This shirt is a graphical representation of Romans 11:17 and John 15:5

nothing without His help

In the bible the Christian life is compared to plants, trees, seeds, branches. In these comparisons there are several common threads. The first is our dependence on Jesus and His work. When it comes to things that matter and will last, nothing can be done without His help.

The second comparison to plants is that we are commanded to bear fruit. The Christian life is to be one of fruitfulness.

At the same time we find strong statements about our need for help to be fruitful. We can do nothing without His help. We must draw our substance from Him in order to produce lasting fruit.

how to use this shirt as an evangelism tool:

This shirt has been designed to give all who wear it, the opportunity to talk about Jesus.  You may have noticed that there are no scripture references on it!  People will rarely ask you about your shirt if they see scriptural references because they are used to seeing Christian T-shirts.  While shirts with references on them mark you as a believer, they rarely give you the opportunity to share your faith.  People see the scripture references and assume they know the  ‘religious’ ideals of the wearer.   What we want to do is cause people to ask you about the shirt.  “I don't get your shirt?”  “What does it mean?”  “That's Cool”

Anytime someone begins the conversation with you, the door is open to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with them…. and remember, they asked you!

what to say when you are asked about the shirt

Most Christians, when confronted with an opportunity to share their faith often talk “religious” (they say what they think they should say with lots of Christian Buzz words) and turn people off.  Just be yourself!  After reading the above information, you should easily be able to explain how sin is a major threat to each of us and that there is only one antidote for the problem. Talk to them about Jesus and what He has done for us, making a way for us to confess our sin and come to God for forgiveness.   

This is your opportunity to explain the Gospel of  Jesus and then to inquire into their relationship, if any, with Him.

if they are open to further conversation

At this point, the person will say “yea, whatever” and walk off, OR want to hear more.  (Remember that God’s word does not return void.  Even if the person walks off, the Word of God was sewn into that person's life… you did not fail!)  If they want to know more:

When we talk about salvation we must bring people to an awareness of their need for salvation. The Bible is very clear on this point. Everyone has missed the mark or fallen short of the standard set by God. As a race we all fall short. This is not a close call, even the best person misses the mark by a mile.

But the good news is that God has made provision for us. He has a free gift, the gift of eternal life for us. (See Romans 6:23)

belief in Jesus Christ

God chose to fulfill His standards for us. He knew that no person could meet them and so all would fail. We would all be in a hopeless state, with no place to turn. So God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to live as a man here on earth. Jesus lived as a man, but He met all of God's requirements. He met God's standard perfectly. 

But this still did not deal with the problem, we still fall short of meeting God's standard. We cannot live like Jesus, even after His example. 

The answer, God's answer, let the one who lived perfectly die in the place of all the rest. He let Jesus die for mankind, since no one else was good enough to do so. (If a man were to die it would be for his short comings, it would be just what he deserved).

So God has prepared for us a gift of salvation. God accepted the death of Jesus as meeting His standard. Then He raised Jesus from the dead. His gift of salvation is available to every one who will believe in Jesus Christ and the work He has done for us. (See Romans 10:8-10 and John 1:12-13)

 repentance of sins

receiving Jesus as savior

So now we can receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He now becomes the one who died for us so we can have good relationship with God. We can now become a part of God's family, not by any work that we have done, but by believing that Jesus has done the work for us.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.