Heritage column for Dec. 9, 2004
Becky Jarrett McKinney, the newly-elected president of Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia, enjoys rearing sons and raising daylilies. She also is passionate about the various helping ministries of WMUV. In many ways the three interests-boys, daylilies and ministries-are similar. They are new each morning!
They can grow and develop wherever you live! They offer fresh joys with each new day! And each has many varieties!
Referring to her beds of daylilies at her Henry County home, Becky McKinney says: “In the summer my favorite thing is to take off the old blooms and see the new ones. It's a peaceful thing to me. I love flowers!”
While miles away from home on official WMUV business, she thinks about her teenage sons, Matt and Daniel. “My prayer for my sons is that they become and do whatever it is that God wants for them and he does have his hands on them.”
Becky and Tommy McKinney have opened their sons to the wide world. The boys experienced hands-on missions in Costa Rica and Brazil. Becky adds: “They still talk about those experiences and it changes your outlook on the world.”
Switching to her involvement with WMUV, the new president feels that “what WMU is really about is helping women live out their faith.” She sees the WMU as “that place that we can help women hear their call, feel the passion and find ways to live that out” and adds: “That's what WMU is all about and how we are going to reach the world for Christ.”
She admires the founders of WMU in Virginia who chose “a bold slogan”: “The World for Christ, Hallelujah!” “That's the core of who we are; and I am proud to be a part of something that I believe can change the world. Women are seeking to be a part of something that makes a difference.”
Anyone who looks at the long and ever-growing list of creative “cutting edge” ministries of WMU of Virginia knows that Becky McKinney has found that place where women indeed can make a difference in the world around them. The new president did not take the mantle of office lightly. “It's humbling because I know the women who went before me.” She credits her immediate predecessor, Pat Bloxom, for offering leadership opportunities, training and involvement to her during her tenure as vice president.
She also is appreciative of the women who served as mentors to her in her home church, Fort Trial, and in the Henry County Baptist Association WMU. Her own mother died when Becky was newly-married; and in time, Ann Arnold, one of those strong WMU women, became “like a second mother” and the two women worked together through the WMU. “Ann encouraged me and prayed for me and I remember going to her and telling her: ‘Guess what, I have been asked to do such and such.' She would say, ‘I am not surprised. I have been praying for you!' ” Now as state president of “the Union,” Becky declares, “We need to do that for women-helping them to discover their gifts.”
Becky McKinney came late into the WMU. At age 6, an aunt took her to Bible school and, in time, her childhood family followed. But because of family scheduling or for whatever reason lost to the years, she never experienced Mission Friends and the GAs. She wistfully wonders what a difference those childhood missions organizations might have made in her own life. She also credits the influence of a caring pastor, James Alsop, who now is called “Papa Jim” by her sons.
After college studies at Radford, she entered the helping profession of social work, specializing in child welfare. She married a local man, Tommy McKinney, who became “a card-carrying WMU member,” and never left her home area. Her twin sisters did move away to Atlanta. Despite the economic decline in the area, she still sees Henry County as “a good place to rear a family.”
Becky's first introduction to WMU was through the BYW group in her church. She sensed the value of bringing women together and alerting them to needs. She worked for awhile with the Acteens but was drawn to participating with the adults. She became WMU director at Fort Trial. “At the time, what I knew about WMU would not have filled the palm of my hand. I went to a former WMU director and asked her to explain the manual and I am thankful for her guidance. Someone on the associational level found out about me and I was asked to be Women-on-Mission coordinator and then Henry County Association WMU director and that brought me to the board of Virginia WMU.”
After explaining her pilgrimage, she reflects: “I did not grow up in WMU and did not have that allegiance to an organization but was drawn to what it's really all about. WMU and my own involvement have been a positive influence in my life and that's what I want other women to be able to find through WMU. That's the heart of who we are. WMU is far more than just a well-oiled and healthy organization. It has a heart and the heart is concerned with helping others and developing each woman's full potential. We have the resources to do so much for the Kingdom!”
Becky McKinney also comes to her office at a different stage in life from most of her predecessors. For so many WMU presidents, the office came calling when they were experiencing an empty nest. She and her husband have those two active teenagers. Sometimes when she is away on business the menfolk have a fish fry or serve themselves some of their prized venison. Sometimes they give her a telephone call to get her recipe for a favorite dish.
The family experienced a crisis last June when Matt, a 6'5” 16-year-old, rounded a curve and hit a deer. Both kneecaps were crushed. The world could have seemed bleak for a baseball player. When the word got around, the WMU members were praying for a boy whom they had never met; and they were sending cards of cheer. “Matt could see the goodness of God in it all. He was strong anyway, but this has made him even stronger with a positive attitude. He was in bed over six weeks and still is in physical therapy, but there were new joys each day.” Just like daylilies!
Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies