Little Rock river view at dusk

The Nehemiah Network

Ray Williams Updated on Vision & Mission

Nehemiah was a great leader who served the city of Jerusalem in about 445 B.C. In a time of great human need and spiritual crisis, he united his people in a strategic work which transformed the wellbeing of their city.

The Nehemiah Network is a relational network of pastors and Christian marketplace leaders uniting the churches in Central Arkansas to live and serve as the body of Christ in our community.

In January 1998, thirty-one pastors, representing diverse backgrounds and denominational traditions, traveled to Ozark Conference Center for a four-day Pastor’s Prayer Summit. While transforming for those who attended, this first Prayer Summit was more than just an event, it was a humble, and yet catalytic, beginning to a movement.

In 1999, the Nehemiah Group formed, and from out of this relational movement more than 100 churches united together for the first ShareFest. During the next 10 years, ShareFest not only visibly demonstrated the love of Christ in Central Arkansas, it inspired similar events in more than 50 U.S. cities and 3 foreign countries.

During that same time period, the Nehemiah Group hosted a prayer summit annually, conducted two major research initiatives on community needs, “The Nehemiah Project” and the “Arkansas Marriage Study”, encouraged numerous church-school partnerships, and was a catalyst in city-wide initiatives including foster care and literacy.

In 2009, the Nehemiah Group joined with an even broader number of churches and community leaders to invite the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association to Central Arkansas for a city-wide festival. An estimated 55,000 people attended CityFest 2009 at the North Little Rock Riverfront. The two-day festival was the culmination of a “Season of Service” that began in July prior to the event. During this time, roughly 8,500 volunteers were involved in over 175 projects for the betterment of the community.

Seeking to build on the momentum created by CityFest 2009, CityFest Leaders consisting of Central Arkansas pastors and business leaders, changed the name and expanded the Nehemiah Group to establish the new Nehemiah Network.

Ray Williams
Ray Williams has served as the Founder and President of CityChurch Network since its beginning in 1999. Previously, he served in multiple pastor roles at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock for 38 years. He and his wife Carolyn love to attend movies and travel together. They have two daughters and seven grandchildren who know him as “Papa Ray.” He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in 1977 and earned an M.A. in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication from UA Little Rock in 1985. He is pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry through the Antioch School for Church Planting and Leadership Development. His training as an Army Airborne Ranger and active-duty service as an Infantry officer in the 82nd Airborne Division from 1977 to 1981 earned him the nickname “Ranger Ray” with some of his long-term friends.