Local churches participate in Annie Armstrong Easter offering

Every year, beginning in March, churches throughout the Madison community give to the Annie Armstrong Easter offering. The project is geared towards North American missions, focusing primarily on Canada and the United States because, let's face it, sometimes the people who need help the most are in our own back yard. According to the North American Mission Board (NAMB), Annie Armstrong (1850-1938) was “a tireless servant of God and a contagious advocate and supporter of missions efforts throughout the world.” Her continuous efforts to influence women to become active in missions eventually led to the development of the Women's Missionary Union (WMU). Armstrong served as the first corresponding secretary. The WMU plays a large role in communities across the United States. In Madison, the WMU has made a large impact; not only do they give to and pray for foreign missionaries, but they act as missionaries in their own community. Just recently, the WMU raised a large sum of money for A Women's Pregnancy Center of Madison. Without Annie Armstrong's influence on the North American mission front, the WMU might not exist today. According to the NAMB, when churches and communities give to the Annie Armstrong Easter offering, they give to support “the efforts of the North American Mission Board’s Send North America strategy, as missionaries and church planters push back lostness in the United States and Canada.” 100 percent of the Annie Armstrong Easter offering goes to support the work of missionaries. If your church is not participating in the Annie Armstrong Easter offering, visit anniearmstrong.com for free start-up materials for pastors and church leaders. However, the best part is, you need not be affiliated with a participating church to give-- you can give from your very own home. Simply visit the Annie Armstrong website and click “donate.” Everything aside, this week, March 1-8, is the Week of Prayer for North American Missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Sometimes the best gift one can give is a simple whisper to the man upstairs.