PreachersNSneakers and Unlikely Heroes
Even after all of the personal conviction that has come from PreachersNSneakers, Jones still wanted to “make some good out of this account.” In June, Jones interviewed Erica Greve on his podcast. Greve founded the nonprofit Unlikely Heroes, which works with people who have been pushed into human trafficking and prostitution. Jones decided to try raising funds through the Instagram account to benefit Unlikely Heroes.
He decided to make T-shirts featuring the account’s logo and a pithy saying about Preachers. Why he didn’t just do a traditional crowdfunded campaign like GoFundMe speaks to Jones’ social media savvy. People who follow the “flavor of the week social media accounts want merch,” he explained. Jones says he even saw pictures of pastors preaching Sunday services in the T-shirts after it was over. When he surveyed those who contributed to the fundraiser, the results revealed that the majority of people who donated were fans of the account itself more so than they were on board with the mission of Unlikely Heroes. Still, Jones is not deterred. “At least we were able to raise money for causes that were universally thought of as good or beneficial,” he said. The fundraiser yielded nearly $15,000 for the nonprofit. He is hoping to organize another fundraiser in the future, perhaps for another cause.
Despite his hesitation to say so, Jones does believe the discussion engendered by the account has been positive, and that God “is working through this, in some ways.” Or, to borrow one of his fashion puns, the Lord does work in mysterious colorways.
