THROUGH GIVING to and participating in the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering and Week of Prayer, you can make an eternal impact.
The Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering and Week of Prayer each September is intended to highlight and encourage gospel work that Arkansas Baptists are faithfully supporting in our state and beyond.
“God has honored the prayers and the sacrificial gifts of Arkansas Baptists in reaching many people in our state with the good news of Jesus. As we approach the time of concentrated prayer and sacrificial giving where we emphasize what He has done across our state, I am very grateful for the faithfulness of Arkansas Baptists,” said Bob Harper, missions team leader, Arkansas Baptist State Convention.
The 2019 statewide goal is $1.75 million. The suggested Dixie Jackson Week of Prayer is Sept. 8, but churches may choose to a different week or format in praying for missions in the state.
“Dixie Jackson has allowed the gospel to be shared across our state in many different ways to various people groups. Block parties, hunger sites, Acts 1:8 One Day Mission day, plus a new seminary prison program are just a few of the ways the gospel has been shared and continues to be shared. God’s Spirit blesses the efforts of His people as we share with those in need. Dixie Jackson is not just an offering; it is who we as Arkansas Baptists are. From assisting flood victims to sharing with peoples of different nationalities here in our state, gifts to Dixie make the gospel of Christ relevant to all of our lives,” Harper said.
“May God bless the faithfulness of His children as we pray, go and give.”
Numerous resources to help churches highlight the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering and Week of Prayer are available at absc.org. Resources include videos, lesson plans, a social media kit and a planning guide.
“I encourage you to watch the videos in your church, or those posted online, to get a small glimpse of His awesome work among us,” Harper said.
Who was Dixie Jackson?
Dixie Jackson was a vibrant Christian woman who lived the gospel. Residing in Dardanelle, she raised eight children and served faithfully in her church. In 1914, two years after her husband’s death, she accepted a full-time position with the Arkansas chapter of the Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU). She traveled the state, training women and spreading the word about Arkansas Baptist missions efforts.
With much encouragement from Jackson, the first Week of Prayer for Arkansas state missions was held in 1926. Before Jackson died in early 1929, an offering was added to the Week of Prayer, with more than $1,000 being collected to aid mission projects statewide in that first year. Jackson’s investment in Arkansas Baptist women and missions lit a passion that has remained vibrant through the years. In 1935, the annual offering was named the Dixie Jackson Offering for State Missions in her memory.
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