Annie Armstrong facts for kids
Annie Walker Armstrong (July 11, 1850 – December 20, 1938) was a lay Southern Baptist denominational leader instrumental in the founding of the Woman's Missionary Union.
Early life
Annie Armstrong was born in Baltimore, Maryland to tobacconist John Dunn Armstrong and his wife Mary Elizabeth (Walker) Armstrong. She also had a brother named James. She came from a long line of prominent Baptists including her great-great-grandfather Henry Sater who helped establish the first Baptist church in Maryland. At the age of 20, she "born again" under the preaching of Dr. Richard Fuller at Seventh Baptist Church (now Seventh Metro Church). Later, she was among 100 Seventh Baptist Church members who established Eutaw Place Church (now Woodbrook Baptist Church). The church was pastored by Richard Fuller, the third president of the Southern Baptist Convention, who was heavily involved in missionary activities.
She worked with various Baltimore missionary organizations ministering to orphans, African Americans, Native Americans, Chinese Americans immigrants, and indigent women and families.
Woman's Missionary Union
In 1888, Armstrong led the creation of the WMU, helping draft the constitution and serving as its first correspondent secretary (a position that functioned as executive director).
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.
During her tenure as head of the WMU, Armstrong refused a salary and traveled extensively at her own expense on behalf of the WMU. Annie was a tireless advocate for missionaries rallying the churches to support mission work through prayer and sacrificial giving. She personally visited missionaries serving throughout the U.S. and carried their stories back to the churches and state conventions through her eyewitness accounts and by circulating their letters. It was due to the efforts of Annie and the women of WMU that the annual Easter mission offering was established in the Southern Baptist Churches in 1895.
Death and legacy
Annie Armstrong died on December 20, 1938, in Baltimore, the year the WMU celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. She was buried in historic Green Mount Cemetery, with her parents and elder siblings. She has been inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, and Southern Baptist churches continue to annually collect the Easter Offering for North American Missions in her name.
