Our Story
Why we started Go Forth Apparel
Our Mission
Go Forth Apparel is a family-owned business focused on spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and also celebrating our heritage and patriotism. To us, it’s more of a movement than a business.
There is so much contention and division in the world. We believe healing happens when we turn to God. So, we are hustling to share that message of peace and harmony.
Go Forth and Conquer
Where Our Motto Came From
The name Go Forth Apparel comes from our family motto. Our founder, Tom McLelland, taught an early morning bible study class to high school students for 11 years. At the end of each class, he would send the group off with these words of encouragement: “Go Forth and Conquer!” It was a battle cry to move forwards, act in faith, and overcome with power and help from God.
Our Founders’ Story
Founded by Tom, Karyn and Tyler McLelland, the journey began years ago as Tom, a graphic designer, made t-shirts for church events and family outings. Tom is an award winning designer with 35 years of experience in design and calligraphy. His skills lead the creative effort for each shirt.
A Life-Changing Kidney Transplant
A major part of our story is the kidney transplant that changed everything. In July 2023, after Tom experienced kidney failure, two years of dialysis, and a failed transplant, he received the gift of a perfect kidney from a living donor. This precious gift produced profound feelings of gratitude and overwhelming confirmation of the love and power of God.
Miracles & Gratitude
There were so many miracles along the way. We wanted to express our faith and gratitude by creating uplifting, faith-focused designs and messages for people to wear.
Launching GoForthApparel.com
To start, we took over the dining room and spare rooms with designs, prints and presses.Next, we decided to start at the grassroots level by setting up shop at our local Farmer’s Markets. This enabled us to see exactly how people wanted to express their faith.
To manage our inventory we attended more shows, we started taking blank shirts and producing the shirts on the spot at the markets.
The Joy of Sharing
The joy we found was in meeting so many people who want to wear their witness boldly.
Faith Over Fear
Our passion has been to develop an easy way for people to start a conversation about Jesus Christ. (ALERT: when you wear one of our shirts be prepared to talk about your faith… It just happens,) Remember: FAITH OVER FEAR!
Share the Good News!
We plan to sell tens of thousands of shirts to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you’d like to join us as Fishers of Men, we invite you to join the movement.
Sign up as an ambassador here: