# CityChurch Network

> Uniting the church in the city

Language: en
URL: https://citychurchar.org/

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## Pages

- [Board](https://citychurchar.org/board/): Board Board Leadership team About us
- [Arkansas Marriage Initiative](https://citychurchar.org/arkansas-marriage-initiative/): Strong Marriages Build Flourishing Communities Discover how your church can transform marriages and strengthen your community. The Challenge We Face Marriage is at a crossroads in our culture. Marriage rates have dropped 65% since 1970. Fewer than 1 in 2
- [Arkansas Marriage Challenge](https://citychurchar.org/arkansas-marriage-challenge/): When Churches Unite Around Strong Marriages, Everything Changes Join the Arkansas Marriage Challenge this February 7-14, 2026 Marriages Struggle in Isolation In 2022, Arkansas had the highest divorce rate in the nation. Right now, couples across Arkansas feel stuck and alone
- [Opportunities](https://citychurchar.org/opportunities/): Find opportunities near you Whether you’re looking for a date night in your community, seeking to develop your relationship skills, or interested in a marriage check-up, partner churches are here to support you because your marriage matters. Date Nights Benton
- [AMC Resources](https://citychurchar.org/amc-resources/): Church Resources Equip your church with creative ideas and proven tools to help couples build a lasting love—from date nights to marriage and relationship education resources to marriage check-ups. Date Night Ideas Hosting a date night for couples at your
- [Flourishing Families contact form](https://citychurchar.org/flourishing-families-contact-form/): Flourishing Families contact form Let’s Restore Families Together. Fill out and submit the form below. Our team will contact you for next steps.
- [Equipped Leaders contact form](https://citychurchar.org/equipped-leaders-contact-form/): Equipped Leaders contact form Maximize Your Leadership Potential. Fill out and submit the form below. Our team will contact you for next steps.
- [Extraordinary Prayer contact form](https://citychurchar.org/extraordinary-prayer-contact-form/): Extraordinary Prayer contact form Let’s Make Our Churches Houses of Prayer. Fill out and submit the form below. Our team will contact you for next steps.
- [Arkansas Prays](https://citychurchar.org/arkansas-prays/): Arkansas Prays church-based, unceasing prayer Direct calendar link View on map What is Arkansas Prays? Arkansas Prays is a city and state prayer movement to strengthen churches in Arkansas with this simple, church-based model for unceasing prayer. Churches are working
- [Arkansas Prays sign-up](https://citychurchar.org/arkansas-prays-sign-up/): Arkansas Prays sign-up Fill out and submit the form below. Our team will contact you for next steps.
- [Flourishing Families](https://citychurchar.org/families/): Flourishing Families restore families, strengthen communities Where the Family Goes, So Goes Society. Faith and family life are vital for building a flourishing community. But recent data shows that both are in a sharp decline in the United States. Like
- [Monthly Prayer Guide](https://citychurchar.org/monthly-prayer-guide/): Monthly prayer guide CityChurch Network publishes this monthly prayer guide as a helpful tool to promote agreement in prayer among churches and small groups across Arkansas. Please partner with us in prayer for Arkansas by taking time to pray through
- [Flourishing Dinner 2026](https://citychurchar.org/flourishing-dinner-2026/): Flourishing Dinner 2026 Thank you for joining us at this year’s Flourishing Dinner! We’ve captured some of the highlights from the evening, including a link to Mike Sharrow’s keynote, an update on CityChurch Network’s three initiatives, and what’s ahead in
- [Login Designer](https://citychurchar.org/login-designer/): This page is used by Login Designer to preview the login form in the Customizer.
