Latest News
Thanksgiving Feast To Go
Farmington United Methodist Church is in Washington County, Northwest Arkansas, a hub of prosperity. However, estimates place nearly 82,000 persons at risk of food insecurity in the four-county area, (NWA Dem-Gaz, Nov. 28, 2021), which includes Washington County. In...
Village UMC Plans Online Stewardship Campaign
In the fall of 2020 we were pretty well shut down with very few folks in-person, so we created weekly videos featuring our ministry leaders in the church who shared the importance of stewardship from their perspective. I shot those 5-week videos from my iPad Pro. Very...
Beyond the Tithe: The Importance of Memorial and Honorary Giving
The Biblical model for giving back to God through the church is the tithe, meaning the first 10% of all that God has blessed you with. But beyond the tithe, there are other types of offerings that are important and can be beneficial to the local congregation. This...
Financial Updates for 2022
TAX INFORMATION It doesn’t look like much is changing tax-wise in the upcoming year that will affect our local churches. There have been a few minor changes to payroll taxes for 2022: In 2021, the IRS extended the COVID-19 related credit for qualified sick and family...
Honoring Native American Heritage
Each November, Native American Heritage Month is a special time to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Natives. This time is set aside by United Methodists as an opportunity to reach out to indigenous groups in our communities and to...
Blue Christmas Services Provide Hope & Healing
The holidays aren’t always a happy time for people. Many experience deep sorrow and discomfort during the season that is most often associated with joy. Which is why many churches have chosen to offer a Blue Christmas Service (also known as a Longest Night Service or...
Meet Your Lay Leaders, Part 2
Introductions from Conference Lay Leader, Kathy Conley
This is the second in the series about the Lay Leadership of the Arkansas Conference. Each of our Board of Laity members bring unique gifts to their service to the church and stand ready to share those gifts with the Conference. I am pleased to introduce these two new...
Meet Your Lay Leaders, Part 1
Introductions from Conference Lay Leader, Kathy Conley
What a blessing it is for me to share with you over the next several issues a little bit about your Conference Board of Laity. This includes the District Lay Leaders, At-Large members and the Conference Lay Ministry Leaders. Kathy Conley I am Kathy Conley, Conference...
Dardanelle FUMC Takes Annual Mission Trip To Rio Bravo, Mexico
Rev. Jim Benfer and a team of 11 church members from Dardanelle FUMC have returned from their annual mission trip to Rio Bravo, Mexico. This was Rev. Benfer's 20th mission trip to Rio Bravo. Approximately 450 children’s books were distributed to the orphanage (Casa de...
St. James guest speaker to address addiction recovery ministries
Rev. Jorge Acevedo, senior pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida, will be guest speaker at Little Rock’s St. James United Methodist Church Nov. 13-14. His topic will be “Ministries of Recovery from Addiction.” As...