DICKSON — The Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) will host its annual Missions Get-Together on Friday and Saturday, April 4-5, at First Baptist Dickson, according to event coordinator Vickie Anderson, who has been involved with the event for almost 30 years.
The gathering features general sessions, breakout sessions, a missions fair, and — new this year — a missions-focused family game night.
“Through our breakout sessions, we try to cover various aspects of mission work,” Anderson explained. “Attendees can hear directly from missionaries and ministries, while also focusing on personal development, spiritual growth, and mental health care, which is one of our critical issues today.”
The newly added family game night aims to provide “a fun, relaxed setting” for participants to connect.
Mission offerings collected during the event will be distributed with purpose: 90% will support the Amy Hood Adoption Endowment, while 10% will go to Tennessee N Touch, which provides grants for association and state WMU projects, ministries, and initiatives.
Anderson
“With adoption, we’re supporting the Acts 2:17 initiative, and we’ve been searching for a program with statewide impact,” Anderson noted. Attendees are also encouraged to bring baby items, which will be donated to pregnancy centers across Tennessee.
The event has evolved over the years. Initially held in Gatlinburg, it once attracted up to 2,000 attendees over three days. Today, the more streamlined two-day program averages around 450 participants.
Despite the change in numbers, the event’s core mission remains: connecting women with missions and ministry opportunities, providing spiritual and personal development, and inspiring women to serve in their communities.
“This is what makes our event different from other women’s gatherings,” Anderson emphasized. “We connect participants with missions and ministry representatives through the missions fair, testimonies, general sessions, and breakout sessions.”
For Anderson and the organizing team, success is measured by the impact on participants.
“The most important thing for us is that women return home feeling inspired and empowered to connect, tell, disciple, lead, and serve. That’s why we continue to host this event.”
Anderson shared a success story: “We love hearing stories like when a woman learned about a prison ministry at our event and then started one herself. That actually happened.”
While the Tennessee WMU hosts the event, Anderson stressed that all women are welcome. “You don’t have to be part of our missions organizations or ministries to attend.
“Every participant will benefit from spiritual and personal development — you can’t really do mission work without that foundation.”
“It’s wonderful to hear those testimonies,” Anderson reflected, “but equally valuable is the fellowship we share as women. It’s inspiring for them to discover they’re not alone — to see so many others who share their passion for mission work.Though everyone serves in different ways according to the Lord’s guidance, they all share that fundamental passion for the Lord and His mission.” B&R
