Comedienne Chonda Pierce is known worldwide as “The Queen of Clean,” but when she wasn’t on the road making congregations laugh with her Southern charm and wit, she was raising a family in Murfreesboro with author David Pierce, her late husband of 31 years.

Pierce now lives in Ashland City, a small town about 25 miles northwest of Nashville where she spent most of her teen years. She went on to study theatre arts at Austin Peay State University, which led to a job impersonating country star Minnie Pearl at Nashville’s Opryland USA. From there, Pierce’s professional career in comedy and performance arts took off.

Through personal stories, some funny and others heartbreaking, Pierce faces her own tragedies in a way that she hopes will help others. In October 2015, Pierce took her humor to the big screen with Chonda Pierce: Laughing in the Dark, a film documenting her struggle to overcome depression. A couple years later, she released Chonda Pierce: Enough, a documentary centered on overcoming obstacles, such as her husband’s death, through comedy and faith.

Pierce’s “Getting Back to Funny” tour, which includes a stop at Murfreesboro’s World Outreach Church, promises to deliver a night of laughter and music with an uplifting and encouraging message. Singer-songwriter Karyn Williams will join Pierce on tour, with stops in in Louisville, Kentucky; Pensacola, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida, among other cities, before concluding in Savannah, Georgia, on May 16.

Chonda Pierce with Karyn Williams

Following her spring tour, Pierce plans to finish writing a book due out this fall as well as pursue other projects including more film credits with the Hallmark Channel.

We caught up with Pierce ahead of the show to talk about her comedy roots and coming back to perform for her long-time church family.

Murfreesboro Pulse: So how did you get your start in comedy?
Pierce: I fell in love with the whole process of being in front of people, but having grown up as a preacher’s kid, I didn’t know how to dance (laughs). I was terrible at my job at Opryland, so in order to save it, they gave me the part of impersonating Minnie Pearl. I wound up doing that for about six or seven years and even got to meet her. She was a great mentor to a lot of young people in Nashville. But I was more interested in making an audience laugh rather than singing.

From there, did you know you wanted to be a comedian or did it just happen?
I had been through some things when I was younger and lost both of my sisters to great tragedies. I wanted to tell my story, but I knew nobody would dive into a sad story right off the bat, it would take some easing into. So I would start with some funny stories and then tell what God brought me through as a young person. I would even do a little Minnie Pearl at the beginning of my sets . . . In fact, I was my own opening act for years.

Honestly, it was just one door after the next until one day someone said, “You’re a great comic!” and I thought, “Are we allowed to do that in the church now?” But even after 25 years, I’m still stepping in the dark as I go.

Photo by Rory White courtesy of Fathom Events

You work in a lot of humor that’s relatable to people in the South. What kind of reactions do you get when traveling up North or out West?
You know, what’s really great is that when I get on the bus to go to a place like upstate New York, I think, “Oh, they’re not going to get me.” But every time we go, I never know if they are laughing at me or with me, but either way they’re laughing. I find that the audience in Los Angeles is just as intrigued as the audience in Louisiana.

I’m also just a fan of anyone who uses this craft in a way that brings delight to an audience but doesn’t have to do so with shock treatment. Comedy, like all art, is subjective. What one person thinks is funny, the next person is going to think is corny. And as a born-again Christian, my faith is going to come into play no matter what I do for a living. In other words, I hope my mouth is going to be a little more cleaner or cautious. But even I have my own Christian dirty words I throw in every now and then.

You mentioned that your show in Murfreesboro is pretty special since World Outreach is the church you attended while living here, is that right?
It is, and I’m so excited. I raised my children in that church . . . I’d even say Pastor Allen provided me with my early material (laughs). Whenever I play close to home, I always get nervous because half of my material is sitting right in front of me.

The most dynamic part of being in Murfreesboro again is that I haven’t been back since my husband passed away. When you’re a comic, it’s a very difficult thing when you’re going through trauma. On the inside I’m grieving, but on the outside I’m making people laugh. It takes a good God to be able to pay that off.

Chonda with late husband David

How do you go about collecting material to use for shows?
You could go to the mall to watch people and get an hour’s worth of material right there. But right now, online dating has turned into some pretty funny stuff. But a stand-up comedian who is observant will also give you a teaching lesson of what’s going on around you.

Years ago, I used to tell a joke about people with their beepers and how I felt insecure because I didn’t have one and would instead use my garage door opener everywhere I’d go. That used to be funny, but it’s so outdated. But you can go back and watch what was culturally popular at a certain point in our lives. I love that about comedy.

In Enough, you mentioned that when you’re not onstage, no one’s shining a spotlight or handing you a microphone. Is it difficult to separate the two, a career in comedy and reality?
There’s not a lot of things I’m proud of in my life, but one of the things I am proud of is having navigated that part very well. I think tragedy has helped put that in perspective. I have to focus on real life and not just what’s on the stage. You can’t get too comfortable with the limelight. I love that part of my job, too, but I also have to keep my personal life healthy.

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World Outreach Church is located at 921 New Salem Rd. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. with the show to follow at 7 p.m. in the Three Crosses Sanctuary on Friday, April 27. Tickets are available online at wochurch.org or at the church on weekends.

For a complete list of “Getting Back to Funny” dates, as well as further information on Pierce, visit chonda.org or on Facebook and Twitter.