North American Missions - Annie Armstrong Easter Offering

    One hundred percent of your gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions will help start 2,200 churches in the United States and Canada, support more than 5,000 missionaries, sends hundreds of student missionaries throughout North America, fund evangelistic media campaigns in strategic cities, and much more.

     Annie Walker Armstrong was born on July 11, 1850, in Baltimore, Maryland, to a prominent Baptist family. She learned the importance of giving and praying for missions while she accompanied her mother to the missionary meetings of Woman's Mission to Woman. She worked especially in home missions, including Indians, immigrants, African-Americans, and children. In 1882, Annie helped to organize the Woman's Baptist Home Mission Society of Maryland, and she was the society's first president.

     As missions work developed among women's groups in other states, women from 12 states met in 1888 in Richmond, Virginia to form the Executive Committee of Woman's Mission Societies. This was an auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, and Annie Armstrong was elected the corresponding secretary. She served in this position until 1906 (the organization had been renamed Woman's Missionary Union by that time). She refused to accept a salary for the work she did through WMU to further the gospel. In 1934 the offering that was collected annually for the Home Mission Board was renamed the "Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for Home Missions". Annie Armstrong died on December 12, 1938.

     For more information on North American Missions, go to North American Mission Board.

Updated 12/5/05