AYC (Arkansas Youth Conference)

03/27/2026

AYC 2026 playlists!

Hey everyone!!! AYC is coming soon and the band Riverfield wants you to be ready to worship and sing along to every song!!! Band leader Rue Buell has put together this playlist on both YouTube and Spotify. Listen. Worship. Be ready for AYC!

YouTube:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq9N5QriRGebXNnqk89hywFcLYnTI3Duu&si=6Rfv6Pi7haJrAm_G

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yXeY1MZh0zF65xIh1q98Z?si=992253b5d8d64f30

Playlist · Rue Buell · 14 items · 17 saves

03/16/2026

We’re under one month away from AYC and there are a lot of moving parts but I wanted to put this out there again.

One of the great things AYC offers is an opportunity for quality ministries to setup their information for students and adults….this includes college ministries. We want to help connect high school juniors and seniors to their post-youth group ministry. Several will be represented including Univ of AR in Fayetteville, and many more.

If you belong to a college ministry or other ministry that you think the students/churches at AYC would benefit from, shoot me a message and I’ll send you the guidelines. (All ministries must be pre-approved)

CYA@AYC

03/12/2026

1:1 It all starts here.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." -Genesis 1:1
All of God's Word hinges upon the truth of that one verse. If we can't trust Genesis 1:1, we cannot trust John 3:16 or John 14:6 or the book of Revelation.
A few months ago, our AYC planning team had met and prayed and talked through some options for a speaker(s)....weeks later, nobody emerged as the one but I did get a phone call from an old friend who is also the pastor of a church. He asked if we had settled on a speaker/topic and we had not. He mentioned the idea of apologetics/defending the truth of the Word since at that time there had been the deaths of some prominent American Christian apologists/pastor and it might be on the forefront of a lot of young minds.
We prayed and considered this and searched for the right man/men to take on this tough topic.
When the dust settled, we prayerfully chose 3 men that we trust and have the utmost confidence in to show and defend God's Word.
2 of the men, Roger Copeland and Dubs Byers, have been faithful pastors and students and teachers of the Word over 2 or 3 generations- they have seen the changing culture and have witnessed the truth of God's Word stand firm and strong. The third man is Tanner Stoops, raised and taught at East Union MBC and a young man who has proven that he truly studies and preaches the truth of Scripture.
Tanner will preach Friday night on Genesis 1- how do we know GOD created all? How can we know He is and intimately knows His creation?
Bro Dubs will preach session 2 on Saturday morning from Genesis 3 where the serpent asked the question in the garden: "did God really say..? (did God indeed say...)". In a culture that mocks God's Word, how can we know that the Bible is what it claims to be- THE WORD OF GOD. Is there evidence of it's historical accuracy or is it just another book of stories that has changed as it has been translated and passed down over thousands of years?
Bro Roger will anchor it home Saturday afternoon in session 3 as he explores God's ultimate plan to redeem mankind first spoken of in Genesis 3:15. What makes Jesus different? Is He just another good teacher, prophet, good man...? Or is He God in the flesh, the only begotten Son of God Who alone was all man and all God and qualified to pay the ultimate sacrifice for all our sins? And did He truly rise from the dead and does that matter?
As AYC has since its beginning in 1997, it will continue to focus upon the preaching of the Word of God with the opportunity for students to worship together and enjoy a weekend of fun and fellowship with thousands of peers from across Arkansas and surrounding states.
There is still time to register by the super early bird deadline of March 19. If you have any questions feel free to message me or email [email protected]
And be sure to visit www.arkansasyouthconference.org for all the info
We hope to... CYA@AYC! April 10-11, 2026

03/11/2026

Stay tuned tomorrow for more info about AYC’s theme 1:1 “It all starts here”. (you’ve probably guessed what the 1:1 is about but I’ll go into detail tomorrow)

Just over ONE MONTH AWAY!

03/09/2026

One exciting way AYC makes a difference each year is in providing basic needs for people/families in and around Little Rock. As we have in years past, AYC is partnering with the Little Rock Compassion Center to help provide food for those in need.

Here's how it works:
Promote it among your youth/church and be creative! Have contests between grades or genders and offer prizes for whoever can bring the most cans of soup.

Gather your cans of soup and bring them to AYC on April 10 and take them to the AYC Food Collection area (near the Acts 1:8 area)

Together we can provide food for so many in need which will open the door for them to receive something even better: the Gospel!

Share this photo- spread the word!

CYA@AYC

03/05/2026

HEY AYC PEEPS!!!
We are officially 2 weeks away from the the first, all important deadline of March 19. By March 19, be sure to register your group in order to: 1 get the super early bird price and 2) pre-order your group's official AYC conference tshirt.... by March 20, Ryan Copico says get those Chick Fil A orders in!