- [One Voice](https://citychurchar.org/one-voice/): Auto Draft Citywide Night of Prayer Stay tuned for information about the next One Voice! Pastors: Please let us know you are coming English One Voice is a quarterly gathering of the churches of the city for a night of
- [Prayer Summit](https://citychurchar.org/prayer-summit/): Prayer Summit 29th Annual Arkansas Prayer Summit 29th Arkansas Pastors Prayer Summit March 16-18Tucker Lodge - Amity, AR$215 (includes food and lodging) As pastors and ministry leaders, we share a passion for the transformation of our communities. Our plates are
- [Church/School Partnerships](https://citychurchar.org/church-school-partnerships/): Flourishing Families in Schools Every day, families in our city face challenges no one should bear alone—parents working paycheck to paycheck, children falling behind in school, fatherless homes, and rising rates of depression and loneliness. Without support, many families feel
- [Flourishing Cities Summit](https://citychurchar.org/flourishing/): Our Cities Need Us. The Church Can Help. Join leaders across Arkansas working together for the good of our cities. The Arkansas Flourishing Cities SummitSeptember 25–26, 2025Geyer Springs First Baptist Church (Little Rock, AR) Thursday 1:00-8:30p | Friday 8:00a-12:00p Feeling
- [Leadership Team](https://citychurchar.org/leadership/): Leadership Team Leadership team
- [Home](https://citychurchar.org/): Together we are building flourishing communities CityChurch Network CityChurch Network is a relational network of churches working together for the good of our cities. We live in a culture of growing division, decline, and despair. In 2022, Arkansas had the
- [Extraordinary Prayer](https://citychurchar.org/prayer/): Extraordinary Prayer experience the power of united prayer Prayer Movements Igniting Change Some moments in history require prayer that is above and beyond what is normal: Book of Acts The bold prayers of the early church empowered them to launch
- [Equipped Leaders](https://citychurchar.org/leaders/): Equipped Leaders become a leader who equips leaders The Possibilities are Limitless. A healthy and thriving Church needs strong leaders. Without strong leaders, we all suffer. Families suffer. Communities suffer. Churches suffer. A lack of strong and equipped leaders in
- [About us](https://citychurchar.org/about-us/): Transformation is possible when we work together CityChurch Network is a relational network of churches working together for the good of our cities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0EijX0Yfws Each of us experiences increasing pain & brokenness in our city. Growing fear, anger, and violence.
- [Contact us](https://citychurchar.org/contact-us/): Contact us Mailing Address:CityChurch Network of ArkansasP.O. Box 242892Little Rock, AR 72223 Extraordinary Prayer We help churches work together in prayer that is increasing, unceasing, and persevering. Equipped Leaders We help churches work together in equipping leaders who train leaders
- [Blog](https://citychurchar.org/blog/)
- [Give](https://citychurchar.org/give/): Give invest in the mission of CityChurch Network We invite you to partner with us to discover more about God’s work through CityChurch Network and enjoy the blessings of being a partner. As a financial partner, your role is significant
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## Blog Posts

- [Looking to 2027 & Beyond](https://citychurchar.org/looking-to-2027-beyond/) (2026-10-02): Fall is here. Schools have started back. Football season is underway. Among lingering hot days, there are hints of cooler weather. Soon, the beauty of fall foliage in Arkansas will be on display.  As we enter fall, I want to
- [With Just a Look](https://citychurchar.org/with-just-a-look/) (2026-10-02): A playful catch of the eye across a crowded room. A darting glance from my wife after I’ve said something I shouldn’t. A gaze to the floor after being caught red-handed. A tear barely hanging on in joyful wonderment. The
- [A Guide for the Journey](https://citychurchar.org/a-guide-for-the-journey/) (2026-09-03): The Lord loves working through friendships. A great example of this truth is the church/school partnership between Mt. Zion Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Church. These churches are in different parts of Little Rock. But seven years ago, one friendship
- [Leaving a Legacy of Faith](https://citychurchar.org/leaving-a-legacy-of-faith/) (2026-08-28): My wife Angie and I are blessed with four grandchildren, ranging in age from one to fifteen years old. Like so many grandparents, we delight in every opportunity to spend time with them. Whether it’s celebrating birthdays, cheering from the
- [Returning to First Principles](https://citychurchar.org/returning-to-first-principles/) (2026-08-03): It had been a long Saturday for Fellowship Conway’s men’s ministry team. They were tired, having spent hours marking page after page of flip charts. The goal of this strategy session was to understand where they were as a ministry
- [A Community of Shepherds](https://citychurchar.org/a-community-of-shepherds/) (2026-08-03): “I can handle this.”  That’s what Pastor Scott Barber told himself. And yet, the stress kept mounting. Ministry felt like running on a hamster wheel. He was saying yes to too many “good” opportunities and felt controlled by the tyranny
