Annie Armstrong

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.

[2] In 1888, Armstrong led the creation of the Woman's Missionary Union (WMU), helping draft the constitution and serving as its first correspondent secretary (a position that functioned as executive director).

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.

[7] It was through the steely determination of Annie and many other like-minded Southern Baptist women that WMU had been forged against often fierce opposition from the male SBC leadership.

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.