, Salvation Army and non-denominational congregations. The services averaged 250 attendees daily and raised more than $3,500 for local community ministries.
Meanwhile, the church’s youth ministry experienced remarkable growth through simple invitation and belonging.
One eighth-grade student, deeply impacted by the youth ministry community, personally invited
enough friends to increase midweek attendance by more than 200 percent year over year. Church leaders say the student now feels called to youth ministry herself.
Churches Embraced the Message
Across Arkansas, churches participated in contests, social media engagement and storytelling opportunities tied to the campaign.
The statewide outdoor billboard contest winners included St. Paul United Methodist Church in Fort Smith and Hays Chapel United Methodist Church in Hartman (both in the Northwest District).
Rev. Steve Poarch of St. Paul UMC said the campaign created excitement both inside and outside the church.
“The campaign provided a great opportunity to raise awareness and create excitement within our congregation regarding the Following. Loving Sharing mission statement,” Poarch said. “It also presented a grand avenue to share that message with the community through both an online and a physical presence.”
For many churches, the campaign became more than visibility. It became a way of telling the story of who Arkansas United Methodists are.
Rev. Edna Hargraves of Hunter and Oak Forest United Methodist Churches in Little Rock described it this way: “Following. Loving. Sharing is not just a mission statement. It is the pattern Jesus modeled. He followed the Father’s will, He loved without limits and He shared grace that restored the broken and welcomed the outsider.”
Looking Ahead
The campaign continues through 2026, and Conference leaders hope to continue collecting stories of ministry, discipleship and community impact from churches across Arkansas. What began as a communications effort has become a broader reminder of shared identity and shared calling. Across Arkansas, from rural communities to city neighborhoods, from youth ministries to refugee outreach, from basketball courts to worship sanctuaries, churches continue finding new ways to live out the message Following Jesus. Loving People. Sharing Grace.