FAST FACTS About Maguire State Mission Offering

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• Florida Woman's Missionary Union began collecting a state missions offering in the mid-1930s to minister to Seminole Indians in the state.

• In 1985 the offering was named in honor of John Maguire's distinguished service as executive secretary-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention from 1945-1967 and the tireless efforts of his wife Clyde to ignite Florida Baptists' mission passion.

• "Florida is the greatest mission field anywhere in the United States ... and unless Florida Baptists arise to the occasion of reaching these lost people, we are going to be going backwards, instead of forward. " —John Maguire

• During his 23-year tenure—from 1945-67—the number of cooperating churches in the convention increased to 1,426 from 826. Church membership grew to more than 600,000 from 184,140, and Cooperative Program receipts increased to $3.7 million from $422,123.

• Clyde Maguire, a noted author, worked with Florida Baptist women to increase missions awareness and missions support.

• "If you are not interested in the man across the street you certainly are not interested in the man across the sea."—John Maguire