- [Marriage & the American Founding](https://citychurchar.org/marriage-the-american-founding/) (2026-06-23): With the 250th anniversary of America just around the corner, many commentators are reflecting on the virtues that made our country great, like liberty and faith, and rightly so. But there is another very important element in this recipe most
- [The Next 250 Years](https://citychurchar.org/the-next-250-years/) (2026-06-23): In the past, American Christians evangelized within a society that was, by and large, Christian. Most regarded Christianity and the Church as a societal good and held basic convictions about God, Scripture, moral absolutes, and an afterlife.  That society no
- [The First 250 Years](https://citychurchar.org/the-first-250-years/) (2026-06-23): Two hundred and fifty years ago, the American Experiment began with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Unlike any nation before it, America would be built on a unique set of ideas. Many at the time doubted whether the
- [Welcome Darrell Adcock](https://citychurchar.org/welcome-darrell-adcock/) (2026-06-01): Just a few weeks ago, at the CityChurch Network Flourishing Dinner, we celebrated how Central Arkansas churches are working together to share the light and love of Christ more brightly in our communities. As we shared strategic plans for the
- [When the Music Ends](https://citychurchar.org/when-the-music-ends/) (2026-06-01): Since 2023, over 150,000 people have come to Benton, Arkansas, for Amplify, the nation’s largest free Christian music festival. Every summer, crowds of young people, families, and church volunteers gather on the festival grounds behind Holland Chapel Baptist Church. Once
- [Equipping Leaders Where They Are](https://citychurchar.org/equipping-leaders-where-they-are/) (2026-05-04): Sydni Watts was finishing her undergraduate degree from Ouachita Baptist University. She wasn’t sure what was next after graduation. “I wanted to be heavily involved in ministry for the rest of my life,” she says. For people like Sydni, the
- [Crying Out to God in This Civilization Moment](https://citychurchar.org/crying-out-to-god-in-this-civilization-moment/) (2026-05-01): One of the most stirring examples of the power of prayer in American history occurred during the darkest days of the Civil War. In 1863, with the nation fracturing and its future uncertain, President Abraham Lincoln called on the country
- [A Glimmer of God’s Glory](https://citychurchar.org/a-glimmer-of-gods-glory/) (2026-04-02): Poverty, at its core, is disconnection. It is being disconnected from relationships and resources, which are the wellspring of wealth and life — material and spiritual, external and internal, temporal and eternal. We see poverty in both its breadth and
- [From Crisis to Career](https://citychurchar.org/from-crisis-to-career/) (2026-04-02): Betty Winders had been battling addiction for 14 years. Then, in December 2024, everything fell apart. Already on probation and facing multiple charges, she was facing prison time. That’s when she made the hardest decision of her life: she placed
- [Passing the Torch](https://citychurchar.org/passing-the-torch/) (2026-02-27): As the bus pulled out of the parking lot, no one quite knew what to expect. Thirty-one pastors from ten different denominations sat in their seats as the bus made its way to the first Arkansas Pastors Prayer Summit. Many
- [Redeeming Business](https://citychurchar.org/redeeming-business/) (2026-02-24): You will spend approximately 83,000 hours of your life at work. For most of us, that’s more time than almost anything else we do. As believers, the question we face is: What place does God have during those work hours?
- [Surprised by What I Found](https://citychurchar.org/surprised-by-what-i-found/) (2026-02-02): The doctor looked at me and said, “I have to admit I was surprised by what I found.” When I heard those words, I was taken aback. A month earlier, I’d attended my annual cardiology appointment. It seemed routine, including
- [Catch the Little Foxes](https://citychurchar.org/catch-the-little-foxes/) (2026-02-02): James and Mandi Barham had given their lives to taking the gospel to Central Asia. For years, they poured themselves into church planting overseas. They thought they’d be there forever. But something wasn’t right. To their supporters and co-workers, they
- [The Shift](https://citychurchar.org/the-shift/) (2026-01-05): Geyer Springs First Baptist Church wanted to plant a new church in Little Rock. They had building plans. They were raising funds. For a church like Geyer Springs, it’s what you do. You build a new building and fill it
- [Making the Most of Our Time](https://citychurchar.org/making-the-most-of-our-time/) (2026-01-05): “I want to grow in my faith.”“I want to lose 15 pounds.”“I want to spend more time with family.” Do you have a New Year’s resolution? One thing most resolutions have in common is that they relate to time. Many
- [A Quiet Revival](https://citychurchar.org/a-quiet-revival/) (2025-12-03): It was Sunday morning, and Brad was all alone on Pinnacle Mountain. His grief was heavy. He needed time and space to process. He didn’t expect two middle school girls to walk up and talk to him. “The girls were
- [Light and Life to All He Brings](https://citychurchar.org/light-and-life-to-all-he-brings/) (2025-12-01): At our Thanksgiving dinner this year, I asked what for me was an unusual question: “Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn?” I’m someone who typically resists starting Christmas activities until after Thanksgiving weekend. But this year, with the first
