Dan Carson, Director
Dear Ministry Partners,
The 2024-2025 ministry year has been another successful one for the work of the BMA of Arkansas Youth Department as we have sought to support those who seek to impact the next generation for Jesus Christ.
Financially, our supporter base has continued to grow. That allows us the freedom to meet our immediate financial needs as well as dream about the future. As more churches support us on a monthly basis, we can think about different ministry opportunities. Right now, we continue to be a part-time department that is only able to approach our ministry in a part-time manner. We do our best to make the most of every dollar sent in and will continue to do so. If you would like to financially support the BMA of Arkansas Youth Department, you can send your monthly support or one-time gifts to…
BMA of Arkansas Youth Department
℅ Calvary Baptist Church
1410 North Porter Road
Fayetteville, AR 72703
Even a gift of $10 a month can make a huge difference in how we can support the work of full-time, part-time, and volunteer youth workers in Arkansas and beyond.
We have added two ministry offerings over the past year. Previously, we have been providing a weekly article on student ministry in the Baptist Trumpet. Those articles might make it up on our blog or not. We have taken the steps and are now offering those at StudentMinistryMatters.substack.com. You can subscribe to those and receive them in your inbox. Our other new offering is a partnership for digital resources with Shaping Student Ministry. The team at Shaping Student Ministry is all about resourcing student ministry workers for the task of impacting the next generation for Jesus with gospel-centered materials. You can find out about the partnership at shapingstudentministry.com/studentministrymatters. For $27 a month, you can have access to a number of lessons and other resources that are constantly being updated. In addition, a portion of each subscription fee will go directly back into the work of the BMA of Arkansas Youth Department.
Our podcast continues to be an important way for us to fulfill our mission. The Student Ministry Matters podcast now has over 200 episodes and over 37,000 total downloads since its beginning in 2020. We continue to discuss important issues for student ministry workers as well as interview authors, influencers, and others with a heart for student ministry. It can be found at StudentMinistryMatters.podbean.com.
Our retreat has continued to do well. The 2025 retreat was our 8th annual event, and Central Baptist College was kind enough to host once again. Stephen Castleberry served as our featured speaker, and our focus was on technology and student ministry. We had around 75 with us for the day. Temple Carson, Ian Dunaway, and Stuart Estes led our breakout groups. September 19, 2026, is the date for our ninth annual Student Ministry Workers Retreat. You can register at SMWR2026.eventbrite.com.
As always, I am thankful for the opportunity to serve in this role and count it as a privilege to be investing in the student ministry efforts of the churches of the BMA of Arkansas and beyond. If your church doesn’t support our work, please consider even a small donation. If financial support isn’t a possibility, please simply remember to pray for us as we serve our churches and the next generation.