Hobby Lobby on US Highway98 in Hattiesburg, photographed February21,2009; archival exterior, not today’s Sunday closure. Photo: hattiesburgmemory, “Hobby Lobby,” via Flickr, CC BY2.0. Cropped.
Faith-Friendly Company
Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday for a reason worth celebrating: worship and family come before another day at the register. For Christians looking for a business willing to put conviction into practice, that is a welcome example.
The policy is not a seasonal slogan. The company’s Sunday-closing explanation says it wants employees and customers to have more time for worship and family. It acknowledges the potential financial cost, then draws a clear line: some things matter more than profits.
Why is Hobby Lobby closed on Sunday?
The answer is refreshingly direct. Hobby Lobby describes the closure as a matter of principle for its owner and officers, not a calculation that Sunday customers are unimportant. Giving up a day of store trading makes room for priorities that cannot be measured by a sales receipt.
That deserves warm praise. A company does not have to turn every available hour into a selling opportunity. Setting a boundary around work gives its stated values a visible place in the weekly schedule.
Yet we also realize that there are things more important than profits.
Hobby Lobby, Sunday-closing FAQ
Holiday advertising with a different purpose
The same conviction appears in Hobby Lobby’s holiday messages. Its company history and ad archive traces the idea to David Green reading Christmas advertisements in 1995 and creating a different kind of newspaper ad in 1996. Rather than simply encouraging another purchase, the message invited readers to consider Jesus.
In its April 1, 2026, Easter announcement, Hobby Lobby says its Christmas and Easter messages have appeared in area newspapers since 1997. Those descriptions identify different steps in the history: the original idea and first ad, followed by the newspaper tradition described in the release.
Company president Steve Green put the purpose plainly in that announcement: “These ads don’t include sale items or special pricing.” He added, “We just want to let people know that we love our Lord.”
The 2026 Easter message centered on God’s love and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The announcement also described a partnership with Need Him Ministry, inviting readers who wanted to know Jesus as Lord and Savior to make contact. This is faith expressed openly, without pretending that a holiday’s meaning begins and ends with shopping.
A religious-liberty victory, accurately described
The Green family’s convictions also reached the Supreme Court. On June 30, 2014, the Court ruled 5–4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that the challenged federal contraceptive-coverage requirement violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as applied to the closely held companies involved.
The Greens objected to four contraceptive methods because of their religious beliefs about protecting life after conception; the opinion records that they did not object to the other 16 FDA-approved methods then at issue. This was not a ruling banning contraception or permission for businesses to disregard every law. It was an important, specific protection for religious exercise.
Praise with an honest record
Recognizing these choices does not mean declaring the company faultless. In a separate antiquities matter, the Justice Department’s May 2, 2018, account says Hobby Lobby agreed to forfeit artifacts and $3 million to resolve a civil forfeiture complaint and investigation. The United States returned approximately 3,800 artifacts to Iraq that day. This is historical context, not a claim of a new case today.
That record should not be erased. Neither should it erase what is commendable about Sunday closing, public Christian witness and defending religious liberty. Faith-Friendly Company is our positive description of those choices, not a new numerical grade or a claim of perfection.
A message worth carrying toward Christmas
John 3:16 expresses the Christian hope behind this kind of witness:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” — John 3:16, NKJV.
As Christmas approaches, Hobby Lobby’s holiday-message archive is worth watching. We are not announcing an unreleased 2026 Christmas ad. We are honoring a business that makes room for worship, family and the Gospel. That is a better reason to remember a company than another coupon.