Alma Hunt was born in Roanoke, Virginia and was an energetic girl who grew into a strong leader. As a young woman, she became a teacher, received her Master of Arts degree, served as the dean of women and William Jewel College, and in 1999 was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by the University of Richmond.
In 1948, Alma Hunt was elected as the executive director of the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), a role she filled for 26 years. Upon retirement she travelled to numerous countries to develop leadership in women. Because her life glorified the Lord through a passion and commitment to missions, in 1999 the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) named their state missions offering after this beloved Virginia Baptist woman. In 2003, she became an ordained minister at Rosalind Hills Baptist Church and was an advocate for women in every aspect of ministry, a way of honoring her many years of ministry already served.
The Alma Hunt Offering supports work being done in missions that River Road Church cares about. Dollars given to the state missions offering support ministry with the Standing Rock reservation in the Dakotas, help identify and develop leaders in ministry and life, and undergird the work of CrossRoads Camp in Lowesville, VA. It also provides support for Impact! Missions Camps, church planting, and the Southwest Virginia Partnership, which includes the Bland Center. Some of our giving supports the Disaster Response Ministry offered by Virginia Baptists, which provides meal preparation, chaplain ministry, laundry service, and disaster clean-up and rebuild. Through this offering we support the valuable work of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society. GraceInside provides chaplains to our state prisons. The “More Than Nets” Campaign is providing mosquito nets to an entire region in Ghana, Africa while planting churches in villages. There is a commitment to work with Baptist partners in Lebanon, Austria, and Croatia and come alongside them as they minister to refugees and internally displaced persons.
These ministries represent a portion of the important work our giving is making possible. When you give to the Alma Hunt missions offering, you are supporting ministry that is not provided for in the regular budgets of our state organizations, but solely rely on the generous gifts given during this time each year. As you give to the Alma Hunt Offering for Virginia Baptist Missions, you are honoring a woman who was a beautiful example, while supporting excellent ministries and work in places and with people with whom we serve and about whom we care.
Written by Anna Perry Miller