When Annie Armstrong and other women from across Southern Baptist circles wanted to support mission work from a church-wide perspective, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders insisted on delegates being sent from participating states to organize the group. The first meeting of these delegates was on May 14, 1888 in Richmond, VA and formed what today is known as the WMU – the Women’s Missionary Union – which is alive and strong in Southern Baptist churches. Annie was elected the first corresponding secretary (which effectively made her the first executive director) and she worked tirelessly to support the WMU. It’s estimated in 1893 alone she wrote 20,000 letters. The SBC honored her in 1934 with naming it’s Easter home missions offering after her.