- [The Long Road Home](https://citychurchar.org/the-long-road-home/) (2025-10-31): For nearly two years, Epoch Church had been homeless. After selling their downtown building in 2022, they became nomads, meeting on Sunday nights at First Baptist and then at Grace United before returning to First Baptist.  One week, Grant Harrison
- [It All Begins in Prayer](https://citychurchar.org/it-all-begins-in-prayer/) (2025-10-31): Sarah Bowen was disappointed. She’d been looking forward to the Collegiate Day of Prayer at Texas A&M for months, but she couldn’t find a babysitter. Usually, this wasn’t a problem. But this time, no one could help her. She’d have
- [Seven Million Men Missing](https://citychurchar.org/seven-million-men-missing/) (2025-10-01): In a recent podcast of The World and Everything In It, host Nick Eicher interviews David Bahnsen of The Bahnsen Group. The episode begins with this startling statistic: In the United States today, nearly 7 million men between the ages
- [The Greatest Hope](https://citychurchar.org/the-greatest-hope/) (2025-10-01): Charisse Camp wasn’t supposed to be there. She was a last-minute substitute for someone else who couldn’t make it to the Arkansas Flourishing Cities Summit on September 25th. She didn’t know much about CityChurch Network or what the Summit was
- [A Vision for Flourishing Cities](https://citychurchar.org/a-vision-for-flourishing-cities/) (2025-09-03): It was Spring 1995, and I was nearing the end of a wonderful year of participation in Class X of Leadership Greater Little Rock. It was a nine-month leadership program connecting community leaders to promote understanding and dialogue around the
- [God of the Impossible](https://citychurchar.org/god-of-the-impossible/) (2025-09-03): Nine people told Tony Hammack it was impossible. “You can’t just start a radio station,” they said. “It’s against the law without a license from the FCC.” There were no available frequencies in the Batesville area where he pastored, and
- [Our Moment in History](https://citychurchar.org/our-moment-in-history/) (2025-08-04): August is the time when families are preparing to go back to school. Children are excited about new school supplies, new clothes, reconnecting with friends, and getting back into sports. Some parents, like their children, are looking forward to returning
- [Hold All Things Loosely](https://citychurchar.org/hold-all-things-loosely/) (2025-08-04): In January 2010, Central Baptist Church faced an impossible decision. They were about to send 350 of their core leaders across town to plant the Journey Campus. Young families. Committed leaders. Financial supporters. The very people who made Central Baptist
- [Only God](https://citychurchar.org/only-god/) (2025-06-20): Mitch Tapson didn’t want to go. He’d worked all day, and a Tuesday night association meeting on the other side of Arkansas didn’t seem worth the effort. But his church secretary was the clerk for the association and needed a
- [Steve Needs Our Encouragement](https://citychurchar.org/steve-needs-our-encouragement/) (2025-06-20): What a difference a year has made. Steve’s friend had invited him to attend an outdoor music festival called Amplify with him. He usually didn’t attend this type of event, but he knew one of the groups performing. And, best
- [Walking Out of the Fog](https://citychurchar.org/walking-out-of-the-fog/) (2025-05-29): The message men often hear is that there is something inherently defective in the male character. Many men today feel discouraged, devalued, and demoralized.  Like all of us, men tend to live up—or down—to the expectations placed on them.  Boys
- [The Love of God is in This House](https://citychurchar.org/the-love-of-god-is-in-this-house/) (2025-05-29): At first she hesitated. “What will everyone think?” “I dunno.” “Maybe next time.” But something kept gnawing at her to go. She was a resident at the Dorcas House recovery center. A few months earlier, she had given her life
- [Desperate Times, Desperate Prayer](https://citychurchar.org/desperate-times-desperate-prayer/) (2025-05-01): Today marks this year’s National Day of Prayer, a moment set aside each spring to seek God’s wisdom and mercy together as a nation. Since its official designation by Congress in 1952 and its fixed observance on the first Thursday
- [When Two Become One](https://citychurchar.org/when-two-become-one/) (2025-04-30): Joshua Hurlburt dreamed of pastoring a multi-ethnic church. Bishop Steven Arnold was looking for a place for his church to meet.  Neither pastor knew the other existed until one phone call became the answer to their prayers. In 2014, Joshua
- [Leading the Way in the Education Reformation](https://citychurchar.org/leading-the-way-in-the-education-reformation/) (2025-04-02): Across the country, a growing number of parents, pastors, and educators are realizing that something is deeply broken in our education system. In The Education Reformation: Why Your Church Should Start a Christian School, authors Jimmy Scroggins and Trevin Wax
- [Good Works That Shine a Light](https://citychurchar.org/good-works-that-shine-a-light/) (2025-04-02): It was a Sunday like any other at Mosaic Church. And all of a sudden—it wasn’t.  Pastor Mark DeYmaz was in the middle of his sermon when he noticed the medical team get up and walk out. He kept preaching.
