The practice of using clowns to teach the gospel of Jesus has been around for years, but the strange practice isn’t widely known. But are they unfairly targeted by the clown-fearing masses, or are clown ministries the ultimate creepy cult?
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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.