elebrating over 50 years of marriage is a noteworthy achievement. Add to that a successful business partnership of 28 years, and you have an accomplishment few couples ever attain. When asked how long the couple has enjoyed a happily married life, both Bob and Betty Spooner tend to get a little twinkle in their eyes.

“52 and a half years,” Bob answers. Betty literally beams as Bob explains that children make it a point to count the half-year mark when asked their age because it is important to them, and married people should too.

It’s not hard to discover the secret to the Spooners’ success. Their business was definitely not born of plans made by man, but of God. “Because of the desire for our children to grow up surrounded by the Word of God on the walls, I began creating pieces for my own home,” Betty explains.

The Spooner family built a legacy enjoyed in Christian homes, businesses and churches in over 20 countries. The Robert Spooner Galerie is one of the largest wholesalers of biblical art in the world. Chances are, if you visit any large Christian gift and book retailer, you will find the inspirational artwork of Betty Spooner.

Walking with God

The Spooners’ story of faith began when a neighbor invited Betty to join her in attending Christian Women’s Club, which always presents the gospel. That day, both Betty and her friend invited Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior. 

Bob’s own walk with the Lord began shortly after, as new friendships developed for him as well with men who met to study the Bible together in each other’s homes. Each found themselves yearning to hand all areas of their lives over to God. Looking back, it is easy to see that God had a unique plan for the couples’ future as they surrendered and agreed together to live fully for him. Soon, Betty and Bob began leading neighborhood Bible studies.

Betty remembers the first time she painted something for the Lord. “I had a little canvas and I started with the background. Then I painted a hill and, as I began to draw a cross, the brush hairs separated and an abstract image of Jesus, garment and all, took shape.”  Although the impression was not intentional, Betty felt the wooing of the Holy Spirit as she looked at what she painted. She knew something happened in that moment as she reflected her love of Jesus on canvas for the first time. “I still have the painting,” she remarks.

Betty Spooner with her spiritual artwork in the background

Later, she began adding Scripture verses to the back of her paintings and giving them to the ladies in her Bible study group. As the requests for special Scripture verses came, Betty knew that each one had a unique personal meaning for her. “It seemed that each new verse was something specific the Lord wanted worked in my life, so the result was something created from my walk with him as I studied and painted his Word.”

Betty admits that she was not fully prepared to accept that there was a business behind her artwork. “I struggled with the idea of selling the Word of God.”

Bob is quick to point out that they sought divine guidance every step of the way. “I always encouraged Betty to do something with her work. It seemed that there should be something more to sharing her gift than just hanging it in our home where only a few people would see it. A friend who owned a Christian gift shop asked Betty to offer Scriptures in calligraphy to sell in her store. At first Betty didn’t want to do it, but she did agree to pray about it; before long, requests came from friends of friends for her work.”

Bob goes on to explain what happens when the Holy Spirit inspires his wife Betty to do something new. “She had never tried calligraphy before, but she prayed and sat down and just did it – perfectly. That’s how she does things, she sees it and creates it; she’s never had an art lesson.”

God kept opening doors for Betty’s artwork and it wasn’t long before her original paintings and calligraphy were making their way into the homes and businesses of people she never dreamed of meeting.

Giving the gift back to the One who gives it

“I was meeting with a woman every week who was going through a very difficult time,” Betty recalls. “We studied the Bible together and I encouraged her to give her situation over to the Lord. She said to me, ‘Betty, when are you going to give your art gift over to the Lord?’ I didn’t think much about what she said at the time, but a few days later it hit me; I hadn’t given my gift of artistic ability to the Lord entirely. I realized totally that, never having had an art lesson, this gift was from him, not even a part of it mine. I surrendered the gift he gave me and asked him to do with it whatever he wanted to do with it. That is the time things really started to take shape.”

Bob explains how the Lord began to build a successful business. “Back in 1981, one of the men in my Bible study saw Betty’s work and encouraged us to take it to the Christian Booksellers Association convention. We applied for a booth and were accepted, so I immediately began making plans and designing the booth.”

Bob owned a rental car business at that time and had tried for quite some time to sell it, unsuccessfully. As providence would have it, when the Spooners received the approval to attend the convention, a buyer for Bob’s business also appeared. The proceeds launched the business.

“Our booth was in the very back of the convention area; one of the smallest booths there, but it was packed with buyers the entire time.” By that time, Betty was designing beautiful pieces of original art containing Scripture verses while Bob designed the framework. Her painting and calligraphy began to make their way into stores and galleries all over the country.

Betty Spooner, Christian artist

What began as a small business in their home and garage grew first into a 10,000 square-foot production warehouse with offices and finally into a 30,000 square-foot showroom, production center and corporate offices, which opened in 2008.

Living the legacy

When asked how the couple manages both business and marriage, their answer is simple. “There was a period of adjustment in the beginning,” Betty explains. “Bob had his way of doing things and I had mine. We had to learn to work with our differences. We are together 24 hours a day and I can’t imagine having it any other way!”

“We’ve always taken everything to the Lord in prayer,” Bob states. “We don’t see our business as a ministry; rather we minister from our business.” That statement is evident as one tours the production center. The employees of the Robert Spooner Galerie say that Bob and Betty Spooner are much more to them than employers; they are mentors and part of their family.

As Betty and Bob Spooner begin a new year in their new facility, it is easy to see that God can do amazing things in marriage, in business and in life when people live his Word in every area. Betty, in giving all credit to the Lord for her gift, states, “All great art is the expression of God’s creation, not my own.”