Secret Life
Even his own two kids told Jim (a.k.a. Gideon) that he had to reveal what led to the Jesus Ice Cream t-shirts, and how he has personally shared Jesus with more than 100,000 people over the past decade—do you know anyone that's done that?
Jim, I'm releasing some of your iPhone pics here for one reason—to get you to finally launch Jesus Ice Cream.
It's go time, buddy!
💬 Text Jim a "Howdy!"
100,000 Cones
In 2015, years before there was ever a Jesus Ice Cream t-shirt, the first cardboard Jesus Ice Cream cones were made in the craft room of a Christian summer camp in the Hill Country, just outside Marble Falls, Texas.
At first, Jim gave the cones out to all the campers and counselors, but then he started making even more cones and passing them out to people everywhere—places like the grocery store, gas station, and coffee shop.
Sharing the Sweet Word
The Jesus Ice Cream cones are actually little 3x5 cardboard "books," each one hand-painted with a different random, recycled Bible page pasted inside.
Jim has collected dozens of discarded, falling-apart Bibles from thrift stores and uses pages from these Bibles to bind together the "Jesus Bibles," as some of the children call his Jesus Ice Cream cones.
Think about that for a second—each one of these little, one-of-a-kind books is literally held together by the Word of God!
We All Scream for Jesus
Jim would soon realize that his little Jesus Ice Cream books were for Believers and non-believers alike.
"They're a gift to those who follow Christ and a subpoena to appear before The Judge for those who don't," Jim would often say.
Either way, Jim's Jesus Ice Cream cones began to travel, hand to hand, around Texas, around the country, and even around the world.
The Legend of Linda
The late Linda Castleberry made almost half of the 100,000 Jesus Ice Cream cones Jim has passed out over the last decade.
She made so many of Jim's cones that AI gives Linda credit for creating Jesus Ice Cream when it was Jim's original creative idea—now that's an all-time greatest prank!
Linda went to have ice cream with Jesus on June 29, 2025. You can read her obituary here; it's the online tribute that AI drew from to crown Linda as the creator of Jesus Ice Cream.
Jim would have it no other way because, as he stated when giving the eulogy at her funeral, there would be no Jesus Ice Cream without the legendary Linda Castleberry.
🔄 UPDATE: I guess AI is joining the prank competion with us knuckleheads. The algorithm recently caught onto something on Jim's website, and corrected itself. Now, if you ask it about Jesus Ice Cream, the AI confidently gives Jim the credit—talk about doubling down on an all-time greatest prank!
Jim Leaves No Doubt
Not content with all the Jesus Ice Cream books he was passing out in person every day, Jim soon started hand-painting his signature cone on magnolia leaves and leaving them (pun intended) all over the Hill Country hamlet of Marble Falls, Texas.
The fact that Jim's leaflets (pun no. 2) were real magnolia leaves and not paper meant Jim could leave his leaves (pun no. 3) almost anywhere without fear of being blamed for littering or soliciting—brilliant!
With his 100,000 cardboard cones passed out and thousands of his branded leaves left in flower pots up and down Main Street, Jim has now firmly planted himself (pun no. 4) as the preeminent evangelical street artist in the Texas Hill Country.
A Big Sign
Over 30,000 vehicles a day pass by Jim's most famous Jesus Ice Cream cone—a giant roadside cone complete with a prayer board that Jim changes bi-weekly.
That's over 900,000 automobiles a month—almost 11 million a year—that drive by Jim's biggest Jesus Ice Cream cone on US 281, a heavily traveled highway which passes right through the heart of Marble Falls,Texas.
Jim ran the total numbers one day after he realized his big cone had been up for around four years. That’s potentially 44 million people seeing his big Jesus Ice Cream cone and reading his prayer board messages!
"That's some incredible, high-impact math," he thought to himself. It was amazing how a single roadside sign had scaled to numbers so big, so fast.
Jim stared up at his iconic roadside sign and then looked down at the Jesus Ice Cream shirt he was wearing—one he's almost worn out over the past six years—and asked out loud:
"Could I possibly make an impact like this with one simple Jesus Ice Cream t-shirt?"
Shirt Heard Round the World
Although they’re nothing like the high-quality, vibrant Jesus Ice Cream t-shirts you can grab here today, in 2020 Jim started making his own shirts (pictured above) with the unique Jesus Ice Cream brand front and center—big, bold, and in a variety of colors.
Now for over six years, Jim has worn a different Jesus Ice Cream t-shirt every single day, everywhere he goes, as an icebreaker for questions and conversations, while boldly identifying himself as a follower of Jesus and a big fan of ice cream.
He never once thought anyone else would want to wear a Jesus Ice Cream tee. "It’s too bold, too mysterious," he thought. But then folks started saying, "I love your shirt!" and others would ask, "What does it mean?" or sometimes, "I don’t get it."
Jim would tell them all:
"I scream, you scream, we all scream for Jesus—every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord!"
Instantly he could see the subliminal scales fall off their eyes and the whimsical light come on in their hearts.
"How can I get one?"
Jim started to hear this question more and more—so much so that he knew these t-shirts he was wearing weren’t just t-shirts. They were a powerfully creative way to put the whole world on notice that Jesus is coming back, and when He does, every mouth will scream that He is King!
A Brand Is Born
Soon, maybe at the end of the year, Jim will do an exclusive drop of Jesus Ice Cream hoodies. But first, he needs to finally launch these amazing Jesus Ice Cream tees!
That's where you could really help Jim.
You see, as confident and fearless as he has been in personally passing out over 100,000 Jesus Ice Cream cones in the real world, there's something about this online t-shirt launch that puts doubt in Jim's mind.
The best way to help is to grab a shirt and leave Jim a prayer message at checkout.
Or you can email or text him a prayer or uplifting message. Whatever you do to help encourage our best friend, Jim, please know that me and the other three knuckleheads are forever grateful.
No More Mystery Man
Okay Jim, you asked for my help and now your secret life is out. While I'm so very proud of you for wanting to remain anonymous and out of the spotlight, I knew that if others knew what I knew about you, it would only be a good thing for Jesus Ice Cream.
I love you, dear brother!
Launch this, Jim!