From my view, here are the top things you NEED TO KNOW as of now (we're just over 5 weeks away from AYC!):

1 Nail down your hotel reservation- we've worked hard to get you the best rates but those hotels will release unused rooms this next week

2 Push AYC by encouraging your youth group and church to share the poster and video- show the video to your group every chance you can- encourage your youth group to invite an unchurched friend (or enemy)- if that friend cannot pay and your church needs help with that, AYC will give a free wristband to that student

3 Highlight our mission goal! Project 24/7 is an ambitious project of faith seeking to translate Scripture into the languages of 7 villages in Indonesia-our emphasis is the Murkhim people being reached by Matthew & Sarah Thompson-$256 covers the cost of translating Scripture for ONE PERSON- how many can your group raise $$$ for??? if you still do not have a collection box that we mailed out and would like one, let me know- this year we're asking you to collect ahead of time and bring one check to AYC (watch the video!)

4 More info on this later, but as we have done for years, we are collecting food for a local Christian mission project- once again, we are asking your group to bring cans of soup for the Little Rock Compassion Center- look for that info flier next week

The AYC website has all kinds of info but I'm attaching info if you want to download into a single file for easy access- like always, holler if we can help you or answer any questions.

CYA@AYC!

www.arkansasyouthconference.org

02/21/2026

AYC is excited about partnering with Project 24/7 this year. We’re doing somethings completely different in how we do our offering.

We’ve mailed out collection boxes and challenging youth groups and churches to promote and collect between now and AYC. It costs $256 to translate Scripture (24 Bible stories that tell the story of Jesus through the Old and New Testament)

How many can you raise money for $256 for one, $512 for two…..

Here’s Tanner explaining how it works!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

02/19/2026

4 WEEKS FROM TODAY!!! The super early bird deadline is March 19.
By this Sunday, if you have not already, promote AYC with your youth group and your church. Get your hotel reservation done (we have provided a courtesy block for you on our website).

The website has so many tools for you to get info, help you promote and plan, and so much more. But if you have questions or need more info, please feel free to touch base with me.

In a nutshell:
-get your hotel rooms reserved
-promote AYC, the mission project 24/7, and the Chick Fil A lunch
-remember if your group wants pre-ordered conference tshirts, that order must be placed by the SEB date of March 19 (no guarantee there will be enough extra of the main conference tees at AYC for your group)
-browse the website for all the info

If you'd like to share info about Project 24/7, the videos are on the website but I've also uploaded to YouTube for your convenience

Project 24/7: https://youtu.be/uXcpk1Q_FQU

Missions collection box: https://youtu.be/gui17CCumtg

https://www.arkansasyouthconference.org/

www.facebook.com/ruebuell/

02/12/2026

****AYC MISSIONS PROJECT

Be sure to check out the website for more info about the AYC 2026 missions goal: Project 24/7

AYC is doing to collections different this year. Instead of passing an offering bucket at AYC (you know: those red buckets =) We are mailing collection boxes to YOUR YOUTH GROUP.
REMEMBER THIS NUMBER: 256...$256 PAYS THE COST FOR ONE PERSON FROM THE MURKHIM TRIBE IN INDONESIA TO GET 24 BIBLE STORIES THAT TELL THE GOSPEL INTO THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.

This link has two download options for you if you'd like to watch and share exactly how this works.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/af6gqfojo538ymj1b1jld/AIs0VTOfd0LmQ4zcH_rvijs?rlkey=dkrjyfdnak182zud4yu3r6w5z&dl=0

And if you do not receive your collection box in the mail this week, contact me next week.

https://www.arkansasyouthconference.org/missions.html

01/30/2026

April 10-11. CYA@AYC

www.arkansasyouthconference.org

01/26/2026

Hey AYC!

We might be covered with snow and ice in Arkansas, but imagine it's AYC weekend and you're in Little Rock with your group on a 72 degree day! LORD-willing, that will happen in just a few weeks!

There's some brand new info on the AYC website that we'd love for you to look over.... our AYC 2026 missions project, FAQ's, a document with "easy steps to bring a group"...and more.

NOTICE A BIG CHANGE IN HOW WE WILL DO OUR MISSIONS OFFERING.
We are asking you to promote and collect ahead of time using the promo video, flier, and a collection box (we will mail those out asap).

You will be excited about our missions goal for this year: Project 24/7. $256 covers the cost of translating Scripture for ONE person into their native language. Look over the info for more details.

The website is up to date including costs and schedule of costs. Pre-registration will open Monday, February 9. In the meantime, if you need anything please don't hesitate to holler!

CYA@AYC

Doug

www.facebook.com/ruebuell/