00:00We're praising the Lord. Let's go, let's go, let's get it.
00:02This bizarre ministry of evangelical Christians believes in clowning for the Lord. Yes,
00:07really. Wearing curly wigs and face paint, these ambassadors for Christ take their circus gags and
00:12religious teachings to nursing homes, youth groups, and hospital wards to spread their
00:17faith and goodwill. The practice of using clowns to teach the gospel of Jesus has been around for
00:21years, but the strange practice isn't widely known. But are they unfairly targeted by the
00:25clown-fearing masses, or are clown ministries the ultimate creepy cult? My name is Savannah,
00:31and I was raised in an evangelical clown cult in the early 2000s. Yeah, you heard that right.
00:36While clowns are considered scary horror figures these days, back in the 1970s and 1980s, clown
00:42ministries became popular around North America as a way to bring fun and humor into the church.
00:46Groups with names like Clowns for Christ can still be found to this day, led by preachers,
00:51nuns, or local faith-based communities. They often take part in traditional clown activities,
00:56such as creating balloon animals and performing skits, although often using Christian symbolism,
01:01stories, or themes. But why clowns? Well, if you ask those within the clown ministry,
01:06they'll tell you that God has a great sense of humor, despite the seriousness around most
01:10religious practices. The reason so many Christians gravitated toward clown ministries is because
01:15typical church life can be boring and in need of a change of pace. That's why the clown ministry
01:20handbook and instructional video from 1982 spread widely among the Christian groups of America,
01:25not only to teach Jesus lovers how to be clowns, but also how to connect clowning to their belief,
01:30particularly the concepts of the holy fool who is touched by God. I'll do one of the first sermons
01:35that I ever did as a clown. It's based on 1 John 3 18. I call it, What Do You Do With Love?
01:40So what could be scary about a bunch of nuns dressed as clowns, performing tricks for those
01:45who need their spirits lifted? Well, as with most far-out religious practices, things can go from
01:50wholesome to freaky in no time. Just look at Richie the Barber, a barber who found viral fame
01:55after tattooing his entire face to look like a clown. Many years later, he stepped back from
01:59his life of debauchery and found God. Since his religious awakening, Richie is studying to become
02:04a pastor, but his rants and vision for a Richie the Barber land that would rival Disneyland makes
02:10him seem like a religious grifter and scammer. Then there's people like Savannah, who shared her
02:14story on TikTok of what it was like growing up within one of these evangelical clown ministries,
02:20except Savannah calls what she experienced a straight up cult. She described moving as a
02:24child to a tiny Midwestern town in the early 2000s, where she and other local kids were enlisted by the
02:29church to dress up as clowns to try to convert others. I don't know if you've ever been to a
02:34fair in the Midwest, but there's a lot of unsightly people. And so as an eight, nine-year-old little
02:40girl dressed like a clown, going up and handing them Bible tracts, you can say that there's a
02:44reason that I'm funny now. If you're creeped out, you're not the only one. Even the clown ministry
02:49instructional materials warn that children of all ages find them scary and even disturbing.
02:53And since that fear tends to carry over into adulthood these days, it's probably best that
02:57you won't see a clown giving a sermon at your local church anytime soon.
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