We live in a culture in which slogans and sayings appear all around us. And T-shirts are probably one of the biggest marketing tools ever invented. There's no reason Christians shouldn't be part of this marketing trend with Christian T-Shirts.
After all, we're in the marketing business. Christ followers are commanded by Jesus to take the message of the Gospel to the whole world. Call it what you want... witnessing, evangelizing, sharing your testimony.
It's all marketing.
We have a message the world desperately needs to hear and thanks to a culture in which T-Shirts are everywhere and carry all sorts of messages, we have an opportunity for lifestyle evangelism. The diversity of T-Shirts imprinted with Christian messages is astounding. So is the creativity. Bold colors, trendy designs and stylish looks are as easy to find as a visit to the local Christian store or online Christian shopping site.
Remember Paul's visit to Athens as described in the Book of Acts? He was culturally in tune with his audience. He was not of their world but he was in it and he used references to the cultural styles of their day to bring home the message of Jesus Christ and salvation.
It is the same with us. There are Christian T-Shirts that have Bible verses. Others are parodies of popular cultural icons, or TV shows, or advertising sayings. "Jesus Rules," reads one trendy black T-Shirt. "Jesus died for My Space in heaven" reads a blue one that capitalizes on the popular social networking site My Space.
There are Christian T-Shirts that are geared for bikers and elaborately decorated T-Shirts depicting Christ on the cross. Some are in camo appealing to hunters and sportsmen. And Christian T-Shirts now come in every color in the rainbow, from neon to pastel to solid black.
There are surveys out there that claim that the average Christian T-Shirt is read by 3,000 people during its lifetime of wear. That's pretty astounding. Most of us don't get a chance to share the Good News with that many people in a lifetime, unless we're a pastor or church professional.
All of us who follow Jesus, though, are to be his messengers. Wearing Christian T-Shirts lets us do so in one of the most amazingly effective ways imaginable as we make our way through the Athens of our world.
Paul would be proud.
The author publishes the Online Christian SHopper (http://www.onlinechristianshopper.com), a Web site specializing in Christian T-Shirts, Christian jewelry and Christian audiobooks
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