Take a look through the designs at 57 Ways to Sunday and you may notice something unusual for a Christian clothing company.
There aren't crosses on everything. You won't find an ichthys worked into every design. We don't automatically put an empty tomb on an Easter shirt. And although Scripture is behind what we create, we usually don't print an entire Bible verse across the front or back.
That is intentional.
It isn't because we're trying to hide our faith. It's because we're trying to start a conversation.
The symbols we love can also tell someone what the conversation is about. For a follower of Jesus, the cross means everything. The empty tomb represents the hope we have because Christ is risen. Scripture is the word of God. We aren't ashamed of any of those things.
But think for a moment about someone who doesn't believe what we believe. They see a shirt with a large cross and a Bible verse, and before they ever speak to the person wearing it, they already know what category to put it in: Christian shirt, religious message.
And if they aren't interested in talking about Christianity, the conversation may end before it ever begins. They simply keep walking.
That creates an interesting question for us. What if the shirt made them curious before it told them what to think?
That idea has become one of the guiding principles behind 57 Ways to Sunday. We want many of our designs to sit one step away from the gospel.
Close enough that the gospel is genuinely behind the design, but far enough away that someone who would never walk up and ask about your faith might still walk up and ask about your shirt.
They might see, "Would you have thrown a stone?" and wonder what it means. Or, "Found the one, sold the rest." and ask what you found. Or, "Not that kind of salty." and laugh before asking for the story.
At that moment, something important has happened. They started the conversation.
We're not trying to hide the gospel. There is a big difference between hiding the gospel and creating an opportunity to share it.
Our goal isn't to disguise Christianity so nobody knows what we believe. Our goal is to create opportunities for Christians to actually talk with people about what they believe.
That's why the explanation isn't always printed on the shirt. Sometimes, you are supposed to be the explanation.
The design creates curiosity. The question creates an opening. And the person wearing the shirt gets to tell the story.
That story might begin with a woman caught in adultery, a pearl of great price, salt that has lost its saltiness, a thirsty woman standing beside a well, a prodigal son coming home. But ultimately, every one of those stories can lead to the same place: Jesus.
Curiosity can go places a statement cannot.
There is absolutely a place for Christian apparel that boldly declares a message. But that isn't primarily what we're trying to create.
A statement says, "Here is what I believe." A conversation starter asks, "Want to know what this means?"
Both have value. We simply believe there is tremendous evangelistic potential in the second one. Because the person asking the question has already given you permission to answer.
And sometimes the person who would never say, "Tell me about Jesus," will gladly say, "Okay, I have to ask, what does your shirt mean?"
Maybe those two questions aren't as far apart as they seem.
So when you notice that one of our shirts doesn't have a cross on it, that isn't an oversight. When the Bible verse isn't printed underneath the artwork, we didn't forget it.
And when a design makes perfect sense after you know the biblical story, but leaves somebody who doesn't know that story wondering what it means, that may be exactly what we hoped would happen.
Because 57 Ways to Sunday wasn't created simply to make Christian shirts. It was created to help Christians have conversations.
The shirt is one step away from the gospel. You get to take the next step.
Wear your faith. Start a conversation. Grow the kingdom.