There are people who have grown up with comedian Jeff Allen. Members of his audience bring their children and grandchildren to his comedy shows.

Allen did a stand-up comedy show at 7:30 p.m. March 25, Bethany Wesleyan Church, 675 Blue Mountain Drive, Cherryville, Lehigh Township.

Allen, who does family-friendly comedy, says, “There are people that have followed me for years. Fans bring their friends out. People ask me about my kids.

“It’s a wonderful feeling when people are interested in your life. It’s a nice vibe when the audience knows you. I’m thrilled. It took me 40 years to get to this point,” Allen says in a phone interview.

Allen does not do political humor, saying, “I’m not trying to change anyone’s vote.” He uses personal experiences. Viewers can see his life progression in his online videos as he comments on marriage relations with his wife Tami, and their children as they grow up and have children of their own.

His videos have had more than 100 million views.

Allen appeared at Bethany Wesleyan in October 2016. He performs at many types of venues, including comedy clubs, theaters, performing arts centers and corporate events.

Performing in churches has certain advantages. “In clubs, there are more distractions and I’ve found more attention deficit disorder in audiences. In church, people are used to listening to someone speak without interruption.”

Although it is not a topic he uses in his comedy, Allen is open about his former addiction to alcohol and cocaine, and the problems it created in his marriage. He has been sober for almost 35 years. Eight years after entering the Alcoholics Anonymous program, he became a born-again Christian.

He chuckles as he recalls, “I thought I was more creative being impaired. I found out that staying sober is a better way to work and live.”

He’s putting together a show about recovery and marital issues, “Are We There Yet?,” that he hopes to begin doing next year. Revisiting his past brought back some painful memories for him.

“I remembered how many times I got arrested. I could have killed someone the way I drove. Oh, my Lord, I got lucky. One time, I was handcuffed and let go at the last minute. I was told I was facing three to five years.

“I had a six-month-old baby at the time. I thought I would lose my wife and kids. We were married less than a year. I quit three weeks later.”

Working in comedy clubs helped enable him during 15 years of drinking. “You only had to work an hour a day,” he says. “I even had club owners who tried to pay me with cocaine. I told them that AT&T wouldn’t accept it to pay the phone bill.”

Allen is glad to be working steadily now that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has eased somewhat. He became restless at home. “My wife told me during the pandemic that it was the first time since we were married that I was home 30 days in a row.”

Although his audience is generally over 50 years old, he has fans from all generations. “People say they remember me from the TV show, ‘Bananas,’ saying, ‘It was the only thing my parents would let me listen to.’

“I tell kids, ‘Look at my face, This is your future.’ One 12-year-old wanted to see live stand-up after looking at it online. He told me, ‘Your timing is impeccable.’”

One thing you are unlikely to hear Allen talk about is retirement. “I feel I am sharper than ever and I’m having a blast. I’ll keep going as long as people keep coming and I keep creating new stuff.”

Information: Bethany Wesleyan Church, 675 Blue Mountain Drive, Cherryville; www.bethanywes.org; 610-767-1239