Heart Work Tees fight Bible poverty with fun themes, Scripture
Sarah Keeling’s not an artist. She’s not a photographer or graphic designer or entrepreneur. But she is a mom who wants to serve others—and she’s a bit of a dreamer.
So sitting home one summer day in 2014, Sarah read a blog post by Ann Voskamp about a mission trip the author had taken. The post inspired her, but she had doubts.
She’s doing all these amazing things. What can I do? I’m just a mom.
Then came the idea.
You could sell T-shirts.
That had to come from God, Sarah thought. For about a year, Sarah had toyed with the notion of a household superhero she called the “Laundry Slayer.” Maybe Laundry Slayer could go on a T-shirt. It would be a way to encourage women doing monotonous chores and raise money for things like the mission she’d just read about.
“I’ve never had anything like that, where I felt God’s direction so clearly,” Sarah says. “I was just like, ‘I have to do this. There is no not doing it.’”
With no business experience but plenty of encouragement from her husband, Ty, Sarah decided to launch Heart Work Tees that fall. Nudged by another of Ann’s blogs, she’d also decided to donate Heart Works’ proceeds to a Seed Company project in Asia that trained women to tell Bible stories to other women.
Heart Work Tees
Heart Work Tees began with two design themes—Laundry Slayer and a Bible verse: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart” (Colossians 3:23). The two themes followed Sarah’s desire to affirm her own place in life and that of other women, too.
Sarah’s original goal was to raise $5,000 for Bible translation. To date, she has raised $10,000 for work in South Asia and Ethiopia. She looks forward to future opportunities to design and sell T-shirts to benefit Bible translation.
God Ideas
God’s creative nature is instilled in each one of us. Just as Sarah found a new and creative idea to partner in the Great Commission, you too can make a difference in the life transformation that comes through Bible translation.
- Ask God to help you think of how you could give in ways you’ve never imagined.
- What are some things you enjoy doing and sharing with others?
- How might you rally others to join you to make an impact for others receiving the Scriptures?
Watch Sarah’s video story.
