“Sandy never disappointed,” said Evelyn Tully, former Illinois Baptist State Association WMU director, when asked by the Illinois Baptist to share her memories of Sandy Wisdom-Martin as young person. Tully recalled, “When she received an assignment, she immediately began to gather resources and organize a plan to present a unique and excellent finished product.”
Wisdom-Martin, executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union, will retire in January 2027. Before then, she will return to her native Illinois to speak at the IBSA Annual Meeting, where she also will be honored with a dessert reception. Tully was a mentor to Wisdom-Martin, who has proudly called herself one of “Tully’s kids.”
Tully described her as “an energetic, engaged Girls in Action camper at Lake Sallateeska. She applied to be a counselor-in-training and was selected without hesitation. She was already very focused and dependable. She soon became a counselor at Lake Sallateeska and at Streator. I even left her in charge of a week of camp when I was leading WMU conferences in Glorieta and Ridgecrest.”
Faith journey
Tully recalled Wisdom-Martin “was always cheerful and funny, but behind that was her deep faith commitment and a goal to motivate campers and fellow camp staffers to be their best, see God’s plan for their lives, and remain committed to that plan.”
According to Tully, her leadership skills were evident early. “I saw the potential of a servant leader and missions motivator developing before my eyes,” she noted. “I was never surprised but always delighted when she was selected to take on new roles — Arkansas associate and Illinois WMU director, Texas WMU director, and then executive director of national WMU. Wow. That was my kid!”
Tully shared Wisdom-Martin has shown “a deep and abiding respect for those who came before her. This is true of early missions leaders like Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, Fannie Heck, etc. It is also true of those in local and associational roles who guided her on her faith journey and helped her begin to get a glimpse of God’s plan for her life.”
“She has remained committed to honoring those leaders through her written words, acts of kindness, and opportunities to offer a verbal ‘thank you,’” Tully said. “I have been blessed to be one of the recipients of these kind acts.”
“I am thankful that IBSA is fittingly honoring this product of Illinois,” Tully said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lisa Misner and originally published by the Illinois Baptist.
