In 'Youth Group' comic, evangelical kids sing silly songs about Jesus, fight demons

(RNS) — When he was a teenager in the 1990s, Jordan Morris was always up for a bit of mischief — as long as it didn’t involve sex or drugs, two things he was sure would kill him.

So he went to a megachurch youth group, which promised teenage shenanigans without much danger. The “sanitized mischief,” as he describes it, was perfect for Morris, who grew up as a nerdy, nervous kid.

“Youth group was great for me,” Morris said. “We can put on a show, we can sing little songs, we can do little skits. We can toilet paper the pastor’s house and clean it up later. And I just don’t have to worry that someone is going to try and pressure me into something that I’m scared of.”

Now a Los Angeles-based comedy writer and podcaster, Morris has fond memories of his time in youth group. Those memories — and his love for horror movies like “The Exorcist” — inspired him to write “Youth Group,” a graphic novel about church teens who fight demons while singing silly songs about Jesus.

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