Ladies and a Vision: Seventy Years of Making a Difference

This year, Mothers Memorial celebrates its seventieth anniversary—seven decades of powerful vision, faithful giving, and lasting global impact. Since its beginning, Mothers Memorial has impacted numerous lives around the world. Through its generous support:

• Global Missions and their missionaries on the field have been blessed with appliances.
• North American Missions has been strengthened through emergency assistance and Launch meetings.

When Mary Cole was appointed the first president of Ladies Ministries in 1953. Three years later, at the 1956 General Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she and her committee were tasked with naming the new fundraising effort. Their choice—World-Wide Mothers Memorial—captured the heart of their mission: making a global difference through united giving. Later, the name was shortened to Mothers Memorial.

That first offering, totaling $4,930.63, was used to pay off office furniture for the new headquarters building in St. Louis, Missouri. But the vision didn’t stop there. The ladies soon set their sights on meeting practical needs overseas—providing washers, stoves, and refrigerators for missionaries living and working in challenging conditions.

In her book Mission Accomplished, Mary Cole shared a story that truly embodied the spirit of giving which continues to this day. On one trip home, her luggage exceeded the forty-pound limit by four pounds, resulting in a six-dollar overage fee. Wanting to steward every dollar wisely, she removed a coat and a camera to meet the limit. The clerk smiled and waved her through, saying, “It’s okay.” One of her companions turned to her and said, “Now we understand why you hold this office.” That same careful stewardship and deep compassion defined Mary Cole’s leadership.” By the time she retired in 1960, Mothers Memorial offerings had grown to nearly twelve thousand dollars. 

In 1957, a portion of Mothers Memorial funds was directed to support Global Missions, marking the beginning of an expanded outreach. As time passed, the vision continued to grow:

• The Adopted Missionary Program was introduced, sending birthday cards to missionary children and Christmas offerings to missionary families.
• Foreign Bible Student Support began, helping thousands of international students receive biblical training and ministry education.

Through every decade, Ladies Ministries has caught and carried this vision forward with hearts full of love and generosity—always giving, always reaching, always serving. 

An Offering That Lives On

Because of the faith and foresight of Mary Cole and those early ladies of vision, Mothers Memorial has raised more than one hundred million dollars over seventy years. From that first $4,930.63 offering in 1956 to the $5.3 million in 2025, only God could have known the incredible impact that would follow.

Seventy years later, the giving continues. The vision lives on. And the ladies who give through Mothers Memorial are still changing the world—one offering, one life, one soul at a time.