Churches and faith organizations are some of our favorite customers to work with. Whether it's a VBS t-shirt, a mission trip uniform, a church camp hoodie, or a congregation anniversary shirt — these orders have meaning behind them. Here's how to get them right.
Common church apparel orders
- VBS (Vacation Bible School) shirts: Colorful, fun designs for kids and volunteers. Usually a single design for the whole week with a theme.
- Mission trip shirts: Identifiable shirts that let your team represent the church while serving. Often include the church name, year, and mission location.
- Youth group and small group shirts: Build community and belonging. Simple design, group name, maybe a relevant verse or motto.
- Anniversary and celebration shirts: Commemorating a church milestone — founding year, building dedication, special event.
- Volunteer and usher shirts: Identify your serving team consistently. Usually a polo or button-down with the church logo embroidered.
Designing a church shirt
Church shirt designs vary from simple logo-only orders to full custom artwork with a theme graphic. A few things that work well:
- Keep scripture references clean and legible — font size matters
- For VBS, bold colors and fun graphics work well for kids
- For mission trips, include the year, location, and church name
- For staff/volunteer shirts, a clean left chest embroidery is professional and timeless
If you don't have artwork ready, we can help. Free artwork assistance is included with every order. Read our guide on how to prepare artwork for printing.
Sizing for a congregation
Church orders often include a wide range of ages and sizes — youth small through adult 5XL in some cases. Make sure you ask your printer about youth sizing options and extended sizes. Collect sizes ahead of time through your church newsletter, app, or bulletin insert.
Fundraising through apparel
Faith organizations can use a team store to sell shirts to the congregation as a fundraiser. Families order at their convenience, you set a margin that goes to the missions fund or building fund, and we handle everything else. Read our guide on how much you can make on a fundraiser to understand the numbers.
Timeline
Most church shirt orders need 3-4 weeks lead time from artwork approval to delivery. VBS orders are often time-sensitive — if your program starts in June, order no later than mid-May. Mission trip shirts should be ordered 4-6 weeks before departure.
💡 VBS shirts are one of the most reordered items we print — kids wear them all summer and parents want more. Consider ordering 10-15% extra and making them available for purchase after the event.
Ready to order your church shirts? Call 855-TSHIRT-5 or request a quote online.