He’s an interesting type to be sure. A Canadian Mennonite only a few years ahead of most attending Gustavus, oh, and it should be mentioned he’s a standup comedian.

Describing Matthew Falk as a rare breed is as much of an understatement as it is selling him short of his abilities.

Born in April of 1989 and raised in a small Mennonite community a mere 30 kilometers south of Winnipeg, Falk began as an entertainer when he was only fifteen years old. However, at the time he wasn’t performing his now well-known ‘clean comedy’ but rather was performing magic at children’s birthday parties.

Only two years later, he was already a stand-up comic at school talent shows and local fairs, cracking jokes about puberty, his hometown, and (surprisingly) his family.

Falk fell in love with comedy at an early age, watching Ellen DeGeneres and Robin Williams on TV, and was immediately captivated.

“I just wanted to be like them so badly, so I think that’s what motivated me to get into [comedy],” Falk said in an interview with The Full Circle Ladies, a Canadian talk-show.

Falk likens his early forays into comedy to playing, the way a child might see a doctor and pretend to be a doctor during playtime.

“I dreamed of being [a comedian] and that dream never left me. I just kept playing, as it were,” Falk said.

His salesman father and his mother, who runs a daycare, were both supportive, driving him to his performances.

“Sometimes my father is almost too helpful, like he would be recommending jokes about Bush on the way to my shows, and I’d be like dad, he’s not their president anymore,” Falk said in one of his earliest acts.

By his late teens, Falk was appearing at Rumor’s Comedy Club in Winnipeg, and in 2008 he became the youngest comic in history to headline at the club.

After placing second in the World Series of Comedy, Falk and his wife relocated to Abbotsford, B.C. for six months and then to Toronto for two years to pursue career opportunities and make industry connections in broader networks.

In the past four years, he has written for and acted on RocKids TV, a Bible-based television series for children aged 4 to 10, filmed a pilot for Crossroads Television System called Summer Camp, written or co-written three popular shows at Winnipeg’s Celebrations Dinner Theatre, filmed a web series called Out in the Cold, and toured throughout the country.

“Every year we get more and more bookings, every year it grows, and that’s incredibly exciting,” adding that he headlined in Ottawa for the first time last year, “The number of gigs is increasing, but so is the quality of gigs,” Falk said on Virgin Radio, a station native to Winnipeg.

Part of what makes Falk accessible to—and popular with—a wide range of audiences is that his act is completely clean, void of any and all vulgar material. This approach to comedy is informed by his faith. He references James 3:12: “Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” For Falk, who sees his comedy career as a ministry, saying filthy jokes on stage and then trying to tell people about Jesus in the same breath just wouldn’t work.

“It doesn’t make sense for my stage character to be swearing or cursing. I don’t do it in my everyday life, so it doesn’t make sense to write like that. I feel I’m a better representation of Christ when I choose my words wisely and I’m not making people feel uncomfortable,” Falk said on The Full Circle Ladies.

While writing clean is a challenge, Falk also finds it fun. Sometimes when writing, he knows adding a swear to a bit would get a laugh in a comedy club, so the challenge becomes figuring out how he can get a laugh without using the swear.

“Vulgarity is no substitute for wit. If you can come up with a way to present the joke without swearing, then you spent the time and put the effort in to craft a better joke,” Falk said on the Full Circle Ladies.

He rather gets around this more ‘mainstream’ form of comedy by talking about matters that are relatable to all people, with segments on puberty, weight loss, and other lessons on morality in a light-hearted manner. He always goes back to the sentiment that this is his ministry.

“I’m not athletic, I’m not smart, humor is what I have, and it’s my best way to share God’s love,” Falk said in a local interview.

Matt Faulk will be performing on March 16 at the Courtyard Cafe, where CAB will provide free deserts.