The news has been depressing lately.

For more than a year, Americans have been living in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted lives and livelihoods for millions of people. On top of that, it's almost impossible to turn on the news or read a newspaper these days without seeing a story about crime, political scandals, economic despair, civil unrest and natural disasters.

In short, there hasn't been much to laugh about.

Connection Point Church wants to change that later this month when it hosts a comedy show in its worship center at 358 E. Deerwood Drive in Jackson.

"This is an opportunity for people to get out of the house and do something different," said Darren DeLoach, the church's online pastor. "We need to laugh."

The show, scheduled for April 24, will feature Christian comedian Jeff Allen, whose credits include appearances on Showtime, Comedy Central and VH1. He has also starred in the critically acclaimed film "Apostles of Comedy," the syndicated comedy series "Bananas," the Warner Bros. comedy "Thou Shalt Laugh" and his own one-hour comedy special, "Happy Wife, Happy Life."

Allen, whose real name is Jeff Mishler, has also been the headliner at comedy clubs from coast to coast and his "Dry Bar Comedy" videos have amassed more than 100 million views on YouTube and other social media platforms.

"Laughter is so needed right now," Allen said in a telephone interview from his home near Nashville, Tennessee. "It seems at every turn if you're looking to be informed, all the information is so depressing. The last thing I'm going to do is stand on stage and talk about that stuff."

Marriages, kids and 'lives in general'

Instead, Allen said he will relate many of his personal experiences.

"I call it 'coincidental comedy,'" he said, adding his style is similar to another well-known comedian.

"I did an interview recently with Jeff Foxworthy and he said something to me in the middle of the interview that I thought was interesting," Allen recalled. "He said we have similar styles in our humor; we both talk about our marriages, our kids and our lives in general."

In fact, Allen said he talks about his family so much his social media fans often ask about his wife, Tami, and their two sons, both of whom are now grown with families of their own.

"I get emails from people asking how they're doing," he said laughing, but admitted his family life, and his life in general, hasn't always been amusing.

"I'm a recovering alcoholic and addict," Allen said. On top of that, Allen admitted for much of his life he didn't believe in God.

"I got into standup at the age of 22 in 1978," said Allen, now 64. "By 1980, the country exploded with comedy clubs. I was able to travel around, make a few bucks, learn a craft and be bad at something for a while because there was more work than comedians at the time."

By the mid-1980s, Allen was a headliner at some of the nation's top comedy clubs. It was also around then he met his future wife. "She had a three-year-old when I met her, she got pregnant and we got married, so I went from being single and traveling 50 weeks a year to being married with two kids within a year," he said.

Alcoholism, addiction and redemption

Not only had Allen become a husband and a father by then, but he had also developed an alcohol addiction.

"Something had to change, so I quit drinking," he said, adding with a note of pride he's been married 34 years and sober for the last 33 of them.

As he dealt with his alcoholism, Allen said he also began a faith journey he credits with saving his marriage that at one point was within minutes of divorce.

"My marriage was falling apart," he said. "There came a point where my wife and I filled out divorce papers, had them notarized and were driving to the courthouse. We were about 10 minutes from dropping them off when she changed her mind."

A few months later, after a great deal of praying and soul-searching, Allen said his life changed.

"I got on my knees and said to Christ 'I'm yours.' It was a leap of faith, but it changed everything," he said.

During his show at Connection Point Church, Allen said he will spend 10 or 15 minutes talking about his faith journey "and what it has done for me and my marriage," but will devote about an hour to his comedy.

Between now and mid-June, Allen is booked at comedy clubs in Ohio, Nebraska, Texas and Tennessee, but he said he enjoys performing at churches because the audiences "are used to having someone speak 45 minutes to an hour without interruption."

Tickets for Allen's April 24 performance, which will also include "warm-up" comedian and Missouri resident Chad Thornsberry, are available online at www.yourcpc.church/events. General admission tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $25. VIP tickets, which include reserve seating and a "meet and greet" with Allen are $50 each.