“I’ve Never Met a Pastor That Isn’t Funny”: ‘Wonder Presents: The Stand Ups’ Comedian Ola Dada on Comedy’s Place in the Church
Wonder Presents: The Stand-Ups brings together six charismatic comedians for a collection of original stand-up comedy specials that turn real life into family-friendly laughs. From love and parenting to growing older and chasing dreams, the series offers honest, relatable comedy that connects rather than divides.
Ola Dada is a Nigerian-born comedian whose warm, playful style has made him one of Canada’s standout voices. In his special, he explores marriage, masculinity, and modern love with sharp wit and absurd honesty. From meeting his wife on Instagram “in Jesus’s name” to cultural clashes, therapy, and lactose-fueled disasters, Dada turns everyday relationship chaos into big laughs.
Dada recently sat down with The Collision to discuss his new special and his hopes for the future of comedy.
(Note: Interview quotes have been edited for length and clarity. To view the full interview, watch the video above.)
In a playful reference to his stand-up special, Dada confirmed that the “pigeons aren’t real” conspiracy is false. While he’s in for a good conspiracy theory, he had to put his foot down on that one. If the government wanted to spy on you, they’d use flies or your phone. “Just because I don’t like [pigeons] doesn’t mean there’s anything suspicious going on with them,” he concluded.
Dada commented that when Wonder reached out to him, the connection made sense. “I feel like the message I have and the message they had aligned pretty well,” he shared.
Dada’s stand-up has always been family focused, even though he used to include profanity for a little pizazz. Once he stopped cussing, he was better able to connect with his target audience. As an observational comic, his routines don’t require explicit language to work.
In the stand-up special, Dada shares that he recently came to Christ and now works as a Christian comedian. When asked how comedy fits into the church, Dada responded, “I’ve never met a pastor that isn’t funny . . . There’s so much space for funny when it comes to Christianity and the Bible. I feel like if I was made in his image, and I’m a funny dude, I got it from somewhere.”
He talked about how comedy in Christianity isn’t explored enough, and working with Wonder has given him the chance to further probe that creative space.
In the future, Dada would like to create a Bible-focused special that discusses the most comedic aspects of Scripture. Dada said there are so many hilarious moments that aren’t talked about enough. For example, he said he loves reading about character traits of Old Testament figures, specifically the Israelites. He laughed at how God would perform these incredible miracles, and the people would have completely forgotten about that power a few business days later.
“For me, learning that everybody that we learn about is so flawed is one of the funniest things . . . I didn’t know Moses had a temper. That’s cool to know. I feel a little more connected to him.”
Dada’s advice to aspiring comics is to persevere. He urged, “You need to know what you want out of stand-up comedy.” Performing as a hobby has different requirements than pursuing comedy as a full-time job. Building a career in the field takes hard work, talking to as many people as you can, and absorbing as much comedy as possible. Dada claimed that doing so will help you “find your voice in that space.”
Wonder Presents: The Stand-Ups, which features six hilarious comedians, debuts weekly on Prime Video starting July 2, 2026.
