Tattoos and the Confession of the Soul

Written by Michael Davis

What do tattoos have to do with evangelism? How do confessions of the soul come through someone’s ink? Perhaps I can speak to what I have learned about how these things relate by explaining how I got into asking people about their tattoos. Just over a year ago after beginning my first residency year with Evangelize Today (ET) Ministries the globe experienced the beginning of a pandemic and shutdown. All the while one of my mentors who leads ET, Al Dayhoff, was encouraging me to do tattoo interviews. You might be wondering what a tattoo interview is. it really begins by noticing them with a genuine curiosity. Seeing past whether you like them or not, into the world where someone would want to say something to the world so strongly that they write it on themselves permanently. From seeing them it went actually speaking to the person and telling them you are interested in the story behind the tattoo. I would at times tell the person that I am a pastor who is seeking to listen more. As I sat down with people and listened to what was under the ink I saw what Al was explaining to me…that tattoos are often a window into the soul. That the image of God is writing on its wrapper in permanent ink…can we hear it?