A vicar will be swapping his pulpit for the church roof when he delivers his next “sermon.”

But instead of exploring the Bible’s sacred text, John Rogers will be cracking gags through a megaphone.

He hopes to tell 500 jokes in four hours perched on his church tower at Oakworth, near Keighley.

The 48-year-old father of two hopes to be laughing all the way to the bank to help swell the funds to repair the organ and improve the building.

He is known as “Jolly John” to his parishioners because he likes to crack a joke with his regular sermons.

“I enjoy making people laugh – laughter is something we can all enjoy,” he said.

“I believe laughter is a God given blessing, it can lift our spirit and even help us through the difficult times in our lives.

“Coming to church and being part of a church community should be fun, so I always try to make our normal church services fun and enjoyable,” said Mr Rogers who has been vicar at Oakworth for two years.

But for his roof-top gig, he will be keeping his repertoire to one liners, in the style of one of his favourite comics, the late, great Tommy Cooper.

“I love that type of joke but they’ll also be just right to fit into the four hours,” he said.