- [God is Moving to Save Children & Families in Arkansas](https://citychurchar.org/god-is-moving-to-save-children-and-families-in-arkansas/) (2025-03-04): My wife Carolyn and I have enjoyed countless Valentine’s Day dates over the years, each one memorable in its own way. However, this Valentine’s Day stood out to us. This year, we were together with friends at a community date
- [Faith Beyond Borders](https://citychurchar.org/faith-beyond-borders/) (2025-03-04): Pastor John Molina sighed as he hung up the phone. It happened again. In 2006, break-ins and robberies were frequent at Centro Christiano Espano on West 36th Street in Little Rock. “We were known as ‘the Hispanic church’ on the
- [A Church Reborn](https://citychurchar.org/a-church-reborn/) (2025-02-03): Drew Cline could not imagine going back to Temple Baptist Church. He loved his role as Creative Catalyst at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock. He was free to do what he loved as an artist, whether leading the worship
- [A Beautiful Story of Lasting Love](https://citychurchar.org/a-beautiful-story-of-lasting-love/) (2025-02-03): Every year leading up to Valentine’s Day, I remember my friend and fellow pastor, Mel Amrine. He had a deep love for Christ, a commitment to pray for revival and the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, and a passionate vision to
- [A Revealing Story of Grace & Forgiveness](https://citychurchar.org/a-revealing-story-of-grace-forgiveness/) (2025-01-02): Claire Culwell was raised in an adoptive family where she felt deeply loved and thrived. Her life had been so rich and full that she never considered trying to learn anything about her birth mother. That changed when her younger
- [Taking Jesus as He Is to People as They Are](https://citychurchar.org/taking-jesus-as-he-is-to-people-as-they-are/) (2025-01-02): Mark Evans was the pastor of a thriving youth ministry at his Florida church in the early 90s. On any given week, 750 kids attended the church’s youth group. He lived an hour from the beach each way, and Disney
- [Immanuel: God with Us](https://citychurchar.org/immanuel-god-with-us/) (2024-12-02): While I (Ray) can’t remember the year, there is a distinct Christmas memory I will never forget. My wife Carolyn and I had just celebrated Christmas with our extended families. As the sun set on Christmas Day, I stepped outside
- [The Whole Body Fit Together](https://citychurchar.org/the-whole-body-fit-together/) (2024-12-02): As the bus rolled out of the church parking lot on a crisp January morning in 1998, quiet conversations mingled with the hum of the engine. Thirty-one pastors from twenty churches across ten denominations had stepped onto that bus, unsure
- [Chasing Your God-Given Dreams](https://citychurchar.org/chasing-your-god-given-dreams-nlc-downtown-everyarkansan/) (2024-10-31): Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down with leaders from New Life Church (NLC) Downtown and EveryArkansan to discuss what it looks like to work together to help every Arkansan chase their God-given dreams. Usually, my interviews are one-on-one
- [Providing a Home Away from Home](https://citychurchar.org/goodness-village-providing-a-home-away-from-home/) (2024-10-31): How much would your life change if a diagnosis forced you to uproot everything and seek treatment in an unfamiliar city? Imagine putting your life on hold for weeks, months, or even years, away from everything you call ‘home.’ This
- [My Trip to Bud Walton Arena](https://citychurchar.org/a-trip-to-bud-walton-arena/) (2024-10-02): It was about 6:30 p.m. on September 19th, when my friend Dan dropped me off just across the street from Bud Walton Arena. As I walked toward the arena, I recalled other times I had been to Bud Walton to