John Crist, comedian: All in good humor

Lakeside, Los Angeles, San Diego, Calexico, and more were ‘in the house.’ 

‘The house,’ this time, was a house of worship named Christ Community Church in El Centro, California. On the evening of May 8, some audience members drove hundreds of miles to see a comedy show with a headliner by the name of John Crist.

Lakeside, Los Angeles, San Diego, Calexico, and more were ‘in the house.’ 

‘The house,’ this time, was a house of worship named Christ Community Church in El Centro, California. On the evening of May 8, some audience members drove hundreds of miles to see a comedy show with a headliner by the name of John Crist.

“It was great,” said Lakeside resident Carly Celeste, after the show. “I liked him. It was religious, Christian stuff.” 

Celeste had travelled, on a Tuesday evening, from Lakeside to El Centro just to see Crist. Crist has a growing fan base, cultivated largely by word-of-mouth and community circles.

“I heard about him on the internet,” said El Centro resident Maryann Archer, who came with her daughter, Anna.  

Google John Crist and you will find his tour schedule, Facebook information, and videos. Youth for Christ had posted his show on their Facebook page where Archer noticed the show.

Comedian John Crist is well known on social media and to churches internationally and domestic.  He’s appeared with many of the big names in comedy.

“He’s a big name in Christian comedy,” said Victor Nuno, program director for the non-profit radio station 95.3fm The Edge in El Centro.  The Edge is under the guidance of Youth For Christ Imperial Valley, a 501(c)(3).  Crist’s performance was a fundraiser for Youth for Christ.

Crist is a retired Olympic decathlete, who finished sixth in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He is a three-time national champion in the men’s decathlon. That alone is not what makes up the whole of his background experiences.  According to his biography he grew up in Georgia, son of a pastor, and was homeschooled. He is the third of eight children. His jokes are on the Christian subculture. His experiences even include a stint working in a Chick-fil-A as a high school kid – his parents insisted he work there.

 “I like him because he is Christian-based,” said Marisa Noriega, of El Centro.  

Rebecca Vandiver, 19, of Calexico, who came with Noreiga, said she thinks his brand of humor was relevant. 

“He was raised in the church,” she said. “His humor is truth, based in humor.” 

Crist’s set included jokes about Christians using bible-based names on their kids. When asked what a young audience member’s name was, she answered “Faith.” Faith was not a plant.  

Crist went on to ask the audience members to finish verses such as “For God so loved the world….”.  Crist also included Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ that ended with the audience yelling out ‘Scaramouch.’  

“Let the bad thoughts go, do the good ones,” said Crist. 

Crist’s set also included showing one of his videos on Uber Christian that had the hypothetical Uber not stopping at bars. Every minute of his performance was humorous takes on his life, observations on church practices and members, and included interactions with the over 1,000 attendees.

He introduced many moral dilemmas and jokes that the audience immediately reacted positively too.

Comedians Dustin Nickerson and Jerry Godsey opened for Crist. Testimony and information on Youth for Christ was also provided before the comedians started.