JEFFERSON CITY – One hundred years ago women gathered in Poplar Bluff to organize as Missouri Woman’s Missionary Union. Join us as we gather at First Baptist Church, Poplar Bluff on April 14-15, 2023 to celebrate our past, present and future of missions.
The theme for the two-day event is “Hope in Christ” and will include hands-on mission projects, age-level training, women’s ministry leader training, missionaries from North American Mission Board and International Mission Board. There will also be a basket silent auction, WorldCraft store and WMU bookstore available and display items from Missouri WMU’s history.
Highlights of the general sessions will include hearing from Sandy Wisdom-Martin, executive director/treasurer of National WMU and Randy and Nancy Sprinkle, former missionaries to Lesotho. The Sprinkles were the first missionaries assigned to Lesotho. The prayer partnership with Lesotho was the first time a state had partnered with a new country opened by the International Mission Board. The Lesotho prayer partnership is ongoing.
Students (grades 7 through college) will have their own conference led by Fusion students from Spurgeon College, Kansas City. Sarah Schmitt, Student Mission/MyMISSION consultant of MO WMU says, “Students will participate in Secret Church to see what it’s like to worship in places where the Gospel is prohibited. It will be a time of study of God’s Word and prayer for persecuted believers.”
Registration will open online www.mobaptist.org/wmu/mwmu/ in mid-January. Early-bird registration is $35 (by March 15th). After that date registration will be $45. A one-day registration is $25. Cost for the student conference is $15. Childcare is available at no cost but registration must be done by March 15th. There will be no walk-in childcare available. A Saturday box lunch is also available for $8 but must be order by March 15th also.
The Centennial Journey Missouri Woman’s Missionary Union 1923-2002, compiled and written by Jan Turner, MO WMU’s current president, will be available at the celebration.
Make plans now to join us in Poplar Bluff, April 14-15 as we celebrate our history and explore our “Hope in Christ”. For more information or questions, contact Cheryl Stahlman, MO WMU Executive Director at 573-206-9804 or check the website, www.mobaptist.org/wmu/mwmu/.