Jessica Bond
On Valentine’s Day 2022, my artwork called The Footwashing Series went viral, and I became a Christian “influencer” overnight.
This is the story behind the overnight.
I grew up in New Zealand and met Jesus for the first time at 11 years old. He became my friend, but it wasn’t until I was 21 that I wanted to give Him my whole life, not just parts of it.
At 25, after four years in youth ministry, I moved to Australia as a missionary and to discern religious life with the Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters. Our team travelled in a van around Australia for a year, ministering everywhere from remote islands to schools to youth prisons. I felt so alive, even as I wrestled with crippling anxiety.
Later I moved to California to study vocational ministry at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry for three years. It was an honour, and occasionally painful, to live out my Catholic commitments while studying in a non-denominational college, but worth it.
During those years I also travelled the world for missions, witnessing miracles in Mexico and weeping with the persecuted Church in the Middle East.
Then the world shut down during the global pandemic. While travel stopped, an artwork series I created called The Footwashing Series unexpectedly went viral online. Instead of boarding a plane, God sent the Gospel through social media, and I had to learn quickly how to steward influence I never expected.
The artwork illustrates different people sitting on a stool while Jesus washes their feet - sometimes people who seem to be in tension with one another, like a police officer and an inmate, or nations in conflict. The heart of the message is that it’s not about who’s on the seat, it’s about Who’s washing the feet. No matter who we are or where we’ve walked, we can come to Jesus and receive forgiveness and healing.
After graduating ministry college, I assumed (with some relief) that I’d never preach again. I was anticipating a quiet season in Australia. But God had other plans! In 2024, Fr Rob Galea invited me to preach during his concert tour through India, and invitations to speak around the world have continued.
In the middle of it all, an unexpected email led to a publishing contract with Bethany House. My book “A King Washes Feet” released in February 2026, almost four years to the day since the first artwork in The Footwashing Series was shared online.
Through my story, the common thread has been communicating the Gospel. Whether through worship, art, social media, writing or preaching, I just want to keep saying yes to God.
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