Evangelist Greg Laurie Releases Animated Series, 'The Adventures of Ben Born Again and YellowDog'
Evangelist Greg Laurie has produced a new passion project that presents the gospel to believers and non-believers in a kid-friendly, understandable way.
"The Adventures of Ben Born Again and YellowDog" is a faith-animated series birthed during Laurie's "Jesus Movement days."
YellowDog sure gets up to some crazy shenanigans trying to cross over where the bridge is out! Watch the whole episode of "The Adventures of Ben Born Again & YellowDog” on the Harvest+ app here: https://t.co/sW1L2hmABM. pic.twitter.com/YRwtfinW9X
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) February 5, 2024
"Growing up with an alcoholic mother who was married and divorced seven times, I was really lonely as a kid. Drawing and art played a huge role in my development—it was a place for me to escape. It helped me get away from the crazy life that was happening around me and to connect with something bigger than myself and my circumstances," Laurie shared in a recent blog.
"Fast forward and I'm a brand new believer in my art class and the teacher says the assignment for the month is to make a cartoon strip. Well, I did cartoon strips all the time! But now I was a believer, so I thought, 'Is there a way to express my faith through artwork?' So I came up with this idea to do a cartoon strip called 'Living Water,'" he continued.
Laurie began developing a character in that series and that character became Ben Born Again.
"I decided to tell my stories through him," Laurie explained.
Ben Born Again and YellowDog are the vessels through which Laurie hopes to share about the power of faith in Christ.
"When people see this animation, I hope it isn't just kids that will like it, but people of all ages. I want to tell these little stories that have a deeper, spiritual meaning. I want to reach people with humor, but then have something bigger to say," Laurie shared.
Here it is. The first official Ben Born Again Cartoon! It’s 7 minutes long but it took more then 7 months to make! I hope you enjoy it. And I pray that God will use this cartoon to bring younger people to Christ. Watch it with your kids and grandkids. The best place to view this… pic.twitter.com/Kh1bKuu5FI
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) February 1, 2024
The series' first episode is called "The Bridge is Out" and it premiered on February 1. Its message is based on Laurie's "Living Water Tract" which is also featured in his film "Jesus Revolution".
As CBN News reported, the breakout Hollywood film tells the true story behind the Jesus Movement, including how Pastor Chuck Smith welcomed hippies at Calvary Chapel as they were looking for truth. That invitation helped to fuel one of the greatest spiritual awakenings in American history.
Greg and Cathe Laurie were two of those young people who were welcomed by Chuck Smith. They were truth-seekers who soon became part of the Jesus Movement, got married, and eventually went on to pastor Harvest Christian Fellowship.
In the film, Laurie's character is seen passing out the "Living Water" tracts.
"This was actually my first venture into large-scale communication of my faith. Ultimately, over a million of these little books went all around the world. I was realizing that God could use this artwork that I'd worked on my whole life to tell a bigger story," said Laurie.
"The Bridge Is Out" episode will be available exclusively on the Harvest+ app. More episodes will be released later this year.
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