Faithful Heroes: Annie Armstrong, Home Mission Offering

At Easter time, Southern Baptist take up the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for home missions.

Annie Armstrong

But, who was Annie Armstrong?

Annie Walker Armstrong was born on July 11, 1850 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was the daughter of John Dunn and Mary Elizabeth Armmstrong. She lived on a tobacco farm and had a brother named James.

At the age of 20, she accepted Christ as her savior.

In 1888, she helped draft the constitution and served as the first correspondent secretary and executive director of the Women’s Missionary Union {WMU}.

“In her role as the head of the organization, Annie Armstrong facilitated communication between denominational leaders, local congregations and missionaries on the field. She was an extensive letter writer, handwriting 18,000 letters in one year alone.”

The Easter offering was named after Annie Armstrong

During this time, she refused a salary and traveled extensively at her own expense.

In 1895, the efforts of Annie and the WMU led to the annual Easter mission offering to establish Southern Baptist Churches.

In 1906, she retired from the WMU. She remained active in her local congregation and through extensive missions work where she lived in Baltimore.

In 1934, the “WMU recognized her lifetime of work by naming the annual Easter offering for home missions in her honor. Thus, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering was born with every dollar going to support missions work throughout the U.S. and Canada.”

Annie Armstrong died on December 20, 1938 in Baltimore. The WMU celebrated their 50th Anniversary that year.