The State Missions Offering is named for one of its earliest advocates and mission pioneers, Edna McMillan. After graduating with honors from the Huntsville Female College in Alabama in 1890, Edna married a young Baptist man, George McMillan. She respected his quest for Godly character and was inspired when she first met him during a church service where he pledged a generous amount to a special missions offering.
Both of the McMillans became faithful stewards of their time and their resources. George served in church and worked in the oil business. They settled in Muskogee in 1902 and later spent most of their lives in Bristow. Edna held numerous roles in the church and worked diligently and tirelessly for Oklahoma Woman’s Missionary Union. She held many positions in WMU and served as state WMU president for 11 years from 1927 to 1938.
Edna was an effective communicator and consistently challenged Oklahoma Baptists to give generously to state missions. In 1932, she said, “A rich man is one who has enough for himself and enough left over to help others. Though he be possessed of millions, a man is poor, who has only enough for himself.”
The state WMU Board in 1939 met in Muskogee where Edna was surprised to hear the recommendation and later unanimous vote to name the State Mission Offering in her honor. Through her many travels and days away from home to champion mission cause, Edna never accepted a penny for her expenses.
