The simple question "What would Jesus do?"—often abbreviated to the initials "WWJD?"—sparked a youth-based revival of Christian faith in the 1990s and became one of the marketing sensations of the decade. The WWJD? movement started in 1989 when Janie Tinklenberg, a youth leader at an evangelical church in Holland, Michigan, led a book discussion with her youth group. The book under discussion was In His Steps, an inspirational story penned in 1896 by minister Charles M. Sheldon (1857–1946). The book told of a congregation who experienced spiritual and moral renewal when they asked themselves "What would Jesus do?" in every situation they encountered.

Sheldon's book had sold millions of copies and inspired many over the course of the twentieth century. In the 1990s, his simple message became the center of renewed spiritual fervor and a merchandising boom. Youth leader Tinklenberg approached...