Welcome to
Banner Blue
This is your ministry journey, and we are here to help!
Kids love imaginative play and enriching environments in which to explore and grow with adults ready to affirm and guide them.
Our mission as a Lutheran nonprofit is to create the absolute best in resources for ministry, based upon decades of experience serving thousands of children, youth and families as well as the latest in neuroscience and pedagogy.
Here are our core values:
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We Make with our Maker and Create with Our Creator (Genesis 1:24-26). We believe that ALL people, no matter their physical or mental ability, are created by God with gifts for creativity and made by God with gifts for making. Did you know that we regularly lead camps and classes with kids living on the autism spectrum and with developmental disabilities and that those opportunities have even led to internships?
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Kids Come First Always (Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14-16, Luke 18:16-17). We believe that Jesus has issued a commandment to help and guide kids while also following the lead of their amazing faithfulness. Did you know that we use Project Based Learning--the gold standard in pedagogy--in all of our resource development?
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God’s Love Has No Limits (Romans 8:38-39). We join Paul and all Lutherans in believing that God’s loving grace is freely given to all through Jesus Christ and cannot be denied. Did you know that our commitment to sharing God's grace has connected with thousands of unchurched families?
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With God All Things Are Possible (Matthew 19:26). We take Jesus' words seriously and never let "that can't be done" thinking stop us from following Jesus' vision for God's kingdom. Did you know that an adult telling youth, "you won't be able to do that," is what inspired us to create world record setting works of art at the ELCA Youth Gathering and elsewhere that in turn inspired thousands of youth to take on the impossible.
Check out what we've been working on for you!
The God-Given Guide
You are invited to use, adapt, question, improve upon these basic definitions and examples. This document is drawn from the work of figures including Jesus the Christ, William Apess, Frederick Douglass, Howard Thurman, Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer, Delores Williams, Shūsaku Endō, Elsa Támez, and others.
What do you get when you combine classic arcade games with Jesus?
You get Big Boat, the world's first Christian video game studio.
Pac-man + Parable of the Good Samaritan
Snake + Parable of the Banquet Guests
Frogger + Peter Walking to Jesus on Water
Pong + Luther's Saint and Sinner Theology
(this bot features actual compliments used by Luther in his sermons or writings)
Banner Blue is a Lutheran 501(c)(3) focused on art and innovative ministry resources. We're all about expressing faith while fully embracing the creative gifts that God has given us. Our artists and educators like to see what happens when people are supported and equipped to truly think-in-terms-of-God's-infinite-possibility. Whether you're looking for resources to do church differently or just want to explore some new ways of looking at things, this is a great place to start.
A word of warning: we don't just think outside of the box, we think as if there is no box.
Snapshot of our Resources
Cat Gif Catechism Vision Building Service (VBS) Curriculums Board Games Video Games Movie Bible Studies Graphics Justice-Centered Devotionals
Word
Art
Table-top Games
Spiritual
Spectrum
Kid Jesus
Kid Jesus
ReArt
Kid's
Books
Gospel
Rules
Movie
Bible
Studies
Make
MObile
Hero Hospital
VBS
Brick
Book
Kid's
Books
Family
Kits
Mask
Love
Mystery
Museum
VBS
CATechism
&
DOGma
Canvas
Murals
Building Dreams: Bricks for Kids in Need
we are raising funds to share free building bricks (like LEGO) and free building kits with kids in need all over the world
bricks are going to...
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battered women shelters
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children's hospitals
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foster care programs
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schools
building block sets for families
wHAT ARE BRICK BOOKS?
Brook Books are a brand-new educational tool for all ages. Now you can have your own Bible Story, Historical Figure, and Science building block sets. That's right, you can actually build Noah's Ark! But that's not all. Brick Book sets include a story book illustrated with the same figures that you'll be building! You get to build the ark alongside Noah and Naamah. You'll receive a compostable box containing all the bricks you'll need, custom minifigs, the special story book and building instructions.
Brick Books Art are special sets that don't include a book or collectible box but make great gifts.
Brick Books is an independent brand. These are not official LEGO sets but are fully compatible with LEGO so that you can keep building your own creations!
What sets are available?
Harriet Tubman
Rosie the Riveter
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100s of Free graphics!
Why Banner Blue?
Why a banner?
In medieval and ancient history, the banner represented a cause or something to fight for or to rally around. In recent history, banners have come to represent a voice of protest. Marches for justice follow banners through the streets. Whether that banner says "I Am A Man," or "Si Se Puede," or "Say Her Name," it speaks boldly and invites you into the cause.
Why a lion on the banner?
For thousands of years and for cultures all across the globe, the lion has been a symbol of beauty and bravery. If you are beautiful; if you are brave, this banner is for you. The lion featured on the BB logo is based off of the oldest human depictions of a lion drawn in caves or carved into stone..
Why blue?
The shallows of a stream and the depths of the ocean are blue. The midnight and noonday skies are both blue. Blue is the color of a blood vessel and a spiral galaxy. Blue is everywhere and for everyone.
banner bluE STyle Guide
You are free to use the banner blue image or logo for non-commercial purposes. The logo features a lion on a waving banner with two "B"s. The banner appears in either blue or black and the lion and "B"s may be blue, black, gold, or white.
About Banner Blue's Director
Dan (he/him) is a Deacon of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as well as an author, artist, film-maker, game designer, teacher, and part-time shepherd. Dan has served in children, youth, and campus ministries. Dan first heard the call to ministry through Black Liberation Theology as an undergrad at Wittenberg University and discovered his gifts for sharing that theology creatively while in seminary at Yale Divinity School. His greatest passions are serving kids and advocating for justice in fulfilling God's promised kingdom. These days, you're likely to find Dan knee deep in excited kids, building bricks, or pages of new poetry and children's lit. You might also find him outside tending to his small duck, sheep , and alpaca farm.
Dan is a proud member of the neurodivergent community. He lives with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. It's both a disability and a gift. Reach out to Dan if you'd like to learn more about his experience.