Our Story

Hi! My name is Matt Olpinski and I’m the creator of The Verse Project. In 2020, I was inspired to hand-pick the most encouraging verses in the Bible, pair them with beautiful images, and begin collecting them all in one place.

As I watched the chaotic and disheartening events of 2020 unfold, I found myself longing for the encouragement found in God’s word. It seemed to be the only sufficient antidote to negative news and social media.

It only took a moment for me to realize that this world, full of lost and broken people, needed that same encouragement now more than ever.

Inspired by an illustrated national parks calendar I keep on my home office desk, I began pairing encouraging verses with free images from Unsplash. I loved how they looked, but what should I do with them?

That’s when The Verse Project was born. It first became an Instagram account to share the print designs and phone wallpapers. But in early 2021, I decided to abandon social media and built this custom website instead.

In doing so, I’ve been able to make the verses much more dynamic and interactive. My goal is to highlight the encouraging and restoring truths of God’s word through beautiful design and captivating imagery that you can hold to tightly and take wherever you go.

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” – Hebrews 10:23

As a professional web designer and developer, this is the best way I know how to do that — with integrity, excellence, and reverence for God’s Holy Word.

How It Works

The verses are selected at my own discretion and with the help of your suggestions. To maintain the integrity of the designs and keep the text concise, I occasionally need to take creative liberties with the exact wording of the verse and the translation I’m using.

For short verses, I can highlight the full verse verbatim. For longer verses, my first goal is to use a fragment of the verse verbatim, as to not alter God’s word.

When that isn’t possible, I shorten the verse to the best of my ability — making every effort to maintain the integrity and meaning of the verse.

That’s why I decided to always include the full verse for context both in the web and printed versions. The only exception so far is the universal phone wallpapers, where there isn’t room for the full verse.

Shop & Download

My goal with The Verse Project is not only to create beautiful graphics using God’s word, but to create graphics you can take with you and share with others.

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” – Mark 16:15

That’s why I started an Etsy shop where some of the verses are available as printable downloads in over 20 poster sizes! I also made universal phone backgrounds available on Pinterest and directly on each individual verse page of this website.

Ultimately, The Verse Project is a side project/hobby for me and while the goal is to spread the gospel, any sales or feedback will help me maintain and expand the collection!

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my story and checking out The Verse Project. I hope you find it encouraging!

— Matt