Why Would a Christian Nonprofit Hire a Comedian?

Every once in a while, I get a phone call or email from an organization that says something like, “We’ve never hired a comedian before.” I understand why. When you’re a Christian nonprofit, you’re not putting on an event just to entertain people. You’re trying to communicate your mission, inspire your supporters and, in many cases, raise money to keep the ministry going. So why would you put a comedian in the middle of all of that?

I’ve been blessed to be the first outside speaker for some organizations and the first comedian they’ve ever hired for others. I know that can feel like a bit of a risk. You’re trusting someone who doesn’t know your organization, your supporters or your community to walk into the room and represent your ministry for an important evening. That’s a big responsibility, and I don’t take it lightly.

Recently, I had the opportunity to work with Calaveras Pregnancy Center in Angels Camp, California. After the event, Matthew Thullen sent me a testimonial that really summed up what I hope happens when I work with a Christian nonprofit. He said, “Tim was perfect for our pregnancy resource center event…even better than anticipated. He was a pleasure to work with and his funny, inspirational message tied closely to our message.”

That part is important to me. The comedy has to fit the mission. I’m not showing up with a bag of jokes and hoping some of them work. I want to understand the organization, understand the people in the room and understand what the event is trying to accomplish. The goal is for the audience to laugh, but also to understand more clearly why the organization exists and why their support matters.

Matthew went on to say that I was “clearly there to support us and help our supporters see the bigger picture about why to financially partner with their local pregnancy center,” and that the humor even landed with people who said they don’t usually like comedians. I especially liked that last part. I’ve discovered over the years that there are a lot of people who will tell you they don’t like comedy right before they start laughing.

But the part of his testimonial that really caught my attention was this: “The way he weaved his comedy into his testimony and the ask for our center was masterful. It felt like having a highly-effective fundraising professional on our team.” That’s really the goal.

I didn’t start out thinking I would become a comedian who travels around the country helping Christian nonprofits raise money. I was a pastor. Some people from my church gave me a gift certificate to try a comedy class, and I decided to give it a shot. That little gift eventually opened the door to something I never could have planned on my own.

Later, God moved me out of full-time pastoral ministry and into Christian nonprofit work. That gave me the opportunity to learn fundraising from the inside. I learned that fundraising is both an art and a science. It involves relationships, communication, storytelling, psychology, strategy and, yes, actually asking people to give.

Looking back, I can see how God was putting pieces together that I never would have connected myself. Twenty-five years of ministry taught me how to communicate with people and understand the importance of a mission. Comedy taught me how to connect with an audience and create an atmosphere where people are comfortable listening. Working in the nonprofit world taught me how fundraising actually works.

Eventually, those experiences came together. Now I get to use all of them when I walk into a room for a Christian organization.

This fall alone, I’ve had the opportunity to serve organizations in Washington, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Utah, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina and other states. That means a lot of miles, a lot of airports, a lot of rental cars and more hotel rooms than I probably care to count. It also means getting to see firsthand what Christian organizations are doing all over the country.

And that has probably been one of my favorite parts of this work. The organizations are different, but the people behind them have something in common. They care deeply about what they’re doing. They’re serving women and babies, children and families, students and churches. They’re caring for people who are hurting and trying to make a difference in their communities.

When I walk into one of those events, I know I’m not the most important person in the room. The mission is. That changes how I approach the evening.

My job isn’t simply to make people laugh. If that were all they needed, they could go to a comedy club. My job is to use humor, storytelling, faith and fundraising experience to help create an evening where people connect with the organization and understand why its work matters.

Sometimes laughter is the best way to open the door. People relax. They put their phones down. They stop worrying about what’s coming next. They start enjoying the evening. And when people are engaged, they’re much more likely to listen when you tell them about the mission.

That doesn’t mean the serious parts of the evening disappear. In fact, I think the opposite happens. Humor can actually give the serious parts more impact. When you can laugh together, listen to a meaningful story and understand the difference an organization is making, the entire evening becomes more personal.

That’s why I’ve come to believe that comedy and fundraising aren’t as strange a combination as they might initially seem. A good fundraising event isn’t really about asking people for money. It’s about helping people see an opportunity to make a difference. If I can help an organization create an environment where people laugh, connect, understand the mission and then see how they can be part of it, then I’ve done what I came to do.

And maybe that’s why I’m still a little amazed at where this journey has taken me. A gift certificate from some friends at church led me to comedy. Leaving full-time pastoral ministry led me into the nonprofit world. The nonprofit world taught me fundraising. And now God has allowed me to bring all of those experiences together to serve Christian organizations all over the country. I never would have designed it that way. But I’m pretty grateful God did.

And for the organizations that have taken a chance on something a little different, especially those who have never hired a comedian or an outside speaker before, I’m even more grateful. It’s a privilege to walk into a room and be trusted with something that matters so much to them.

Because at the end of the night, I don’t want people to remember that they hired a comedian. I want them to remember that they had a great night, they laughed, they were reminded why the ministry matters, and they left feeling like they were part of something bigger than themselves. That’s a pretty good reason to put a comedian in the room.