What is the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions?
The Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions exists because we realize that Tennessee is a mission field. This offering stays in Tennessee and provides funding for critical mission strategy.
The offering is named after W.C. & Mildred Golden, who suggested the week of prayer for state missions and a state missions offering in 1902.
Tennessee Baptists contributing through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions provide support for Tennessee ministries; sustaining state ministries not funded through the Cooperative Program.
The Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions is meeting human needs through Compassion Ministries. It’s Disaster Relief helping restore a community after a storm. It’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries sharing the hope of Jesus on Tennessee college campuses. It’s reaching the spiritually lost in Tennessee through evangelism. And so much more.
The Golden Offering is collected all year, from September 1st thru August 31st, with special emphasis during the month of September. Over the past several years, Tennessee Baptists have exceeded the historic giving of the previous year. This reflects the faithfulness and collaboration of Tennessee Baptists and Tennessee Baptist Churches who desire to share the Good News with every person in Tennessee
The Week of Prayer for Tennessee Missions is a concentrated time of prayer for Tennessee Baptists which coincides with the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. While traditionally observed during the second week in September, churches can choose any week of the year that is convenient to them.
In the “Type of Donation” section use the dropdown menu to select “Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.”
A Brief History
1902
Recognizing the urgency of the needs in Tennessee and feeling all Baptists should know about them, Mildred Golden suggested a special season of prayer with an offering for state missions just as churches prayed for and gave to foreign missions and home missions. Dr. W.C. Golden was State Missions Secretary at the time; together they prepared and distributed the materials from their home. The first offering received was $800.
1943
Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union officially named the state missions offering in honor of the Goldens; it became the Golden State Missions Offering (GSMO).
1952
The offering goal was $35,000. Allocations included camps, rural work, women missionaries, and preachers’ schools.
1962
The goal of $75,000 included allocations for an international student retreat, student aid at Harrison-Chilhowee Academy, and a church lot fund.
1972
More than doubling in a decade, the goal of $170,000 included gifts to native Tennessee missionaries, ministry to the deaf, student summer missions, mission center ministries, and special rural and mountain ministries.
1982
The offering goal was $550,000. Allocations included student scholarships, disaster relief, language missions ministries, ministry to the handicapped, resort missions, scripture distribution, and world witness through the World’s Fair in Knoxville.
1992
The offering topped a million with a goal of $1,050,000. Tennessee had a population of 4.9 million. Allocations included homes for the developmentally disabled, mega-focus cities, a site fund for new churches, and seminary extension.
2002
In the centennial year, the offering name was changed to the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions to clarify its purpose and still honor the legacy of Dr. and Mrs. Golden. One-half of the $1.6 million offering focused on starting new churches.
2008
A total of $1,730,525 was received for the 2007-2008 offering, exceeding the state-wide goal for the first time in 13 years.
2022
A total of $2,227,364 was given to the 2021-2022 offering, surpassing the state goal once again since 2007-2008 and going over $2 million for the first time.
2025
A grand total of $2,888,182 was given in 2024-2025. This amount included $2,731,089 given through GOTM and $157,093 given through Golden Opportunity Projects. Allocations included new churches, compassion ministries, adoption ministries, missions, discipleship ministries, disaster relief, collegiate campus ministries, BlueOval City initiative, and associational ministries.